Safety Infrastructure Improvement Programs

Along with enforcement and education, another key component of traffic safety is engineering. PennDOT performs numerous engineering improvements to enhance your safety along the highways.

Low Cost Safety Improvement Programs

Each year, PennDOT invests approximately $10 million in state funding to implement low-cost safety improvements throughout the state. Examples of these projects include:

Rumble strips are raised or grooved patterns that differ in texture from the road surface and produce a rumbling sound and cause the vehicle to vibrate when a vehicle's tires pass over them. The noise and vibration produced by rumble strips are effective alarms for drivers who are leaving their lane of the roadway. The number of fatalities in head-on / opposite direction sideswipe crashes has declined by 47 percent in Pennsylvania since 2002 thanks to the installation of more than 6,800 miles of centerline rumble strips as of September 2022.

PennDOT enhances advanced curve warning through the use of pavement markings applied directly to the roadway, as well as signs indicating curve ahead. Research in 2019 by Penn State University shows the in-lane curve warning pavement markings reduce rural crashes between 23% to 35%

High tension cable median barriers are life-saving traffic devices for use in existing medians to prevent cross-over crashes. They are one of the most effective safety measures deployed to protect motorists on highways. PennDOT partnered with the Pennsylvania State University in June 2023 and when analyzing freeway segments found that installation of this countermeasure led to a 90% decrease in fatal cross-median crashes and a 35% reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes. As of May 2024, there were over 536 miles of high tension cable median barrier installed in 39 counties throughout the state.

Highway Safety Improvement Program

Annually, PennDOT receives approximately $132 million in federal funding for its Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). The department distributes $70 million of this funding to its planning regions based on fatalities, major injuries and reportable crashes. Each planning organization receives $500,000 to allow for larger projects in the smaller planning organizations. The remaining $50 million is awarded annually to implement low- to moderate-cost systemic or spot specific infrastructure safety improvements.

The overall purpose of this program is to achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on state roads through the implementation of systemic projects that deploy multiple safety countermeasures over several locations and medium-cost infrastructure-related highway safety improvements.

Pavement friction management is critical to producing a safe driving experience. High Friction Surface Treatment or HFST is a specialized treatment which applies a thin coat of high friction material to the road surface. By improving pavement friction reduces stopping distance, improves vehicle handling, and reduces the risk of hydroplaning contributing to the reduction of crashes. By applying HFST in critical areas, such as horizonal curves, and on intersections approaches lane departure and intersection related crash can be mitigated.

In June 2023, PennDOT partnered with Penn State University to evaluate the safety performance of installing HFST along horizonal curves on rural two-lane highways, and at intersections in Pennsylvania. The study found that horizonal curves treated with HFST have a 58% reduction in total crashes, a 54% reduction in run off the road crashes, and a 75% reduction in wet roadway crashes. For HFST applied at intersections in Pennsylvania the study found a 67% reduction in crashes. The full details of the study can be found in the final report.

As of June 2024, PennDOT currently has HFST installed at 762 locations. The proven safety benefit of HFST applications allows PennDOT to confidently continue using this countermeasure as tool to prevent crashes on the Pennsylvania roads.