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Guidelines for Traversability of Roadside Slopes (2019)

Chapter: Chapter 9 - Summary and Conclusions

« Previous: Chapter 8 - Slope Traversability Guidelines
Page 130
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Summary and Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Guidelines for Traversability of Roadside Slopes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25539.
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Page 130
Page 131
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 9 - Summary and Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Guidelines for Traversability of Roadside Slopes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25539.
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Page 131

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130 This report includes details of the research performed under NCHRP Project 17-55 for developing guidelines for roadside slope traversability. A detailed literature review was con- ducted at the start of the project. This was followed by crash data analysis to determine the types of vehicles that are most likely to roll over on slopes. The slope traversability guidelines were developed through extensive use of vehicle dynamics simulations. A total of 43,000 simulations were performed in this research. The simulation analyses were performed for 60 unique road- side slope configurations that were a combination of a range of shoulder widths, foreslopes, and foreslope widths. For each of the 60 terrains, 720 unique vehicle encroachments were simulated. The encroachments were a combination of a range of encroachment speeds, angles, driver inputs, and vehicle types. To develop guidelines that are representative of the real-world crash scenarios, the researchers weighted each of the 43,000 simulations according to the probability of their occurrence in the real world. This was done by developing probability distributions for all of the encroachment variables using the NCHRP Report 665 crash database and vehicle sales data. These probability distributions were then used to determine a combined probability of vehicle rollover for each of the 60 roadside slope configurations. Once a combined rollover probability was assigned to each of the 60 terrains, the influence of the various roadside slope design variables was evaluated to arrive at the slope traversability guidelines. The researchers determined that the probability of vehicle rollover on a slope is influenced by three key design variables. These are the width of the shoulder, the roadside foreslope, and the width of the foreslope. Simulation analyses revealed that the interaction of the vehicle with the bottom of the slope has a significant destabilizing effect on vehicle stability for steeper slopes. Thus the width of the slope is an important factor that should be taken into consideration. In the past, traversability of different slopes has been defined as recoverable, traversable or non-recoverable, and critical, depending on whether the vehicle is able to come back to the road, is able to reach the bottom of the slope, or has a high chance of a rollover, respectively. In this research, it was noted that for each foreslope type, there is a certain probability of roll- over, regardless of the steepness. Thus rollovers can occur on flat terrain or mild slopes such as 1V:10H. Furthermore, there are additional design features, such as the width of the shoulder and the slope, that have significant influence on the stability of a vehicle traversing a slope. For these reasons, assigning one particular outcome type to a specific foreslope leaves a ditch designer unaware of the true hazard of the slope. The guidelines emanating from this research are thus presented in the form of a probability of rollover that is defined as function of the foreslope, foreslope width, and shoulder width. This format provides the designer or the user agency greater flexibility in defining an acceptable risk of encroaching a roadside slope in the form of an acceptable rollover probability. C H A P T E R 9 Summary and Conclusions

Summary and Conclusions 131 In Chapter 8, the guidelines have been presented in a format suitable for incorporation in the Roadside Design Guide. It is envisioned that the implementation of the research will occur through the adoption of the guidelines by AASHTO and publication in the Roadside Design Guide. The implementation and use of this research will improve the level of safety for motorists and reduce the number of serious injury crashes associated with rollover on roadside slopes.

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Geometric design practitioners in state transportation agencies have a new set of guidelines on probability of vehicle rollover based on various roadside design features. NCHRP Research Report 911: Guidelines for Traversability of Roadside Slopes will assist practitioners in the reduction of serious injury crashes associated with rollovers on roadside slopes.

Data from the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) Crashworthiness Data System (CDS) shows that one-third of single-vehicle run-off-road (SVROR) crashes result in rollovers—the leading cause of fatalities in SVROR crashes. Three-quarters of these rollover crashes involve vehicles digging into the ground on embankments or in ditches after encroaching onto the roadside. Additionally, according to NASS data, pickup trucks, utility vehicles, and vans are overrepresented in rollover crashes due to higher centers of gravity. An increase in the percentage of light trucks in the vehicle fleet necessitates additional research and updates to the roadside safety guidelines.

The researchers conducted 43,000 simulations for various combinations of roadside slope configurations and geometric conditions that represent real-world crash scenarios.

The results helped to produce this guidance on the traversability of roadside slopes for a variety of roadside conditions—shoulder width, foreslope, and foreslope width. The guidelines are presented as probability of vehicle rollover that is defined as a function of various roadside design features.

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