2008 Traffic Safety Culture Index

Pavement edge drop-off crashes are substantially more likely than other crashes on similar roads to result in serious injuries and are more than twice as likely to be fatal. In 2006, the AAA Foundation examined the prevalence of pavement drop off, the associated state monitoring and repairing practices, and the relationship between drop-offs and crash risk.

Actively promoting solutions to mitigate the edge drop-off problem , the Federal Highway Administration is using the AAA Foundation’s “Safety Impacts of Pavement Edge Drop-offs” report as evidence to advocate for implementation of edge drop off countermeasures, including the “Safety Edge” construction process. This technique allows the edge of the road surface to be paved at an optimal angle to minimize the vertical drop, making it safer for drivers pulling off of or onto the road. The AAA Foundation report is cited in the FHWA’s recently issued "Guidance Memorandum on Consideration and Implementation of Proven Safety Countermeasures", which recommends the use of Safety Edges as one of the nine countermeasures recommended to states.  For the AAA Foundation’s report on pavement edge drop-offs, visit http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/PEDO_report.pdf.