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Rural Road Safety: Current Trends, Challenges & Strategies

Getting from Here to There Seamlessly

ITE Conference

August 12, 2025

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Current Trends: Setting the Stage

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July 22, 2025

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Defining Rural

Local: Describes the jurisdiction that owns or manages the roads

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July 22, 2025

. Photo Source: Neil Hetherington, WTI

Rural: Describes the location and context of the road and community

Local describes the jurisdiction that owns or manages the roads. For instance, a local road is owned or managed by a local agency such as a town or county. It is not federal or state-owned road.

Rural, however, describes the location and context of the road and surrounding community. While a road can be both, they are not dependent on each other. (For example, think about the rural stretches of interstate maintained by a state DOT).

Asked all the time to define rural – slightly different from each data source or funding source – typically thought of as anything outside an urban area (census, FARS (determined by state DOT and approved by FHWA)) or by population (less then 2500 residents – rural-urban continuum codes)

Usually can tell by look/feel – land use – you know it when you see it. Defined by the social and physical context – driver behaviors, land use, local culture, physical design

So, why does this distinction matter? There are significant difference in safety trends, resources, and characteristics. Let’s examine some of those characteristics.

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Impact of Safety

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July 22, 2025

17,283 rural roadway fatalities in 2022

~47 rural roadway fatalities/day

~2 rural roadway fatalities during this hour session

Data Source: NHTSA 2024

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Closer Look at Rural Statistics (2022)

20% of U.S. population lived in rural areas
32% of total vehicle miles traveled in rural areas
68% of public road miles are in rural areas
41% of total fatalities in rural areas
64% were roadway-departure crashes
28% were killed in speeding-related crashes
51% of rural passenger vehicle occupants were unrestrained
Fatality rate per was 1.5 times higher than in urban areas

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July 22, 2025

Data Source: Traffic Safety Fact: 2022 Data - Rural/Urban Traffic Fatalities

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Why is Rural Road Safety Unique?

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July 22, 2025

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The Rural Story

Crash Types

Single vehicle rollovers
Rural roadway departure
Head-on crashes

Human Behaviors

Speeding
Posted speed limit
Unrestrained

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July 22, 2025

Photo Source: Neil Hetherington, WTI and Jaime Sullivan, WTI

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Aren’t All Roads the Same?

Narrow lanes
Lack of shoulders
Shallow/open ditches
Higher speeds
Unique terrain
Unpaved roads
Uncontrolled intersections

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July 22, 2025

Photo Source: Neil Hetherington, WTI and Jaime Sullivan, WTI

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Different Road User Mix

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July 22, 2025

Photo Source: Jaime Sullivan, WTI

Slow moving vehicles
Tourism & unfamiliar drivers
Freight
Older vehicles
Increased animal activity

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Unique Challenges

Resources and funding
Lack of Data
Communication and power infrastructure
Geographical jurisdictions
Natural disasters
Sustainable options for mobility
Behavioral safety & social issues

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Resources/funding– less staff, sparse law enforcement, less funding – staff wear more hats – transportation and/or safety not only job. The smaller population means more recruitment and retention challenges with staff and more funding challenges.

Data – systemic approach to identify risk – can’t find hot spot crashes – pull people out of ditch and don’t report

Lack of Communications and power – challenges for technology and innovation including CAV

Large geographical jurisdictions – lead to longer detection, notification and arrival time for crashes, more difficult for enforcement, harder on maintenance and clearing roads for snow. The long distance from point a to b that rural areas are known for, also means fewer alternative routes

Impacts of natural disasters– less likely to rebuild (or do so fast), impact could be to only route (VT hurricane people stuck), less places to stop, alt routes (think WY trucks). less developed infrastructure and maintenance may be a relatively lower priority. Weather can also be severe, or rather roadways are less likely to be cleared in a timely and comprehensive fashion.

Lack of Sustainable options for mobility – due to distance and ridership

Behavioral safety and social issues - Different risk perception public feels that because there is less traffic, there are less crashes and with less deterrence (enforcement), feel more comfortable making bad choices. For example, drivers may feel that because there is less traffic, there are less crashes and with less deterrence or enforcement, and they may feel more comfortable making risky choices. And finally, a different mindset may lead to unique barriers with behavioral factors such as less seat belt use.

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GHSA’s America’s Rural Roads: Beautiful and Deadly

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July 22, 2025

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Strategies for Getting from Here to There Seamlessly

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July 22, 2025

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Safety System Approach

Safety lens
Holistic
6 principles
5 elements

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July 22, 2025

Graphic Source: FHWA

https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS/SafeSystem

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Local Road Safety Plans (LRSP)

A Handbook with Tips and Tools for Developing A Local Road Safety Plan for Your Community

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July 22, 2025

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Rural Countermeasures

FHWA’s Proven Safety Countermeasures in Rural Communities

NHTSA’s Traffic Safety Countermeasures that Work in Rural Communities

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July 22, 2025

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Rural Road Safety Center Resources

Road Safety Champion Program
Rural Road Safety Awareness Week
Monthly & Archived Webinars
Website
Socials & Newsroom
Training E-blasts
Technical Assistance

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Let Us Know How We Can Help

Jaime Sullivan, Director�jaime@ruralsafetycenter.org

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July 22, 2025

Janet Leli, Training�janet@ruralsafetycenter.org

Cameron Ishaq, Operations�cameron@ruralsafetycenter.org

Kevin Elliott, Marketing�kevin@ruralsafetycenter.org

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Thank You!