Higher Highway Safety Standards Increase Visibility
and Help Save Lives on Roads and Highways

Virtually all drivers (99%) feel bright and easy-to-see road markings are important to driver safety, and 94% believe that state and local municipalities should make easy-to-see road lines a priority, according to a Higher Highway Safety Standards (HHSS) survey (1). The survey, conducted by New Jersey-based PKS Research, polled drivers between the ages of 18 and 65 and older from across the country, and found the importance of bright and easy-to-see lines evident across all demographic and geographic segments, especially among drivers who are 50 years and older.

These concerns are not surprising in light of the 42,000 deaths due to highway crashes that occur every year in the United States (source: US DOT, NHTSA). In fact, many of the survey respondents directly tied the conditions of pavement markings to general highway safety, with three out of four drivers surveyed believing the visibility of road lines could use improvement and an overwhelming majority (86%) believing that if the lines on local roads were wider and brighter they would be more comfortable driving at night.

Widening road lines will give drivers improved visibility and safety conditions, ultimately leading to a reduction in the number of accidents. Studies in New Jersey, Florida and Montana noted crash reductions where wider lines were implemented. In an area of Morris County, N.J., where eight-inch lines were installed, crashes were reduced by 16 percent, versus eight percent elsewhere in the state. Florida implemented wider lines in 1992 as part of an "Elder Roadway User" program. Now, all lines in Florida are six inches. Implementation was based on older driver surveys conducted in Florida, which showed that older drivers prefer the wider markings.

The HHSS initiative is working to help save lives and make our roads safer by widening pavement markings on roads and highways from the current four inches to six or eight inches. To achieve this, HHSS has launched a public awareness campaign in Pennsylvania. Through the initiative, drivers are asked to do their part by contacting their local government representatives to improve the quality and safety conditions of the state's roads and highways by widening the pavement markings. In coming months, HHSS will roll out educational programs to additional states in need of more clearly and brightly marked roadways.

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