Install Both Overhead Diagrammatic Warning Signage and Real-Time Detection Systems for Runaway Truck Deployments.
Observational Before and After Study of Truck Escape Ramps in Colorado Made Warning and Detection System Recommendations.
Colorado, United States
Evaluation of Feasibility of Deployment of Runaway Truck Detection and Warning Systems at Truck Escape Ramps
Summary Information
Truck escape ramps (TERs), typically found on routes with mountainous downgrades, help to safely contain and stop runaway commercial vehicles. This study evaluated the safety performance of experimental signing, detection and warning system for TRE using an observational before and after analysis. The safety evaluation focused on a 7.9-mile segment at Wolf Creek Pass on westbound SH-160A. Advanced warning diagrammatic signs of hairpin turns and escape ramp locations, as well as enhancement of signs with flashing beacons and “blank-outs” (i.e., LED messages that only display when activated) were implemented at Wolf Creek Pass in 2018. The study also evaluated the feasibility of deployment of this system at all TERs in Colorado.
The study noted the following lessons learned after conducting a before and after crash analysis for Wolf Creek Pass:
- Install both overhead diagrammatic warning signage and real-time detection systems. Given the difficulty in isolating the effects of individual components, crash reduction should be attributed to the system as a whole rather than to any single element.
- Avoid systems that necessitate a time lag in communications. Interventions must be made almost instantaneously due to the nature of runaway truck crashes.
- Design systems with solar and battery powered detection equipment for redundancy in winter weather.
