Run-Off-Road Collisions: Appendix 5

Description of New York DOT Skid Accident Reduction Program (SKARP)

Emphasis Area
Run-off-Road and Head-On Crashes

Strategy Number and Name
Skid Resistance

Agency and Jurisdiction
New York State DOT

Problem(s) Identified
Inadequate pavement friction associated with low residue dolomites.

Goals and Objectives Established
Identify, friction test, and treat pavements with high proportions of wet-road accidents and low friction numbers. Reduce wet-road accidents by 50 percent.

Description of Strategy(ies) Implemented
NYSDOT's Skid Accident Reduction Program (SKARP) incorporates safety into pavement maintenance activities. Each year, between 100 and 150 sites on state owned roadways and arterials are identified as Priority Investigation Locations (PIL). Sites are selected based on the percentage of accidents which occurred on wet pavement. If 35 percent or more of the total accidents are wet road accidents, then a friction test is performed on these pavements. If the friction test results are below 32, then the site must be treated usually by either resurfacing with high friction aggregates or a one-inch microsurfacing.

Summary of Implementation Effort
During the summer of 1995, thirteen sites on Long Island were selected (based on the criteria above) and treated. In 1996, seven additional sites were treated along with 16 locations in 1997, seven locations in 1998, 15 locations in 1999, and 11 locations for future projects. This is a total of 69 sites treated on Long Island since 1995. Additional sites across the state have also been treated since 1995.

Summary of Results
Before-and-after accident analyses of the Long Island sites have shown that more than 800 annually recurring wet road accidents have been reduced due to treatments between 1995 and 1997. Additional reductions occurred in the later years. The results supported earlier findings that treatment of wet road accident locations result in reductions of 50 percent for wet road accidents and 20 percent of total accidents. The benefits achieved in other regions across the state have yet to be fully evaluated.

Another achievement of SKARP is the cooperation among various departments of NYSDOT including the Traffic Engineering and Highway Safety Division, the Technical Services Division, and the Department's 11 Regional Offices. The close coordination among these groups has contributed to the program's success.

Contact Person and Information
Jonathan Bray, phone 518-457-2472.