Safety Studies

French Engineering, LLC (FE) is a committed partner in the Federal Highway Administration’s “The Safe System Approach” initiative to have a highway system free of fatalities and serious injuries.   We also believe that providing users with a wide range of safe mobility options is one important key to a sustainable future.  FE provides the following services in support of this vision:

• Corridor Safety Studies
• Highway Safety Manual Analysis
• Roadway Safety Audits
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Assessments
• Prevention of Wrong-Way Movements in Freeway Interchanges
• Ballbank Study and Signing of Horizontal Curves
• Intersection and Driveway Sight Distance
• Crash Diagrams
• Low-Cost Safety Improvements
• Traffic Calming Measures

We have participated in numerous safety reviews as part of corridor studies and other projects. The level of involvement and the format of safety reviews varies based on the nature of the project. We routinely perform Highway Safety Manual analyses on large corridor projects that are highly safety driven and require a quantitative analysis to illustrate the benefits of the identified improvements. FE has also performed qualitative safety analysis in which crash diagrams and a thorough investigation of site conditions are used to develop safety improvement countermeasures.  We have also participated in network screening for Safe Streets for All (SS4A) projects by using ArcGIS analysis.

We have participated as a team member on over 50 Roadway Safety Audits in western Pennsylvania. The Roadway Safety Audit (RSA) process requires field views of roadway operations during the peak periods, school arrivals/dismissals, and darkness. The RSA brings together safety engineers, stakeholders and roadway owners, including PennDOT and municipalities. As part of the audit, the RSA team performs field views, analyzes crash data/diagrams, reviews current and projected traffic volumes, and interviews key people. Once complete, the RSA team prepares recommendations, from short-term, low-cost improvements to long-term, higher-priced investments, in a presentation and a report to the roadway owners. Many recommendations have been implemented as a result of this program, and we are proud to be part of this team.