Safety Studies
French Engineering is a committed partner in the Federal Highway Administration’s “Toward Zero Deaths” 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. French Engineering 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
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. Recently, we performed Highway Safety Manual Analysis on two large corridor projects that were highly safety driven and required a quantitative analysis to illustrate the benefits of the identified improvements. French Engineering 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 participated as a team member on over 30 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 persons. 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.
