Installing a curve or some other measure that requires drivers to stray from a straight roadway section lowers their speed in the process.

Treatment Options

Drivers go much faster on a straight section of roadway because the conditions are conducive to that speed, but installing a curve or some other measure requiring drivers to stray from that straight roadway section lowers their speed in the process.

Physical displacement treatments involve moving drivers from the straight path, which requires them to slow down or evaluate their speed in the process.

Various treatments involving horizontal physical displacement within rural communities and settings can include these treatments:

• Bulb-outs, Neck-downs, Chokers, or Mid-block Crossings
• Chicanes or Serpentines
• Transverse Rumble Strips
• Roundabouts

References

Andrle, Stephen J., Keith K. Knapp, Tom McDonald, and Duane E. Smith. Iowa Traffic Control Devices and Pavement Markings: A Manual for Cities and Counties. Center for Transportation Research and Education, Iowa State University, 2001.

City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “Traffic Calming Policy. Section IV.” Traffic Calming Measures, 2003.

FHWA. Roundabouts: A Safer Choice. Federal Highway Administration, n.d.

MnDOT. Traffic Engineering Manual. Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul, MN,1999.