Roadway Safety

The 11th Edition MUTCD is Out: Here are The Key Takeaways

The 11th Edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices included important changes designed to enhance the role of TMMA member’s innovative roadway surface treatment products. These products significantly improve roadway safety in communities around the world. TMMA and its industry partners are committed to utilizing sustainable safety materials and pioneering pavement marking products to fulfill the present and future requirements of all road users across the globe. TMMA members also promote and expedite the advancement of new automotive safety technologies.

Road Treatment Solutions

The expanded use of cost effective pedestrian and cyclist road treatment solutions is strongly encouraged, especially in urban, high-traffic and pedestrian settings. Safe road treatments should include green bike lanes, red transit lanes, bike symbols and high-visibility crosswalks.

Six-Inch Wide Pavement Markings

The MUTCD’s 11th Edition also provides guidance for agencies seeking to improve rural roadway safety or prepare roadways for driving automation system technologies through the use of wider, well-maintained longitudinal road markings that can reduce crashes by nearly 40%.

Additional Pavement Markings

A new Part 5 within the federal manual to accommodate automated vehicles encourages agencies to consider supplements to road markings to improve safety. These include six-inch wide longitudinal lines, continuous work zone markings, dotted edge line extensions on exit and entrance ramps, chevron markings, contrast markings and raised pavement markings.

The use of wider, well-maintained longitudinal road markings…can reduce crashes by nearly 40%.
Ready to Make a Difference?

How Agencies Can Work Together to Prioritize Roadway Safety

The newest edition of the MUTCD contains provisions that should dramatically expand the benefits and opportunities for road markings and colored surface treatments to create a brighter, clearer, uniform road network while improving roadway safety for all road users, especially those most vulnerable.

Establish Uniform Roadway Safety Criteria

The MUTCD’s purpose “is to establish uniform national criteria for the use of traffic control devices that meet the needs and expectancy of road users on all streets, highways, pedestrian and bicycle facilities and site roadways open to public travel (Section 1A.01).” The new MUTCD further permits transportation agencies to target traffic control devices to support “motor vehicle operators, including driving automation systems and vulnerable road users.”

Protection for Vulnerable Road Users

Unlike previous versions of the MUTCD, “protection of vulnerable road users is a priority in this manual.” There are major vulnerable road user-related changes in the latest manual designed to clarify the process for reduced urban speeds, facilitating the installation of dedicated bike and transit lanes and the installation of high-visibility pedestrian crosswalks. The creation of a new Part 5 for automated vehicles seeks to inform agencies on practices designed to accommodate driving automation system technologies while simultaneously being more beneficial to road users.

Require Six-Inch Road Markings

The 11th Edition continues to focus agency attention on the value of six-inch wide lines as a beneficial safety countermeasure. In Sections 3A.04 Support paragraph 04, 05, and 08; 3B.09, and 5B.02, language affirming the safety benefit of six-inch wide longitudinal lines is included: “Increasing edge line width from 4 inches to at least six inches can be a beneficial countermeasure on all facility types in both urban and rural areas.”

“Increasing edge line width from four inches to six inches has been shown to be a beneficial countermeasure to enhance safety at locations with a history of run-off-the-road crashes (see Section 3B.09). Wider normal lines with a six-inch width instead of the minimum four-inch width are beneficial to both human drivers and driving automation systems (see Section 5B.02). Section 5B.02 contains information on pavement marking considerations for driving automation systems.”

TMMA strongly supported the FHWA proposed NPA language in December 2020 and the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices in January 2020 in which they required the installation of six-inch wide longitudinal markings on high-speed, high-traffic roadways.

TMMA encourages agencies to examine the wider line language provided in the 11th Edition and to maximize its use throughout their network.

Why Adequate Traffic Markings Matter
The Safe System Approach

The United States and the European Union have adopted a Safe System Approach to improving roadway safety for all road users. This approach seeks to layer safety elements and to account for human error. The Safe System Approach takes a holistic approach to eliminating fatal and serious injury crashes.

Every year, thousands of pedestrians and bicyclists lose their lives in accidents involving motor vehicles. The most recent U.S. annual crash data shows 7,508 pedestrians and 961 bicyclists were killed on our nation’s roadways. While less than 20% of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, rural road fatalities consistently account for more than half of all the fatalities recorded.

“Whether rural or urban setting, motorist or vulnerable road user, these numbers are not just statistics, they represent families and friends including mothers, fathers, children and loved ones whose lives were tragically cut short too soon.”

— Rob Dingess, President of TMMA

Safe System Approach

Minimize Human Error

A Safe System Approach to vulnerable road users and rural road safety seeks to account for and minimize consequences of human error. Vulnerable road users have the least protection and are most at-risk for serious injury or death in any crash scenario. These include cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists, micro-mobility and road workers, among others. Using this approach, motorists operating vehicles on rural roads should be considered the next layer of at-risk humans. Traffic markings, including colored pavements and high-friction surfacing, are part of a redundant safe systems approach in urban and rural settings.

Automation System Technologies

The 11th Edition provides new opportunities for road agencies to develop a safe systems approach to vulnerable road users and rural road safety. An example of a safe systems approach embedded in the MUTCD is the new Part 5 for automated vehicles which embodies the full spectrum of driving automation system technologies. Nearly all new vehicles sold in the U.S. and in Europe are equipped with some form of lane support technology. Edge line and centerline pavement markings that are six-inches wide are the most ubiquitous lane localization feature for rural road safety. They are a recommended feature to enhance safety for human drivers (Section 3B.09) and for driving automation in Section 5B.02.

Join Us in Making a Difference

Spread Awareness

Share this message with your friends, family, and colleagues. Positive change takes a collaborative effort. Together, we can raise awareness about the importance of non-motorized vehicle safety.

Contact Your Local Representatives

Reach out to your elected officials and urge them to prioritize pedestrian and bicyclist safety by investing in six-inch wide pavement markings, colored transit lanes, and high-visibility pedestrian crosswalks.

Get Involved

Join community organizations and advocacy groups dedicated to promoting safer streets for everyone. Together, we can amplify each other’s voices to create lasting change.

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Research Support:

  1. Harper, C. D., Hendrickson, C. T., Samaras, C. Cost and benefit estimates of partially-automated vehicle collision avoidance technologies. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 95, 104–115. 2016.
  2. Responses to the FHWA ADS RFI: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/01/18/2018-00784/automated-driving-systems.
  3. FHWA Automation National Dialogues: https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/automationdialogue/index.htm
  4. J. Cicchino. Effects of lane departure warning on police reported crash rates. Journal of Safety Research, 66, 2018, pp 61-70.
  5. E. S. Park, P. J. Carlson, R. J. Porter and C. K. Andersen, “Safety effects of wider edgelines on rural, two-lane highways,” Accident Analysis and Prevention, vol. 48, pp. 317-325, 2012.
  6. J. D. Miles, P. J. Carlson, R. Eurek, J. Re and E. S. Park, “Evaluation of Potential Benefits of Wider and Brighter Edge Line Pavement Markings,” Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, Austin, TX, 2010.