Message from the Director: The role of pavement in saving lives

The role of pavement in saving lives

The United States continues to face an unacceptably high level of roadway fatalities, even as recent data show modest improvement. Each year, approximately 40,000 lives are lost on U.S. roadways. When viewed globally, the statistics are even more troubling: the
U.S. experiences roughly 12.2 roadway deaths per 100,000 population, nearly double that of most other high-income
countries; a statistic we should not be leading. This is occurring despite the fact that vehicles are safer than ever, equipped with advanced crash-avoidance and occupant-protection systems. The implication is clear: vehicle improvements alone are not enough. Systemwide solutions, including the roadway itself, must play a larger role.

The National Academy of Sciences report, Tackling the Road Safety Crisis: Saving Lives Through Research and Action, reinforces that roadway safety must be approached as a system, with pavements as a critical component. Tire–pavement friction remains one of the most immediate factors influencing crash risk and severity, particularly in wet conditions. Improving surface texture through optimized mix design and durable surface treatments, including well-performing open-graded friction courses, can meaningfully reduce stopping distances and hydroplaning risk. Similarly, rumble strips and the pavement SafetyEdge technology provide essential driver feedback and recovery opportunities, helping prevent roadway departure crashes, which remain a leading cause of fatalities, particularly in rural areas where fatality rates are significantly higher.

What is increasingly clear is that addressing roadway safety effectively requires a multidisciplinary approach. Engineers, safety professionals, public health experts, and policymakers must work together to identify where risks are greatest and deploy the most effective countermeasures. Emerging research tools, particularly artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics, offer new opportunities to proactively identify high-risk locations based on crash history, traffic patterns, and roadway characteristics. These tools can help agencies move beyond reactive strategies and prioritize targeted, data-driven investments in friction improvements, surface treatments, and other proven safety enhancements that will have the greatest impact.

Equally important is fostering a renewed safety culture across the surface transportation community. Safety cannot be treated as a secondary concern; it must be a primary performance objective embedded in design, materials selection, construction, and maintenance. Every resurfacing project is an opportunity to improve friction, every shoulder treatment an opportunity to reduce run-off-road crashes, and every design decision a chance to make the system more forgiving of human error.

The challenge before us is not a lack of knowledge. It is a matter of prioritization, coordination, and implementation. By elevating the role of pavements in the broader safety system and leveraging new tools and partnerships, we can make meaningful progress in reducing fatalities and creating a
safer transportation network for all users.

Randy C. West, Ph.D., P.E. | Director and Peter and Lisa Wilson Distinguished Professor