FIELD EVALUATION OF HIGHWAY SAFETY HARDWARE MAINTENANCE GUIDELINES

The objective of this study was to use field tests to evaluate a procedure developed for the Federal Highway Administration for determining the frequencies at which highway safety hardware needs to be inspected and repaired. The selection of the frequencies that were determined was based on the accident history of the safety hardware and the level of service to be provided, which has its basis in the probability of completing the inspection and repair before a subsequent accident. It is concluded that the procedure is a useful method for determining highway safety hardware maintenance guidelines. Some problems are noted, and suggestions are made to resolve them.