SAFETY ASPECTS OF ROADSIDE SLOPE COMBINATIONS (ABRIDGMENT)

The research efforts discussed in this paper provide objective criteria for safe slope combinations and various ditch configurations. The research approach involved simulated traversals of approximately 168 combinations of front and back slopes from 3:1 to 6:1. Some 24 full-scale vehicle tests were conducted to provide validation data for the highway-vehicle-object simulation model (HVOSM). All simulated and full-scale tests were conducted at 60 mph (96.5 km/h) and 25-deg (0.4 rad) encroachment angles.