Rural roads are made up of different types of materials 82% of road in U.S are rural Rural roads are made up of different types of materials Higher rates of speed ( 55mph) affects your: Line of sight Stopping distance Vehicle control

Characteristics Roadways Speed Traffic Controls Roadside Hazards Special Situations

Rural Roadways Ch 10 Nearly twice as many fatalities occur on Rural Roadways than on urban roadways. Why? ( higher rate of speed)

SPEED Posted speed limits indicate maximum speed for ideal conditions Basic speed law states that you should not drive faster than road or traffic conditions permit Advisory Speed Limits Minimum Speed Limit

How should you use the IPDE process during rural driving? Give yourself more TIME! Activity- You will need a piece of paper and pen Identify hazards farther away Predict conflicts farther away Decide what to do while you still have time Execute your decision so you have time to act

Stats! 42% of deaths in roadside collisions occur on curves. 1/3 of all roadside collisions involve a vehicle that rolls over 1/3 involve occupant ejection SWITCHBACKS

CURVES Take quick glances across the curve to identify oncoming traffic Maintain proper lane position by glancing ahead at intended path of travel Identify the advisory speed sign SLOW DOWN BEFORE THE CURVE!

Passing and Being Passed on Rural Roads INTENTIONALLY SPEEDING UP WHILE BEING PASSED IS ILLEGAL!

DO NOT PASS WHEN... A solid yellow line is present When sight is limited When cross traffic is a hazard When approaching a HILL (700-1000 ft), CURVE, INTERSECTION( 100 feet), BRIDGE, or railroad crossing( 100 feet) Cannot complete a pass before the start of a no passing zone

SHOULD I PASS? IS IT WORTH IT TO PASS? IS IT LEGAL TO PASS? IS IT SAFE TO PASS? If you answer yes to all of these questions then give it a go! Do you have an ESCAPE PATH?

Answer yes to all previous questions safe? legal? worth it? Prepare to pass by accelerating When is it safe to move in to the right lane again?

Being passed? Be AWARE of passing cars Stay to the right and slow down Accelerate if you see that the driver drops back and decides not to pass so you give them room to move back in to the lane

Multilane DRIVERS SHOULD USE RIGHT LANE Passing should be in left lane

High altitudes Gravity pulls vehicles down hill ( downshift) or use lower gear Higher altitudes means less Oxygen

Different Rural Situations Night dangers Pull out Areas Runaway Vehicle Ramps

Animals More than 4% of all collisions in the U.S. involve animals 500,000 collisions with deer occur each year When do they occur? What can be done to lower these numbers?