North Carolina Crash Report Instruction Manual - NHTSA

_____________________________________________________________________________________________Road feature information is important for site specific safety studies to identify actual orpotential safety problem locations. Bridge approach describes the area within 500 feet ofthe bridge. Intersection related refers to the influence area, which is caused by theoperation of the intersection. The distance to which the influence area extends from theintersection depends on the intersection design, and traffic control as well as the operatingcharacteristics.70. Road CharacterRoad character describes the change in horizontal direction of a roadway, determined at thepoint of curvature. Examples are: Straight, grade (a straight uphill or downhill road),Straight, bottom (sag - opposite of hillcrest). This information is important for determiningthe relationship between horizontal alignment related crashes to guide future highwaydesign, speed limits, and driver skill training (e.g., motorcycle curve entering speed).1. Straight, level2. Straight, hillcrest3. Straight, grade4. Straight, bottom (sag)5. Curve, level6. Curve, hillcrest7. Curve, grade8. Curve, bottom (sag)9. Other* (write in narrative)71. Road Classification (I., U.S., etc.)The character of service or function of streets or highways. Use highest class (use roadclass for local streets having route designation). This is important for comparing crashrates/safety experience of highways of similar design characteristics so as to identify thosehighways or highway sections that have abnormal rates/experience for future improvementsas well as generalized study of the highways in a region or state. Knowledge of the landuse is needed in analyzing crashes as part of a network analysis.1. Interstate2. U.S. route3. N.C. route4. State secondary route5. Local street6. Public vehicular area7. Private road, property or driveway8. Other* (write in narrative)ROADWAY_____________________________________________________________________________________________North Carolina DMV-349 Crash Report Instruction Manual Page 63