Chevron Signs
Chevron signs disrupt driver inattention, reduce speeds, and keep drivers on the roads at problematic rural curves.Chevron Signs
Rural roads aren’t like urban roads. While they can feel safer due to their lower levels of traffic and complexity, the reality is nearly half of all fatal crashes occur in rural locations. Around 17,000 people are killed each year in rural road departure crashes.
The high rate of crashes in rural areas is caused by many factors, including high speeds, sharp turns, poor lighting conditions, and a lack of safety features like pavement markings and guard rails. Fortunately, many of these hazards can be mitigated with effective, if underutilized safety treatments.
One of the best ways of increasing driver awareness, reducing speeds, and keeping drivers on the road is with Carmanah’s MX Series Chevron Signs.
CHEVRON-MX
Featuring powerful LEDs and embedded connectivity, Carmanah’s chevron signs are proven to reduce in-curve speeds and roadway departures from rural roads, while providing agencies convenient remote access to system locations, statuses, and settings.
Features:
- W1-8 sign with LEDs embedded around the chevron symbol
- Meets MUTCD Standards for color, flash rate, and dimming
- Ultra-bright simultaneous flash pattern
- Vehicle-activated or 24/7 operation
- Single- or double-sided poles/mounts
- Actionable email and text alerts
- Built-in knockdown sensor
- Quick setup and local access with MX Field App™
- Every system ships with 3 years of free connectivity, remote system access via MX Cloud™
Rural road safety solutions brochure
Carmanah offers a variety of products that can be implemented to increase safety on rural roads. For an at-a-glance introduction to these solutions, including our SpeedCheck®Advisory Speed Signs, Intersection Conflict Warning Systems, and LED Enhanced Chevron Signs, download our digital brochure.
Understanding rural roadway departure crashes
Roadway departure crashes are incidents in which a vehicle “crosses the edge or centerline, or otherwise leaves the travelled way.” When a vehicle enters a curve, centrifugal force works to keep it moving in a straight path rather than following the curve of the road.
While rural road departure crashes can happen anywhere, they are more likely to occur on rural roads than urban ones because they typically have:
- Poor driving conditions (e.g. potholes, snow and ice)
- Missing safety features (e.g. pavement markings, guard rails, etc.)
- Higher maximum speed limits
- Less congestion, and less “friction” in general (e.g. traffic signals, pedestrians)
- Inadequate nighttime lighting
Rural roads also tend to have have narrower lanes, with hazards like utility poles, trees, and other fixed objects located close to the roadway. And because rural roads are remote, the time to discover a crash are generally longer, with emergency services taking longer to arrive. (source, source)
How big a problem are rural road departure crashes?
85,002
The number of people killed in crashes on rural roads between 2016 and 2020 (source)
45%
The percentage of fatal crashes that occur on rural roads, despite just 19% of the population living there (source)
25%
The percentage of fatal vehicle crashes that occur each year along horizontal curves (source)
3 x
The average crash rate along horizontal curve sections of two-lane rural highways compared to straight sections (source)
How chevron traffic signs can help
| Treatment of Strategy | Crash Type | Crash Reduction Estimate (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Install chevron signs | Fatal and injury crashes | 16 |
| Install chevron signs | Lane departures at night | 25 |
| Install oversized chevon signs | Fatal and injury crashes | 15 |
| In-lane curve warning pavement markings | Total crashes | 35 |
| Increase clear zone from 3.3 to 16.7 ft | Total crashes | 22 |
| Increase clear zone from 16.7 to 30 ft | Total crashes | 44 |
| High friction surface treatments | Total crashes | 24 |
| High friction surface treatments | Wet road crashes | 52 |
| Shoulder rumble strips | Single-vehicle run-off road crashes | 15 |
Chevron sign effectiveness
Access your chevron signs from anywhere
Our newest MX Series LED Enhanced Chevron Signs take the powerful capabilities of our ultra-bright LEDs and configurable radar and add the convenience and reliability of remote connectivity.
Here’s what you get with a CHEVRON-MX:
- 3 years of free remote connectivity
- Actionable email and text alerts
- Remote system access via MX Cloud™
- Quick setup and local access with MX Field App™
- ‘Smart module’ design for simple installation and richer data
- Solar Power Report (SPR) prepared for every location
Meets MUTCD Standards
Buy America / BABA compliant
3-year system warranty
Chevron sign placement
According to the MUTCD, chevron signs should be be positioned on the outside of a turn or a curve, “in line with and at approximately a right angle to approaching traffic.”
Spacing of chevron signs should allow the road user to have at least two in view at any given point, until the change in alignment eliminated the need for the signs.
For guidelines on chevron spacing, see the FHWA video to the left, or refer to Table 2C-5 in the MUTCD.
More rural road safety solutions
Chevron signs are a highly effective tool for slowing vehicles and reducing roadway departures at horizontal curves, but they aren’t the only solution Carmanah offers for rural roadways. Check out our Rural Roads Safety Solutions Digital Brochure for an overview of our entire rural product line, or select a product below.
SpeedCheck® advisory speed signs capture drivers’ attention and signal that speeds should be reduced with intelligent warning displays.
Intersection conflict warning systems reduce crashes at unsignalized crossings by warning drivers about oncoming cross traffic.
SpeedCheck® radar speed signs have an immediate and long-lasting impact on driver behavior and can reduce speeds by as much as 9 mph.
Flashing beacons and signs can be used to alert drivers to potentially hazardous conditions, including wildlife, loose rocks, and trail crossing warnings.
Additional Resources for Rural Roads
Article
Rural Road Safety Overview
From sharp curves to blind intersections, rural roads present a slew of challenges for traffic engineers. Learn about the issues, and how to solve them.
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Data Sheet
CHEVRON-MX Data Sheet
Get an overview of the features and benefits of the CHEVRON-MX, plus all the tech specs and product options—all in a single, shareable document.
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Case Study
Dangerous curves on the Redwood Highway
Learn how Caltrans implemented a variety of Carmanah’s rural road solutions to improve safety on a meandering rural highway in Northern California.
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Brochure
Rural safety solutions brochure
Download this digital brochure for an introduction to Carmanah’s family of rural safety products.
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Let’s get started:
Download the data sheet or contact us
By collaborating with engineers, construction contractors, and urban planners around the world, Carmanah’s road safety professionals are helping create the safest, smartest cities on the planet.
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