Maini and Asija

Safety Hazard of Existing Kerb Design for Highways

Dr Pawan Maini, P.E. Navdeep Asija

(PhD, University of Colorado) M.Tech Student
Director Indian Institute of Technology,
Halcrow Consulting India Limited Hauz Khas
38 Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar III New Delhi-110 016
New Delhi – 110 024 Phone (011)-22714381
Phone – (011) 2983 4944/5
Fax- (011) 2984 5881
Email- MainiP@halcrow.com Email- navdeep.asija@gmail.com

Abstract
Safety aspects are an integral part that needs to be considered for all types of facilities,
including Highways and Expressways. This is particularly important in the Indian scenario,
where a significant length of highways is being reconstructed and widened. A serious flaw in
the design of high rise kerbs observed in our existing Indian construction practice is the
presence of the 15-40 cm high cast-in-situ kerbstone within the clear zonei. The poor drainage
function coupled with the result when vehicles collide with it clearly demonstrates that this is
a significant safety hazardii and results in more number of road crashes, especially rollover
type on divided carriageways. This in turn results in increased maintenance and user cost.
In this paper safety aspects of the road design have been reviewed, drawn upon from the
results of previous work and the modified design recommendations for the kerb as a key
element in the safety aspects of a range of road design elements have been presented
Introduction
Kerb is an important road cross sectional element. There are many different types of road
kerbs used throughout. Road kerbs serve a number of purposes including retaining the
carriageway edge, preventing spreading and loss of structural integrity, acting as a barrier or
demarcation between road traffic and pedestrians or verges, providing physical check to
prevent vehicles leaving the carriageway and forming a channel along which surface water
can be drained. There are various types of kerbs used for different types of facilities. The
focus of this study is restricted to kerb design for Highways and Expressway.

Indian Kerb Design Standards

A serious flaw in the cross-sectional element design has been observed in the existing Indian
construction and design practice is the presence of the 15-40cm high kerb within the clear
zone (i.e., the distance from the edge of the travelled way to either a fixed obstacle or non-
traversable slope) which is a significant safety hazard. This results in more number of road
crashes, especially rollover type of crashes on divided carriageway. Additionally, the current
design is not adequate for road drainage. As per American Association for State Highways
and Transportation Officials (AASHTOiii), the presence of median kerb is the biggest safety
hazard to moving vehicles where vehicle speeds are expected to be more than 80km/hr*.

* In General, “barrier curbs are not desirable for use on freeways and other high speed roadways. An out of control vehicle may overturn or become airborne as a
result of impacting the kerb. Kerbs are not adequate to prevent a vehicle from leaving the roadway. Where positive action is required, a suitable traffic barrier
should be provided. Curbs are not suitable for use in front of traffic barriers because they can result in unpredictable post-impact trajectories”-AASHTO
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As part of this paper, new designs for the kerb and median are proposed based on the specific
needs, our background workiv, research studies and experimentation to meet actual or
impending change in traffic character, road function and international road safety practice
Case Study
Traffic crash data of National Highway-2 from km 18.8 to km 199.63 (Delhi-Agra) has been
obtained from the Operations and Maintenancev (O&M) agency for the period May 2002 to
December 2003 from their monthly reports submitted to NHAI†. This data have been
collected by O & M agency as per road crash inventory made by site in charge of the agency
after visiting crash location with the help of visual inspection, first information report (FIR),
statements of the victim and eye witnesses. 489 accidents were reviewed and it was
determined that 275 of these were rollover crashes. As summarized in Table 1, it can be seen
that more than half of the rollover crashes were because of an impact with the median or with
a fixed object.
Table 1: Rollover and other types of crashes resulted with or without impact of any fixed object/median
for NH-8 (Accident data for NH-2, km 18.8 to 199.63 for the period May 2002 to December 2003)

No Impact
* Impacted Fixed Percentage
(%) of the Type with Fixed Total total crashes
Object/Median
is given in Object the
parenthesis
A report Rollover 62 (14%) 74 (13%) 136 (27%) on Road
Safety Audit
Others 306 (63%) 47 (10%) 353 (72%)
(RSA) conducted
by the
Total 368 (77%) 121 (23%) 489
Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP)vi at Indian Institute of
Technology on the National Highway-8 (Delhi-Jaipur Section) from km 42.00 to km 63.00
between period September 2002 to January 2004 shows that rollover crashes contributed 29%
of the total number of crashes and 22% (Table 2) of the rollover crashes occur due to vehicle
hitting high median kerb or other fixed object/utilities present within 1-2 meters of the
carriageway edge. This too is a relatively high proportion as compared to the other type of
crashes, which is a clear indication that kerb is resulting in a significant number of crashes.
Table 2: Rollover and other types of crashes resulted with or without impact of any fixed object/median
for NH-8 (Accident data for NH-8, km 42.00 to 63.00 for the period September 2002 to January 2004)

No Impact
Impacted Fixed
Type with Fixed Total
Object/Median
Object

Rollover 66 (23%) 19 (7%) 85 (30%)

†
National Highways Authority of India
i K.W.Ogden, “Safer Roads –A Guide to Road Safety Engineering” by Avebury Technical, England, 1996

ii Dinesh Mohan, “The Road Ahead-Traffic Injuries and Fatalities in India” by Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme, IIT Delhi, Year 2004

iii A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, American Association State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), 2001

iv Detailed Project Report from Km 239 to Km 282, Raipur-Arang Section of NH-6, India by Halcrow Consulting India Limited, New Delhi

v Intertoll ICS Cecons O & M Company (P) Limited, Monthly Progress Report for the Period of May 2002 to December 2002

vi Road Safety Audit of National Highway No. 8, (Delhi-Jaipur Section) by Navdeep Asija , Geetam Tiwari and Dinesh Mohan at Transportation Research & Injury Prevention

Programme (TRIPP), Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi (India)

Maini and Asija

Others 193 (67%) 10 (3%) 203 (70%)

Total 260 (90%) 29 (10%) 288

* Percentage (%) of the total crashes is given in the parenthesis

Proposed Kerb Design and Features

Given that the existing kerb results in a significant number of road traffic crashes and does
not address road drainage appropriately, a new kerb design is proposed. Five specific designs
are proposed for different functions and these are elaborated next.
1. Low Rise Median Kerb for Straight Road Section
5-10cm high kerb is proposed for the median. Figure 1 shows the mechanism of low rise
median kerb, which demonstrates that due to the concavity if any vehicle hits the kerb it does
not become airborne, but rather is redirected on to the road. .

Figure 1: Mechanism of Low Rise Median Kerb

5-10cm low rise median kerb is

suggested to protect the road edge

2. Safety Kerbs for Intersections and other Circulating Areas

High rise safety kerb is recommended for highway applications where the highest level of
visual and physical deterrence is essential, especially at intersection areas, U-Turns and other
circulating areas like connection of service road with highway and modern roundabouts. This
design helps protect the property and road furniture and also provides adequate depth to
retain soil for the vegetation within the median and island. The curvature helps redirect
Maini and Asija

vehicles on the road if they mistakingly hit the kerb. Figure 2 and Figure 3 shows the view
and cross section of this type of kerb.

Figure 2 : High Containment Kerb

Figure 3: High Rise Safety Kerb Section

3. Side Offlet Kerbs
Side offlet Kerbs, sometimes known as Weir Kerbs, are typically used with behind-kerb
drainage systems. This design is not often used nowadays, but was quite popular 25 years
ago. They often have a cast iron or steel grille or facing to keep the larger waste items of the
street litter out of the sewers.

Figure 4: Side Offlet Kerbs

4. Combined Kerb and Drainage Systems
The basic system of this type of Kerb comprise two components; the U-profile base block,
and the top block, with the elliptical drainage inlets that allows storm water to drain from a
carriageway. The system is enhanced by the inclusion of junction units, outfall blocks,
transition blocks, top units varying profiles and base units of varying depths.
Maini and Asija

Figure 5: Combined Kerb and Drainage System

A combined kerb and drainage system offers significant advantages in both costs and
capacity over traditional construction methods, and we are now beginning to see more and
more road constriction projects use this system of drainage in preference to the old buried
pipe systems. It is our opinion that we will see even more applications for these innovative
systems in the coming years.
5. Side Kerb with Bottom Drain
Failure to properly drain a pavement can cause all sorts of problems. Water on the surface
encourages mosses, algae and other vegetation to colonise the paving; in icy conditions even
shallow puddles can become extremely dangerous ice rinks and over the longer term,
standing water can actually damage the paving itself.

Figure 6: Kerb and Bottom Drain

1m wide and 1m deep bottom drain combined with edge kerb is proposed for this purpose.
Figure 6 shows the arrangement of bottom drain combined with 10-12cm high half-battered
kerb. This will take the runoff from the paved surface and 15cm outlet has been provided to
the other side of the drain to accommodate discharge from the properties as well. 10cm thick
precast concrete covers have been proposed to take vehicle load.

Pre-cast Kerb Advantages

Although these designs can be accomplished either with a kerb laying machine or cast-in-situ,
it is recommended that they be implemented using precast block lengths varying form 1 to 2
m. It should be noted that the Ministry of Road Transportation and Highways (MoRTH),
India currently recommends cast-in-situ kerb design as stated in clause 408.3 in
“Specification for Road and Bridge Works, (Fourth Revision)”. The general benefits of the
Precast Kerbs as follows;
Maini and Asija

 The unit can be precast in a yard on a production line basis.

 When installed specialist machinery and skilled manpower is not required.
 When installed it as full strength immediately so is not at risk of damage whilst
curing.
 Operational it is not subject to the same damage as the standard kerb as it deflects
traffic.
 When there is a road crash traffic disruption will reduce, as overturned vehicles are
difficult to remove.
 When there is an accident the disruption will tend to stay on one carriageway whereas
a rollover vehicle disrupts traffic on both carriageways.
The cost of road repairs is reduced; a strong correctly designed precast kerb is less prone to
impact damage
Conclusion
A review of the kerb design as is being implemented is presented in this study. As has been
demonstrated through a study of road traffic crash data, the current design is a safety hazard
and contributes to a significant number of road crashes. Therefore, alternative designs are
presented for all aspects related to expressways, including the primary road stretches and also
off-expressway elements including intersections. It is expected that adoption of these or
similar designs will result in significant reduction in road crash related costs and will also
lead to an improvement in the drainage ability of the facility.

References