The results of an evaluation of effect of edge lines 4 in. and 8 in. wide on the lateral placement and speeds of vehicles on two-lane rural roads are presented. Data were collected at 12 locations on sections of roadway covering 55.2 mi. It was concluded from analyses of variance of lateral placement, lateral placement variance, encroachments by automobiles and trucks, mean speed, and speed variance that, overall, there were no statistically significant differences between the 4-in. and 8-in. wide edge lines. The mean lateral placement was significantly lower for the 8-in. line. However, changes in lateral placement and speed were not significant from a practical viewpoint.

There are a high number of run-off-the-road (ROR), drunken driving, and night accidents in rural areas. In 1980 there were 18, 792 ROR accidents in rural areas in Virginia (_!). Of this total, 269, or 1.4 percent, were fatal accidents; 8,367, or 44.6 percent, injury accidents; and 10,417, or 54.0 percent, property-damage accidents. ROR accidents accounted for 31.9 percent of all rural accidents, 38.5 percent of the fatalities in rural accidents (the largest percentage for any type of accident), and 35. l percent of the persons injured in rural accidents. Drinking drivers--persons driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI)--were involved in 12,025, or 20.4 percent, of all rural accidents. Accidents involving DUI accounted for 31. 7 percent of fatal accidents, 27. l percent of personal injury accidents, and 16.3 percent of property-damage accidents in rural areas. There were 25,621 accidents during nighttime, which constituted 43.5 percent of all accidents in rural areas.