Every day, municipal highway crews wrestle with the same grim reality: more than 42,000 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2021 alone – a figure local officials feel in their own communities (highways.dot.gov). Tight budgets often force leaders to choose between large capital projects and day-to-day maintenance, but safety doesn’t always require seven-figure construction jobs. A growing body of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) evidence shows that modest, quick-build countermeasures can cut serious crashes by double-digit percentages while staying well under the typical $100,000 HSIP project threshold (highways.dot.gov). Below are the “best bets”; proven, affordable tools any road agency can deploy this fiscal year.

Upgrade Signs & Markings for Instant Visibility

Countermeasure	Typical Material/Labor Cost*	Crash-Reduction Benefit
Retroreflective signal backplates	$400–$800 per head	↓ 15 % total crashes at signalized intersections (safety.fhwa.dot.gov)
6-inch edge lines & durable pavement markings	~$5,000 per mile	Up to ↓ 19 % severe crashes on two-lane roads (safety.fhwa.dot.gov)
Fluorescent chevrons & curve delineation	<$1,500 per curve	↓ 16–25 % curve-related crashes (fhwa.dot.gov)

*Costs vary by region; values reflect recent DOT bid tabs and LTAP estimates.

Why it works: Human drivers detect shape and contrast faster than color; thicker markings, larger legends, and retroreflection extend decision-making time, especially at night or in rain.

Make Nighttime a Priority

Nighttime fatality rates are three times higher than daytime, and 76 % of pedestrian deaths occur after dark (fhwa.dot.gov). FHWA’s new Nighttime Visibility for Safety initiative spotlights three inexpensive fixes:

• LED intersection lighting – strategic pole placement and modern luminaires cut nighttime intersection crashes 33–38 % (fhwa.dot.gov).
• Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) – retrofit kits ($10k-15k) trim pedestrian crashes 47 % and can be solar-powered for zero trenching (fhwa.dot.gov).
• Advance yield/stop bars and signs – paint and post packages deliver a 25 % pedestrian-crash drop for a few hundred dollars per crossing (fhwa.dot.gov).

Keep Vehicles on the Roadway

Tool	Unit Cost	Effectiveness
Center-line & shoulder rumble strips	$3,000–$5,000 per mile	↓ 38–79 % run-off-road injury crashes (safety.fhwa.dot.gov)
High-Friction Surface Treatments (HFST)	$25–35 per sq yd	↓ 35–57 % wet-road and curve crashes (state syntheses) (fhwa.dot.gov)
SafetyEdge ℠ pavement treatment	+$0.20 per linear foot during paving	Mitigates drop-off crashes; adopted as a PSC (highways.dot.gov)

These fixes use simple milling or thin aggregate overlays to create audible, tactile, or friction cues that correct driver error before it turns deadly.

Tame Speed Without Tickets

• Portable speed-feedback signs (radar “Your Speed” displays) show 9 – 15 mph average speed reductions for less than $4,000 per unit.
• Gateway treatments & lane narrowing with paint/flexible posts create the “street feels smaller” illusion and routinely shave travel speeds 5 – 7 mph for under $10,000 per approach.
• Road Diets (4-lane to 3-lane conversions), executed with restriping only, trim total crashes 19 – 47 % for pennies per square foot of paint (safety.fhwa.dot.gov).

Low-Cost Intersection Packages

FHWA bundles multiple “systemic stop-controlled intersection” treatments:  larger STOP signs, doubled advance warning, stop-bar extensions, and minor sight-distance vegetation trimming — into turnkey plans often costing <$15,000 per site yet delivering corridor-wide reductions of 10–30 %. Several state DOTs have pre-approved “Intersection Safety Implementation” contracts so counties can order work with one purchase order (highways.dot.gov).

Lighting: The Unsung Hero

Modern LED retrofits qualify as a PSC and can chop 42 % of nighttime pedestrian-injury crashes at lit intersections, while using up to 60 % less electricity than high-pressure sodium fixtures (fhwa.dot.gov). Many utilities now offer rate-payer funded conversion programs that eliminate capital cost altogether.

Funding & Procurement Tips

1. Leverage HSIP & SS4A: Federal HSIP will reimburse up to 90 % of eligible safety countermeasures; 35 % of 2021 HSIP projects cost under $100k, proving small jobs get funded (highways.dot.gov).
2. Bundle sites: Combining 10-20 low-volume roads into a single rumble-strip or striping contract slashes mobilization and inspection costs.
3. Use Job-Order Contracting (JOC): Many states have per-unit price catalogs for signs, markings, guardrail, and lighting – perfect for quick wins before fiscal year-end.
4. Tap MPO set-asides: Metropolitan Planning Organizations often reserve Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) money for “quick-build” safety pilot projects.

Implementation Checklist

Step	Action
Data-driven selection	Use crash maps plus roadway attributes (curve radius, ADT, lighting) to flag systemic risk corridors.
Pick proven PSCs	Cross-check your shortlist with FHWA’s 28-item Proven Safety Countermeasures table (highways.dot.gov).
Engage maintenance forces	Many countermeasures (edge lines, sign upgrades) can be installed by in-house crews with minimal training.
Measure & iterate	Before-after crash and speed studies help justify scaling the program region-wide.

When budgets are tight, doing nothing carries its own cost in lives lost and lawsuits filed. Fortunately, dozens of rigorously tested, toolbox-ready improvements, thicker paint, brighter signs, audible rumble strips, smarter lighting ,  can be delivered in weeks and pay back in saved lives for years. Municipalities that embrace these small steps today build the political capital (and safety record) needed to justify larger reconstruction projects tomorrow. Start with one corridor, document the wins, then let the data write next year’s budget narrative.

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For more guidance, download FHWA’s full Proven Safety Countermeasures resources and contact your State LTAP for training opportunities.