Rural America, where about a quarter of the United States’ population lived in 2007, supplies nourishment to the world, offers the allure of a way of life that is far less hectic and complicated than that of urban dwellers, and is home to nearly 80 percent of this country’s roadway miles. Unfortunately, even though rural roads carry only about a third of U.S. traffic, they nevertheless account for more than half of its traffic fatalities, 57 percent in 2007 alone.