Vehicle crashes are one of our Nation’s most serious social, economic and health issues.
In 2012, for example, vehicle crashes accounted for more than 30,000 deaths, two million injuries,
and $230 billion in economic losses. What can be done to reduce these numbers?
The Highway Safety Improvement Program, or HSIP, is a Federal-aid program that helps
reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roadways. The HSIP provides
more than $2 billion each year for the implementation of highway safety improvement projects and
is a valuable resource to support your agency’s safety management.
Each state department of transportation, or State DOT, prepares a Strategic Highway Safety
Plan, or SHSP. The State DOT consults with a wide range of stakeholders that represent
the four Es of roadway safety: engineering, education, enforcement and emergency medical services.
The state must then regularly evaluate and update the plan to obtain HSIP funds.
The SHSP is a collaborative effort that ensures all stakeholders contribute to the plan’s
development and implementation. The partners usually include a governor’s representative,
regional and metropolitan planning organization members, and representatives of major transportation
modes. State and local traffic enforcement officials, local agency transportation officials
and many other organizations with a stake in roadway safety are also contributors.
The SHSP describes the mission and goals of the state’s highway safety efforts.
The plan also outlines the resources, strategies and actions needed to meet the mission and
goals. Stakeholders use a data-driven process and consider 4E solutions to develop strategies
that address safety. The SHSP guides the State’s roadway safety management.
The safety management process has three stages.
The first stage is planning. Every step in planning combines two approaches: site analysis
and systemic considerations . A site analysis identifies high-crash locations and the types
of crashes that occur in those locations. The systemic approach to safety identifies
high-risk roadway characteristics that are correlated with particular severe crash types.
Transportation professionals apply systemic solutions to specific corridors or to the
highway network as a whole. The planning stage identifies problems, develops
countermeasures, and prioritizes projects for implementation. The planning stage results
in a list of projects that meet HSIP requirements. This project list is incorporated into what
is known as the State Transportation Improvement Program, a list and description of projects
that a State intends to advance. The second stage in a safety improvement program
is implementation. Priority projects are scheduled and completed using available resources.
The third stage is evaluation to examine the effectiveness of completed highway safety
improvement projects. The evaluation results give data and information about design parameters
that cycle back into the planning stage to influence future highway safety improvement projects.
Highway safety improvement projects must meet
eligibility requirements to qualify for funding. The HSIP spells out general eligibility criteria.
State DOTs develop their highway safety improvement program based on the general HSIP eligibility
criteria and the state’s specific approach to highway safety.
Here is an example of how a county created an action plan that aligned with the state’s
Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Many of the roads in Auburn County have sharp curves.
The roads are former wagon trails and had been transformed over time without addressing
roadway alignment, clear zones or lighting. Consequently, many road departure crashes
at curves occur throughout the county. Auburn County sought information from road
department staff, the sheriff’s department and residents to supplement available data.
The county developed a Curve Action Plan and identified high-risk locations. A consultant
analyzed the critical locations and recommended systemic countermeasures. The county’s Curve
Action Plan aligned with the SHSP because of its focus on roadway departure crashes
along curves. The county received funding and implemented low-cost strategies, such
as warning signs, chevron signing, and raised pavement markers. The county even added non-traditional
“curve ahead” pavement markings, including directional arrows as a way to warn drivers.
The cost totaled less than $10,000. The signs and pavement markings reduced the
run-off-the-road crashes at the treated locations by 90 percent.
The HSIP is a valuable resource to support your safety management. The HSIP uses a systematic
and repeatable process, resulting in defensible decisions. Many local agencies have taken
advantage of this opportunity. How about your agency?
For additional information on funding, training and technical assistance to develop highway
safety improvement projects, contact your State DOT, the Local Technical Assistance
Program center, or the FHWA Division Office in your state.