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                Media ContactsMenu OFFICE OF RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY AT THE TURNER-FAIRBANK HIGHWAY RESEARCH CENTER Home
                        Research
                        Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
                        Research and Technology Portfolio


            
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                R&T Portfolio: Safety Data and Analysis
    

    
    
    
      The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) safety data and analysis research studies how to use safety data to inform highway investment decisionmaking at all levels of Government. Safety data and analysis research is used to define what types of data should be collected and how they should be collected. Useful data are used to analyze the performance of safety improvements and promote promising projects. Research results are shared with local, State, and Federal safety programs to systematically combine and analyze crash data and roadway characteristics to uncover trends and identify high-priority safety needs. Only with good data and tools can agencies build, implement, and objectively evaluate performance-based safety plans.

Program Objectives:

Research and develop new methodologies and tools for safety data collection, management, analysis, and evaluation.
	Increase the utilization of proven methodologies and tools for safety data collection, management analysis, and evaluation.
	Broaden the integration of safety data and analysis into planning, programming, and project development processes.
	Improve understanding of the benefits of safety data-driven decisionmaking.
	Advance safety data and evaluation as a means of supporting transportation performance management and databases of roadway and crash information.

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        **Data Collection and Integration**
        FHWA provides roadway safety data to State and local agencies. FHWA is working to improve current datasets and develop the next version of databases and products.

Spotlight Project: Highway Safety Information System

Traffic on a slick or wet highway

The Highway Safety Information System is a multistate database that contains crash, roadway inventory, and traffic volume data for a select group of States. To incorporate modern data analysis techniques and increase the utilization of proven methodologies, FHWA is exploring big data analytics techniques which could be included in the next iteration of the tool.

Image copyright: © 2007 iStockphoto.
  


      **Data Analysis**
        FHWA provides technical assistance for safety data analysis to State and local agencies. As data needs change, FHWA is working to update tools and databases with innovative data analysis techniques.

Spotlight Project: Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE)

Construction on a bridge

MIRE includes a listing of roadway and traffic elements critical to highway safety management and proposes standardized coding for each. By adopting MIRE, State and local transportation agencies will be able to link safety data to non-safety data, making collecting, storing, linking, and using all types of data easier.

Image source: USDOT.
  


      **Roadway Safety Tools**
        FHWA has developed tools for State and local agencies and decisionmakers to provide information on safety mitigation, including the Interactive Highway Safety Design Model.

Spotlight Project: Crash Modification Factors (CMFs) Clearinghouse

CMF logo

A CMF is used to compute the expected number of crashes after implementing a countermeasure on a road or intersection. The CMF Clearinghouse provides a searchable database of CMFs along with guidance and resources on using CMFs in road safety practice.

Image source: FHWA.Contact Us

**Office of Safety Research and Development**
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
6300 Georgetown Pike
McLean, VA 22101
United States

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          Last updated: Monday, March 7, 2022 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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