USA Banner
  U.S. flag
              An official website of the United States government Here's how you knowOfficial US Government Icon
              **Official websites use .gov**A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
            Secure Site Icon
              **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                  A **lock** ( A locked padlock ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 
 U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation
 Search DOT
            Search
                    About FHWAFHWA Organization
                Headquarters Offices
                Field Offices
                Strategic Plan
                Business Opportunities
                Staff Directories
                Careers
                Highway History
                Contact UsProgramsAcquisition Management
                Civil Rights
                Federal Lands Highway
                Infrastructure
                Innovative Program Delivery
                Operations
                Planning, Environment, and Realty
                Policy
                Research, Development, and Technology
                Safety
                Browse by TopicsResourcesCore Highway Topics
                Federal Aid Essentials
                Automation
                Complete Streets
                Laws and Regulations
                Policy & Guidance Center
                Section 508
                Publications and Statistics
                Professional Development
                National Highway Institute
                Resource Center
                Accessibility Resource Library
                FHWA Research LibraryNewsroomPress Releases
                Speeches & Testimony
                Photos
                Videos
                Media ContactsMenu FHWA Highway Safety Programs Home
                        Safety
                        Safety Data Analysis & Tools
                        Systemic Approach to Safety


            
            In This Section
        Safety Data Analysis & Tools
                Crash Modification Factor Clearinghouse
                Roadway Safety Data Program (RSDP)
                                Overview
                Data Driven Safety Analysis
                Data Management
                Safety Data Analysis Tools
                Local Data Integration
                Technical Assistance
                Case Studies
                Training
                Resources
                Highway Safety Manual (HSM)
                Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE) and FDEs
                Systemic
                                Overview
                Why Systemic
                Training
                Resources
                Road Safety Audits
                                Overview
                Benefits
                Legal Issues
                Steps of Conduct
                Training
                Resources
                
                Applying the Systemic Safety Approach on Local Roads
Introduction

Local and rural road owners rely upon crash data to identify and treat safety problems. The traditional "spot location" approach is focused on treating a specific location based on crash history. The "systemic approach" acknowledges that crash frequency or rates at specific locations alone are not always sufficient to determine which countermeasures to implement and where to implement them. This is often true on low-volume local and rural roadways where crash frequencies are lower and crash data are sometimes sparse or incomplete. Systemic implementation of safety countermeasures helps to address the most serious crash types on the entire road system, not just at specific high-crash spot locations.

The systemic safety approach is a two-pronged effort to reduce crashes and serious injuries on the roadways. This approach offers a means to: (1) identify crash types (e.g. intersection, roadway departure, pedestrians) and the location-related factors that contribute to the highest number of fatal and serious injury crashes of each type, and (2) widely implement low-cost countermeasures over several locations with similar crash characteristics and/or similar roadway features. Typically, systemic safety improvements are low-cost, require little maintenance, have documented crash reductions, and address specific crash types or crash risk factors (e.g., narrow shoulders).

Benefits of Systemic Safety Approach

The application of the systemic safety approach offers the following benefits:

Systemic safety improvements can reduce overall fatal and severe crashes of certain types within a jurisdiction more effectively than applying safety improvements at a small number of spot locations.
	The approach allows an agency to adapt for all levels of data availability and can help prioritize data collection needs.
	Countermeasures implemented systemically are typically low-cost improvements.
	Systemic safety improvements help agencies broaden their safety efforts and consider other risk factors in addition to crash history when identifying locations for potential safety improvement.
	Systemic safety improvements can be incorporated into planning, design, and maintenance policies, defended in tort liability cases, and used to develop a multi-year program of projects.
	The approach can bolster public confidence because it allows the agency to implement a proactive safety program.Systemic safety improvements can be promoted for future use in written policy, implemented through explicit roadway safety improvement projects, and included in capital projects and ongoing maintenance activities.

Case Study: Thurston County (Washington) Public Works Applies the Systemic Safety Model

Thurston County Public Works selected roadway departures in horizontal curves as their focus crash type based on a review of severe crash data, with 81 percent of the severe curve crashes occurring on arterial and collector roadways. Thurston County identified run-off-road type crashes on horizontal curves for systemic improvement and selected signing improvements on currently signed curves as the most effective countermeasure.

After reviewing crash data linked with roadway characteristics, the county identified the following risk factors to screen and prioritize candidate locations for systemic improvements:

Roadway class of major rural collector
	Presence of an intersection
	Traffic volume of 3,000 to 7,500 annual average daily traffic
	Edge clearance rating of 3 (on a scale of 1 to 3)
	Paved shoulders equal to or greater than 4 feet in width
	Presence of a vertical curve
	Consecutive horizontal curves (windy roads)
	Speed differential between posted approach speed and curve advisory speed of 0, 5, and 10 miles per hour
	Presence of a visual trap (a minor road on the tangent extended)Using a weighted scoring process, the county prioritized 270 signed curves for potential low-cost, low-maintenance safety investments with documented crash reductions, including: chevron and large arrow signs, larger signs, rumble strips, barrier delineation, and extension lines.

Upon conclusion of the systemic analysis, Thurston County applied for Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grant funding using the results as documentation for the request. The Washington State DOT approved the grant and the County is moving forward with implementing the countermeasures identified through this systemic analysis.

Resources

The Systemic Approach to Safety website (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safety/safety-data-analysis-tools/systemic) provides a variety of resources to support implementation of the systemic approach to safety, including but not limited to:

The Systemic Safety Project Selection Tool – this tool presents a step-by-step process to conduct systemic safety analysis, considerations for balancing safety investments between spot and systemic safety improvements, and techniques for evaluating the success of systemic safety projects and programs.
	Case Studies – several case studies highlight how other agencies have successfully improved safety through systemic implementations.
	Fact Sheet – this fact sheet provides a brief overview of the systemic safety approach along with the benefits and how it can be used.
	Narrated Presentation – this presentation covers the same materials as the overview flyer and can be presented at public meetings or in meetings with DOT and MPO officials as well as elected officials.For systemic training and technical assistance, submit a request through the safety peer-to-peer program at http://rspcb.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/p2p/p2p_app.aspx. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

**Federal Highway Administration**

1200 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, SE

WASHINGTON, DC 20590

202-366-4000Subscribe to email updates
                    About
  

        
              About FHWA
                Careers
                Org Chart
                Staff Directories
                Work with UsPrograms
  

        
              Acquisition Management
                Civil Rights
                Federal Lands Highway
                Infrastructure
                Innovative Program Delivery
                Operations
                Planning, Environment, and Realty
                Policy
                Research, Development, and Technology
                SafetyPolicies, Rights, Legal
  

        
              About DOT
                Accessibility
                Budget and Performance
                Civil Rights
                FOIA
                Information Quality
                No FEAR Act
                Office of Inspector General
                Privacy Policy
                USA.gov
                Web Policies and Notices
                Web StandardsNews & Events
  

        
              Newsroom
                Press Releases
                Speeches & Testimony
                Media Contacts
                Connect with Us