SAFETY Source: FHWA

ACTION PLANS

The Four Pillars 

of FoRRRwD

FHWA-SA-21-086

Roadway departures (aka lane departures) on 

the rural road network account for one-third of 

traffic fatalities. The FoRRRwD (Focus on Reducing 

Rural Roadway Departures) initiative encourages 

a systemic application of countermeasures that 

help keep vehicles in their travel lanes, reduce the 

potential for crashes, and decrease the severity 

of crashes that do occur. 

FoRRRwD is supported by four pillars that work 

together to reduce rural roadway departures: 

 Proven Countermeasures 

 Systemic Approach

 Safety Action Plans

 All Public Roads

Reducing rural roadway departure crashes requires 

an integrated, disciplined approach. A Safety 

Action Plan is a strategic way to prioritize safety 

improvements. A written plan will also help with to: 

 Communicate with stakeholders.

 Justify safety investment decisions.

 Access funding.

How a Safety Action Plan fits in:

Safety Action plans can be statewide, regional, 

local or tribal and can provide a critical link 

between a State’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan 

and the funding that is available for improvements.

30 people will die today from rural 

roadway departure crashes. Let’s save 

the people behind the numbers.

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/FoRRRwD/
Noteworthy Practices

The following are examples of State, local and Tribal agencies that have successful safety 

action plans. By planning ahead, these agencies were able to make thoughtful investment 

decisions based on prioritized safety improvement needs. The results have led to safer roads 

with fewer roadway departure fatalities and serious injuries.

Statewide Roadway Departure 

Action Plan Kentucky

In 2010, FHWA supported Kentucky in developing 

the Statewide Roadway Departure (RwD) Action 

Plan, as part of the Focused Approach to Safety 

initiative. As a result of this plan, the Kentucky 

Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) installed rumble 

strips and high friction surface treatment (HFST) 

on primarily State roads with functional class 

“Collector” or higher. The State evaluated these 

countermeasures and achieved a benefit-cost 

(B/C) ratio for center line and edge line rumbles 

strips up to 65:1 and up to 44:1 for HFST. These 

findings led KYTC to adopt rumble strips into policy 

and the countermeasure is now systematically 

integrated into the State’s resurfacing schedule.

KYTC then took the next step by developing a suite 

of safety performance functions (SPFs) used in 

network screenings for proven countermeasures, 

such as cable median barrier and HFST. This 

tailored network screening uses crash types and 

facility types that correlate with where these 

countermeasures are most effective (e.g., wetweather curve crashes for HFST, median crossover 

crashes on interstate freeways for cable median 

barrier). This approach allows KYTC to eliminate 

non-RwD crash types to focus on locations with the 

most potential for safety improvement.

KYTC is building on the success of its Statewide RwD 

Action Plan with an ongoing RwD crash analysis at 

the District level. These studies will investigate each 

District’s RwD safety challenges (e.g., risk factors 

and hot-spots) using a systemic approach and the 

State-specific SPFs to identify potential projects. 

KYTC has a goal to allocate HSIP funds 50/50 for 

systemic and site-specific projects across the State. 

Toward Zero Deaths through Regional 

Safety Plans Michigan

In 2013, Michigan adopted the mission of Toward 

Zero Deaths (TZD) on its roadways. Since then, the 

Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) 

and other transportation agencies have fully 

embraced implementation of TZD as a safety 

program and developed several related action 

plans. Each of the seven MDOT Regions have 

developed TZD implementation plans focusing on 

the highest concentration of crash types including 

lane departure, intersections, and pedestrians/

bicyclists. MDOT’s Traffic and Safety Section created 

and is actively tracking a TZD Strategic Plan for the 

purpose of increasing awareness of MDOT’s TZD 

efforts within the State of Michigan.

For local roads, MPOs, cities, and counties are 

engaged in TZD efforts through the development 

of Regional Traffic Safety Plans (RTSPs). The 14 RTSPs 

follow the framework of SHSPs, bringing together 

a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders to review 

crash data, identify emphasis areas, determine 

strategies to reduce fatalities and serious injuries, 

and develop a list of high-risk locations for potential 

projects. For the FY2019 HSIP Call for Projects, MDOT 

allocated $3 million of safety funds for local agency 

projects identified in RTSPs. New for the FY2023 

cycle, MDOT created a Streamlined Systemic 

Application to help local agencies address lane 

departure crashes on a larger systemic basis using 

proven countermeasures such as horizontal curve 

delineation, rumble strips, and edge line pavement 

markings. Projects that were identified in an RTSP 

receive additional points during the scoring process.

As a result of the RTSPs, Macomb County installed 

sinusoidal center line rumble strips on 50 miles of 

roadway and Kalamazoo County constructed 3-foot 

paved shoulders, 

removed 

trees, modified 

guardrail, 

improved 

ditching, and 

added edge 

line pavement 

markings to a 

2-mile segment.

Figure 2. Example RTSPs in Michigan.Sources: SEMCOG, 

GVMC.

Figure 1. Center line and edge line rumble strips on a 

horizontal curve in Kentucky. Source: KYTC.
Figure 3. Guardrail installed in front of a steep slope on 

Kasaan Road. Source: FHWA.

Figure 4. Cover of the Northwest Hills RTSP. Source: NHCOG.

Strategic Tribal Transportation Safety 

Plan Organized Village of Kasaan, Alaska

The Organized Village of Kasaan (OVK) identified 

the need to formulate and implement a Strategic 

Tribal Transportation Safety Plan to identify 

opportunities to reduce fatalities and serious 

injuries on Kasaan’s transportation network. The 

development and implementation of the Safety Plan 

was funded through the FHWA Tribal Transportation 

Program Safety Fund (TTPSF). This Safety Plan serves 

as a comprehensive source for OVK to identify 

and address transportation risk factors that have 

potential for serious injury or death. The Safety Plan 

reviews existing safety activities, identifies areas with 

opportunity for improvements, and recommends 

strategies to address the opportunity areas. 

Kasaan Road is an essential facility and is the 

only road in and out of Kasaan, making safety 

improvements a priority for OVK. The road is a 

school bus route and used by residents for work 

both in and out of Kasaan. Due to limited law 

enforcement coverage on this remote island, the 

majority of crashes on the Kasaan transportation 

network are not reported. OVK collected crash 

data including locations identified by maintenance 

workers, tow truck operators, and citizens on a pin 

map. They then conducted two road safety audits 

(RSAs) on Kaasan Road, leading to the identification 

of locations with the most potential for safety 

improvements. 

OVK established a local coordinating committee 

that consists of multiple directors within OVK that 

make important decisions involving the Safety 

Plan. The coordinating committee meets on a 

regular basis to analyze any new data, evaluate the 

success of the Safety Plan, determine if changes to 

the strategies are needed, and report back to OVK. 

Through these strategic safety planning efforts, 

OVK identified the need for roadway departure 

improvements along Kasaan Road. Since this is 

a gravel road, many other RwD countermeasures 

could not be installed, but the plan found locations 

where guardrail would reduce the risk of severe 

injuries. In 2018, a TTPSF grant was awarded to 

install guardrail along a 

1.5-mile section of the 

road that had been 

identified as a priority. 

The village also intends 

to implement additional 

countermeasures 

to address roadway 

departure in the future. 

Safety Plans Through a Regional 

Approach Connecticut 

Connecticut has nine Councils of Governments 

(COGs) that cover the State and include 169 

independent towns and cities with various 

transportation safety needs. While the Strategic 

Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) produced strategies 

and actions across the entire State, the COGs 

desired tailored plans specific to their regions and 

have begun developing Regional Transportation 

Safety Plans (RTSPs). As of 2021, four RTSPs are 

complete, and the remaining plans are in 

development.

RTSPs address safety concerns in two sections, (1) 

regional action plans and (2) municipal reports 

for each town in the region. The regional action 

plan provides countermeasures that should be 

prioritized across the region based on a data-driven 

analysis. For example, the Northwest Hills Region’s 

action plan recommends edge line rumble strips 

with bicycle gaps, pedestrian improvements, speed 

mitigation, and enhanced delineation at horizontal 

curves. The municipal reports include Town-specific 

crash data, local stakeholder input, high-crash 

intersections and corridors, images from field visits, 

and countermeasure considerations (with relative 

costs). The RTSP includes a range of roadway 

departure strategies for improving safety, such as 

enhanced curve signage, center line and edge 

line rumble strips, high friction surface treatments, 

roadside management of vegetation and fixedobjects, cable median barrier and guardrail, as well 

as enforcement and education strategies. The RTSP 

also lists potential funding opportunities specific to 

municipalities to implement projects stemming from 

the plan.

As a resource to implementing RTSPs, the 

Connecticut Technology Transfer Center’s Safety 

Circuit Rider Program provides technical assistance 

to local agencies at no cost to municipalities. 

Activities include countermeasure research, 

educational programs, technical assistance, and 

various training opportunities. 
Alabama’s First Local Road Safety Plan

Elmore County, Alabama

Elmore County piloted the State’s first local road 

safety plan (LRSP) with support from the Alabama 

Department of Transportation (ALDOT). This datadriven plan analyzed five years of crash data 

through a network screening process with specific 

performance metrics selected for Elmore County. The 

data showed that 83 percent of the fatal crashes on 

county-maintained roads are roadway departure. 

Analysts gave a composite score for each roadway, 

road segment, and intersection based on safety 

performance. This scoring identified Burt Mill Road, a 

4.1-mile major collector route for a High-Risk Rural Road 

safety project.

This project retained the existing lane widths while 

adding 2-foot paved shoulders and thermoplastic 

striping. The county chose this countermeasure based 

on a previous study that found that adding 2- to 4-foot 

shoulders reduced crashes by 28 percent and had a 

benefit/cost ratio of 53:1.

Based on the success of Elmore County’s plan, FHWA 

has been assisting 10 other counties in Alabama 

to develop LRSPs and the State plans to provide 

assistance to an additional 15 counties in the future 

using a combination of State Technology Investment 

Council (STIC) incentive and HSIP funding.

Planning to Improve Local Roadway 

Safety California

In California, over 800 people die each year due to a 

roadway departure on rural roads. Over 60 percent 

of rural roadway departures occur on local roads. 

To address this issue, the California Department of 

Transportation (Caltrans) is dedicating $18 million of 

its safety funding for local agency roadway safety 

improvements, with $8 million dedicated to assisting 

local agencies develop their Local Road Safety Plan 

(LRSP). The next HSIP Cycle (beginning around April 

2022) will require an LRSP or equivalent (e.g., Systemic 

Safety Analysis Report or Vision Zero Action Plan) for 

agencies to apply for HSIP funding. LRSPs identify a 4E 

approach (engineering, education, enforcement, and 

emergency medical services) to local agencies’ safety 

priorities. The process of preparing an LRSP creates a 

framework to systemically identify and analyze safety 

problems and recommend safety improvements. 

Developing an LRSP facilitates local agency 

partnerships and collaboration, resulting in a prioritized 

list of projects and actions that contribute to the goals 

of California’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP).

FHWA supported Caltrans in developing LRSPs in six 

counties. These counties then assisted other counties 

in the State through peer exchanges, statewide 

webinars, and trainings, which allowed the six counties 

to share their successes and lessons learned regarding 

LRSP development. These outreach and technical 

assistance activities have resulted in over 313 local 

agencies in 23 counties that have completed or 

are in the process of developing an LRSP. The goal 

of the LRSPs is to reduce the number of fatal and 

serious injuries through implementation of low-cost 

countermeasures based on focus crash types and 

associated risk factors for those crashes. As an example 

of LRSP implementation, in HSIP Cycle 10 (released in 

March 2021), Caltrans awarded funds to Santa Barbara 

County to stripe new 6-inch edge lines on two-lane 

roads based on a systemic risk factor analysis included 

in the county’s LRSP.

Resources

Roadway Departure Safety https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_dept/

Safety Action Plans https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/FoRRRwD/safetyactionplans.cfm

LTAP Center https://nltapa.org/regions/

LRSP DIY Site https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/LRSPDIY/

Figure 6. Chevrons are one countermeasure featured in 

many LRSPs. Source: Nevada County, CA.

Figure 5. Before and after views of the Elmore County 

road safety project. Source: Elmore County, AL.