Motor vehicle crashes

place millions of people atrisk for death or injury,disproportionately affectthe young, and are theleading cause of lost yearsof productive life. Oneway to prevent thesecrashes is by identifyinglocations with high crashrates or identifying crashpatterns on specific roadway types and makingsafety improvements.The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) provides fundingto make these critical improvements. With a focus on results, theprogram emphasizes a data-driven, strategic approach to reducinghighway deaths and injuries through the implementation of highwaysafety improvement projects. 

The HSIP consists of the following components:

• Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP)—A statewide

coordinated safety plan that provides a comprehensive framework for reducing highway fatalities and serious injuries on allpublic roads.

• Railway-Highway Crossing Program—A long-established

program that provides funding for the elimination of hazards atrailway-highway crossings.

• Highway safety improvement projects—A program of

highway safety improvement projects that are consistent withthe State’s SHSP, target an identified safety problem using adata-driven process, and contribute to a reduction in fatalitiesand serious injuries. A comprehensive program should includeboth spot and systemic safety improvements. 

This brochure focuses on the highway safety improvement projectsand the available procedures and tools that support and advance these efforts. 

Improvement Program

The purpose of the

Highway Safety

Improvement Program

(HSIP) is to achieve a

significant reduction in

traffic fatalities and serious

injuries on all public roads,

including non-State-owned

roads and roads on 

Tribal land.

Highway Safety
tial

res

ified, the next step involves

hat will improve safety. To

d to the crash, such as the

with the vehicle, the behavior

mental elements;

ortation used HSIP funding to

ward Zero (DTZ) Coalition and

TZ includes a web site, media

d information for the public on

at http://nhdtz.com/. 

Step 3:Prioritize and Select Projects 

It is not possible to implement every project due to limited resources.Consequently, agencies must prioritize projects based on the overallcost of the countermeasure, its expected effectiveness, and estimatedservice life.The purpose of the prioritization process is to ensure that themaximum safety benefit (i.e., lives saved) will be obtained for theamount of funds invested. All countermeasures are not created equalparticularly when it comes to cost. For instance, the Department ofTransportation has identified a site experiencing a high number ofrun-off-the road crashes. After reviewing the data and conducting aRSA, the major problem is a tight curve on the roadway. Twoeffective approaches are considered: one would be to straighten theroadway and eliminate the curve and another is to install curvewarning signs and rumble strips to alert motorists to the hazard. Acomparison of cost and benefits reveals the second option canachieve the greatest safety benefit for the least cost.

Step 4:Determine Effectiveness—Evaluate!

The ultimate measure of success for any roadway safety managementprogram is a reduction in fatalities and serious injuries. It is importantfor agencies to know whether their HSIP meets this ultimate test andevaluation is the tool which transforms guesswork into certainty.The benefits of evaluation go beyond determining the effectivenessof an individual countermeasure. Evaluation also can be used todetermine the effectiveness of a single project or a group of projects,or to determine the effectiveness of an entire program. Evaluationensures HSIP resources are used effectively, corrects deficiencies inthe current program, and can be used to leverage additional resources.