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Communicating, Collaborating, and 

Coordinating to A<lvance TSP in California 

Transportation Safety Planning – National and California Context 

Safety is a national transportation performance goal area, but more importantly, it is the number one priority for 

all transportation system users. For this reason, every state Department of Transportation (DOT), metropolitan 

planning organization (MPO), and many local jurisdictions are investing in programs and projects to reduce fatalities 

and serious injuries. California is addressing transportation safety through a “Toward Zero Deaths” approach, which 

focuses on zero fatalities and serious injuries and the promise to move residents and visitors to their destinations 

safely. Many different stakeholders play a role in achieving this commitment, with transportation planners leading 

the way on stakeholder coordination, crash data analysis, prioritizing and programming investments, and tracking 

and evaluating results. 

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety and Office of Planning provide technical assistance to 

their partners to address transportation safety. The Transportation Safety Planning (TSP) Workshops project is one 

such effort that facilitated open discussions between safety and planning practitioners to further the collaborations 

on saving lives and eliminating fatalities and serious injuries. 

In July 2018, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) hosted the workshop in Los Angeles, California 

with participants from the MPOs, local safety and transportation partners, and FHWA. The workshop was a part of 

a yearlong project that also included a pre-workshop webinar to introduce participants to the concepts of 

transportation safety and planning integration, and prioritize topics to emphasize during the workshop; a postworkshop technical assistance webinar to discuss opportunities and challenges identified by participants at the 

workshop; and a peer exchange webinar to share successful practices and broaden collaboration with other states 

who were participating in this yearlong project around the same time. 

California’s Transportation Safety Planning Strengths 

The Transportation Safety Planning Workshops project complemented and highlighted the safety planning work 

already underway in California and provided new ideas for moving forward. Areas where California excels in 

transportation safety planning include: 

• The Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS), which provides various tools, enabling planners to easily 

access and use California’s collision data. 

• Innovative and comprehensive approach to engaging stakeholders in the Strategic Highway Safety Plan 

(SHSP) through relatable branding and annual regional meetings to share and obtain feedback on solutions. 

• Strong MPO engagement in safety through innovative analysis, such as the creation of the high injury 

network, incorporating safety into project prioritization, and behavioral safety programming and 

implementation. 

California’s Notable Practices in Transportation Safety Planning 

Transportation Safety Planning Tools: California has a number of tools available for planners to ensure they can 

address safety in the planning process. 

• Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) Query Map – Basic tool for accessing fatal or injury 

collisions from the state crash database. 

• SWITRS GIS Map – Interactive maps with multiple functionalities including intersection rankings. 

• Collision Diagrams – Tool to help users generate an interactive collision diagram. 

• Safety Target Setting – Safety target setting tool for MPOs. 

• Safe Routes to School Map Viewer – Provides pedestrian and bicycle collision maps around schools. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SWITRS GIS Map Collision Diagram 

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• Active Transportation Project Maps and Summary Data – Identifies pedestrian and bicycle collision hot 

spots and generates data summaries. 

• Motorcycle Collision Map – Simple means to explore motorcycle collisions by jurisdiction. 

Behavioral Safety Planning: The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) leads the Go Human 

campaign, which uses advertising, demonstration projects, partnerships and co-branding, and materials distribution 

to create safer streets for all users. In 2018, the advertising campaign alone was viewed 375 million times with 

about one in five residents in the region recognizing the advertising. 

High Injury Network: SCAG developed a High Injury Network (HIN) to 

highlight streets with the highest concentrations of collisions (more than 50 

percent) within the local network. Additionally, the HIN has: 

• Helped the region more effectively work towards achieving safety 

targets. 

• Helped jurisdictions focus on the most challenging areas. 

• Inspired more local efforts to develop HINs. 

Project Prioritization: Fresno Council of Governments uses various criteria 

to prioritize transportation projects in the long range transportation plan. 

Safety is a part of the total project score for active transportation, capacity 

increasing, and operations projects. Safety points are awarded to a project 

based on qualitative information as well as the results of crash analyses, 

which provide information on whether the project will provide safety 

improvements in an area with a high collision rate. 

Next Steps for Transportation Safety Planning in California 

• Local Road Safety Planning – Caltrans will continue to assist local agencies in performing collision analyses, 

identifying and prioritizing safety issues, identifying countermeasures, and preparing funding applications. 

• Communications – Caltrans will engage leaders and stakeholders early and often on transportation safety issues 

during meetings or through other techniques, such as fact sheets or social media. 

• Outreach – Caltrans will continue to engage regional and local transportation stakeholders in annual SHSP 

meetings to provide important information on safety priorities and countermeasures, and assist with 

implementation. 

FHWA-SA-19-021