Strategic Highway

Safety Plan

Get Stakeholders Involved!

“Coming together is an accomplishment, staying together is progress, working 

together is a success.” (Henry Ford)

A Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) is a statewide-coordinated safety plan that provides a comprehensive framework 

for reducing highway fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. An SHSP is developed in a cooperative process 

with State, Federal, local, Tribal, and other public- and private-sector safety stakeholders. It is a data-driven, multiyear 

comprehensive plan that establishes statewide goals, objectives, and key emphasis areas and integrates the 4 Es of highway safety—engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services (EMS). 

The SHSP allows highway safety programs and partners in a State to work together in an effort to align goals, leverage 

resources, and collectively address the State’s safety challenges. States must develop the SHSP in consultation with stakeholders identified in legislation, such as representatives of major modes of transportation; Federal, State, local, and Tribal 

safety stakeholders; State and local traffic enforcement officials; etc. A State also may wish to consult with additional 

stakeholders depending on their transportation safety needs. There are other agencies and organizations that are interested in traffic safety, and could be valuable contributors to an SHSP effort, such as Departments of Health and Education, 

major employers, colleges and universities, etc. When identifying SHSP partners—think broadly.

Transportation safety is a diverse and complex field. States are implementing and updating SHSPs in collaboration with 

their safety stakeholders to ensure “emphasis areas” or safety priorities focus on areas with the greatest potential to 

reduce fatalities and serious injuries. Generally, the 4 Es of safety define the broad stakeholder partners who care about 

safety and are responsible for making the roads safe for all users. Their role is to provide the 4 E perspective to the SHSP 

process. Stakeholders from the 4 Es are typically from the following: 

• Engineering: highway design, traffic, maintenance, operations, and planning professionals;

• Enforcement: State and local law enforcement agencies;

• Education: prevention specialists, communication professionals, educators, and citizen advocacy groups; and

• Emergency response: first responders, paramedics, fire, and rescue.

Benefits of Collaboration 

There are a number of benefits for establishing a broad-based SHSP coalition, including the following:

• Shared responsibility—The SHSP is designed to be the State’s “umbrella” safety plan. While the State’s Department 

of Transportation (DOT) has the primary responsibility to develop the SHSP, it is not intended to be just a DOT plan. 

The Role of Safety Stakeholders

The Focus is Results
Success is possible because stakeholders from the different disciplines combine their skills and work together 

toward a common mission. Teamwork means one organization does not carry all of the financial or technical 

burdens alone. It fosters camaraderie and trust, so individuals know where to turn with questions, problems, 

shared strategies, and new ideas. 

• Leverage resources—Involvement in the SHSP brings 

the potential to leverage resources such as implementing low-cost safety improvements combined with 

high-visibility enforcement, which may improve safety 

more than either strategy alone. The possibilities for 

sharing resources through SHSP collaborations are 

The Focus is Results

endless. Collaboration brings about combinations of 

countermeasures that more effectively improve safety 

than any single countermeasure approach.

• Multidisciplinary approach—Each of the 4 Es brings a 

unique perspective to the SHSP. Engineers approach a 

safety problem from the roadway and vehicle perspectives, law enforcement focuses on road user behavior, 

education concentrates on prevention, and emergency 

response personnel handle post collision care. Each 

approach is required for the SHSP to succeed in its 

effort to move disciplines from their individual areas of 

expertise into a coordinated, comprehensive approach 

to safety.

Who are the most likely candidates for involvement in 

the SHSP? The most obvious choices are those who work 

in traffic safety such as a traffic safety engineer or law 

enforcement officer. The best SHSP stakeholders also are:

• Passionate about saving lives and preventing injuries 

(i.e., a safety champion);

• Supportive of the mission, goals, and objectives of 

the SHSP; and

• Looking for an opportunity to share expertise and leverage resources.

If you know someone who is interested in getting involved, 

recommend they do the following: 

• Review a copy of the State’s most recent SHSP to 

identify opportunities for participation. Perhaps they 

can serve as a member of an SHSP Committee or an 

emphasis area team or distribute information to their 

members and other stakeholders.

Once stakeholders are involved, be sure to develop roles 

and responsibilities for individuals who participate as members of an Executive Committee, Steering Committee, and 

Emphasis Area Team. Identify the time commitment and 

how often these groups meet. Provide suggestions for other 

types of involvement such as attending a safety summit, and 

other SHSP related meetings and events. 

Remind all stakeholders to be safety ambassadors and role 

models; meaning they should drive the speed limit, pay 

attention, drive sober, always buckle up and make sure family, friends, and colleagues do the same.

SHSP programs are making a difference. Urge people to 

become part of this exciting and worthwhile effort. For more 

information, contact the Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA), which is located in every State plus the District of 

Columbia and Puerto Rico. 

A Passion for Saving Lives

You also can visit the SHSP Community of Practice

for SHSP information and resources.

http://rspcb.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/shsp_cop.aspx

Highway Safety Improvement 

Program Data Driven Decisions

Pub #: FHWA-SA-15-050-SHSP

FHWA Division Offices

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/field.html

FHWA Office of Safety

202-366-2288

hsip@dot.gov

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov