Background

In October 2010, staff in the Organized Village of Kasaan, located on the Prince of Wales Island 

in Alaska, wanted to perform a Road Safety Audit (RSA) on the Island’s rural roads. The Village 

wanted to use the RSA to be proactive in their attempts to improve the safety of their rural roads 

due to lack of proper signing, potential roadside hazards, and poor delineation on horizontal 

curves. After reading about the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Program in the Road Safety Audit (RSA) 

Newsletter, staff contacted the RSA P2P Coordinator by email (safetyp2p@dot.gov) to find out 

more about the program.

After assessing the types of roadways that the Village wanted to review, as well as the reasons 

for conducting the RSAs, the P2P Coordinator identified a Peer who not only had extensive 

experience with leading RSAs, but who also was extremely familiar with rural road safety issues. 

Following a teleconference and some email exchanges between the Village staff and the Peer, 

RSAs were scheduled for Kasaan Road and Hydaburg Highway. 

Working with the P2P Coordinator, travel arrangements were solidified so the Peer could attend 

the RSAs in person and provide on-site assistance to the Village staff. In addition to the Peer, 

RSA team members included the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Alaska Tribal Technical Assistance 

Program (TTAP), and the Organized Village of Kasaan. Crash and traffic data were provided by 

the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Alaska State Patrol provided valuable 

information and insight into crash experience on the two reviewed road sections. On Kasaan 

Road, RSA recommendations included updated signing, improved guardrail, removal or 

shielding of roadside obstacles and enhanced delineation along horizontal curves. Hydaburg 

Highway recommendations included upgrading signs according to 2009 MUTCD guidance, 

shielding roadside hazards, enhancing delineation at bridges, and providing a uniform treatment 

of horizontal curve delineation.

Benefits of the Peer Assistance

Having a Peer join the RSA effort introduced more than simple guidance on the RSA process. 

In the case of the Village of Kasaan, the Peer’s experience on rural roads assisted in a number 

of ways. Since specific crash data was not available for the roadways under review, the RSA 

team relied on general crash data from the Alaska DOT, as well as their own knowledge and 

experience identifying safety issues on rural roads. This is why it was especially important that 

the selected Peer was so knowledgeable in rural road safety. 

The Peer also assisted the Village by providing guidance on the organization and coordination 

of the RSA. When arriving to the Prince of Wales Island, the Peer emphasized a strong need for 

preplanning prior to the start of the RSA. Sam Thomas, Transportation & Infrastructure Specialist 

with the Village of Kasaan, reported that “while preplanning added additional effort to the RSA 

process, Village staff found that the additional effort paid off as preplanning allowed the team to 

spend their time more efficiently throughout the RSA.”

Another benefit which the Peer brought to the Village of Kasaan was his experience with outreach. 

Prior to conducting the RSA, the Peer worked with Village staff to search for individuals with 

different expertise and backgrounds to join the RSA team in order to provide an interdisciplinary 

review of the rural roads. This interdisciplinary team was beneficial to the RSA as each person 

provided a different point of view.

While the Peer himself ultimately departed after the RSA was completed, the skills and techniques 

he shared with the RSA team in Alaska will be used many times over in the future.

To contact 

Road safety aud

Peer to Peer Program, 

(866) P2P-FHWA

or emai

SafetyP2P@dot.g

Peer Assists Local Agency in Alaska

with Rural Road RSA

Roadway Section on Kasaan Roa

IMAGES COURTESY o

Horizontal Curve Delineation on Hydaburg Hig

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Road Safety Audit (RSA)

Peer-to-Peer Program (P2P)

What is the RSA P

Progr

In order to reduce fatalities and serious 

injuries on our Nation’s road network, 

highway practitioners routinely integrate 

Road Safety Audits (RSAs) into their 

projects and programs. FHWA established 

the P2P Program to provide technical 

assistance on conducting successful RSAs. 

Experts with various RSA experience 

volunteer their time to provide assistance 

to their peers conducting RSAs. Short 

term technical assistance may be provided 

through phone calls, email exchanges, or 

onsite assistance. 

For more information on the Program, or to submit a request for assistance, visit http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsa/resources/p2p/