UNIT 5: Implementing Road Safety Efforts

Road Safety 

Fundamentals

Concepts, Strategies, and Practices that 

Reduce Fatalities and Injuries on the Road
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improvement.

This document can be downloaded for free in full or by individual unit at: 

https://rspcb.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsf/
1. Report No.

FHWA-SA-18-003

4. Title and Subtitle

Road Safety Fundamentals:

Concepts, Strategies, and Practices that Reduce Fatalities and Injuries

on the Road

7. Author(s)

Lead Editor: Daniel Carter, P.E., Senior Research Associate

Unit Authors: 

Unit 1: Dan Gelinne, Program Coordinator, UNC Highway Safety 

Research Center 

Unit 2: Bevan Kirley, Research Associate, UNC Highway Safety Research 

Center 

Unit 3: Carl Sundstrom, P.E., Research Associate, UNC Highway Safety 

Research Center 

Unit 4: Raghavan Srinivasan, Ph.D., Senior Transportation Research 

Engineer; Daniel Carter 

Unit 5: Daniel Carter; Jennifer Palcher-Silliman, Communications 

Manager, UNC Highway Safety Research Center

Layout and Graphics: Graham Russell, Graphic Designer, UNC Highway 

Safety Research Center

Technical Editors: Jennifer Palcher-Silliman; Patty Harrison, 

Communications Specialist, UNC Highway Safety Research Center; 

Caroline Mozingo, Senior Manager of Communications, Education and 

Outreach, UNC Highway Safety Research Center

9. Performing Organization Name

and Address

University of North Carolina,

Highway Safety Research Center

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

Washington, DC 20590

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. Supplementary Notes

The project manager for the textbook was Felix H. Delgado, P.E., FHWA Office of Safety

16. Abstract

This book provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts of road safety. The book’s goal is to equip

the reader with a broad base of knowledge about road safety. Thus, the focus is in communicating concepts

rather than providing instruction in detailed analysis procedures.

The audience for this book is two-fold. First, this is intended for those whose job addresses some aspect of 

road safety, particularly in a public agency setting. Second, this book is intended for professors and 

students in a university setting.

This book seeks to lay the foundation of road safety knowledge regardless of a particular discipline. 

Professionals with a background in engineering, planning, public health, law enforcement, and other 

disciplines will benefit from the concepts presented here.

17. Key Words

road safety, road safety management process, site-level management, system

level management, human behavior, safety performance measures, road safety

data, multidisciplinary approaches

18. Distribution Statement

No restrictions

19. Security Classif.

(of this report)

Unclassified

20. Security Classif.

(of this report)

Unclassified

21. No. of Pages

188

22. Price

FREE

5. Report Date

November 2017

6. Performing Organization Code

8. Performing Organization Report No.

10. Work No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Text book

2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed pages authorized

UNIT 5 Implementing Road Safety Efforts Chapter 13: Who Does What

 Chapter 14: Road Safety Research

 Chapter 15: Strategic Communications

 Chapter 16: Advancing Road Safety

UNIT 1 Foundations of Road Safety

 Chapter 1: Context of Road Safety

 Chapter 2: Road Safety Through the Years

 Chapter 3: Multidisciplinary Approaches

 Chapter 4: Road Users

UNIT 2 Human Behavior and Road Safety

 Chapter 5: Understanding Human Behavior

 Chapter 6: Changing Human Behavior

UNIT 3 Measuring Safety

 Chapter 7: Importance of Safety Data

 Chapter 8: Types of Safety Data

 Chapter 9: Improving Safety Data Quality

UNIT 4 Solving Safety Problems

 Chapter 10: Road Safety Management Process

 Chapter 11: Site-Level Safety Management

 Chapter 12: System-Level Safety Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS i
5-b UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

After reading the chapters and completing 

exercises in Unit 5, the reader will be able to:

J IDENTIFY the current road safety 

partner agencies and define their role 

in addressing safety problems

J DEFINE three areas of 

road safety research

J DEFINE the characteristics of 

strategic communications

J RECOGNIZE potential avenues for 

advancing road safety efforts

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Implementing 

Road Safety 

Efforts

UNIT 5
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-1

Who Does What

The greatest gains in road safety 

occur when transportation agencies 

work together rather than tackling 

problems alone. This can be 

challenging given the fragmented 

nature of transportation governance 

in the U.S. There are numerous 

agencies operating in different focus 

areas and at different levels. This 

chapter presents an overview of the 

various agencies and organizations 

that have a direct hand in advancing 

road safety and the initiatives that 

they undertake.

U.S. transportation agencies are 

typically structured around particular 

focus areas, such as roadway, 

vehicles, or road users. This 

approach is also seen on the 

international scale – the United 

Nations (U.N.) used a generalization 

called the “Five Pillar” structure as 

part of the Decade of Action for Road 

Safety. 1

 The U.N. recognized that 

efforts to improve road safety must 

address various pillars including 

road safety 

management, safer roads and mobility, 

safer vehicles, safer road users, and 

better post-crash response. 2

Likewise, U.S. transportation 

agencies are organized to address 

focus areas that are similar in theme 

to the U.N. five pillars, though not 

the same. Table 5-1 shows how 

agencies at all levels (Federal, State, 

and local) address five focus areas in 

road safety.

CHAPTER 13 IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS

United Nations, 

A/RES/64/255, 

Geneva, 2010

Global Status 

Report on Road 

Safety 2013: 

Supporting a 

Decade of Action, 

World Health 

Organization, ISBN 

978 92 4 156456 4, 

2013.

1

2

TABLE 5-1: Transportation Agencies by Focus Area

FOCUS AREA FEDERAL STATE 

Road Design / 

Environment

Federal Highway 

Administration

Departments of 

transportation

City public works

Metropolitan/rural 

planning organizations

Road User 

Behavio

National Highway 

Traffic Safety 

Administration

Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety 

Administration

Highway safety offices

Departments of 

motor vehicles

Health departments

No specific agency

Vehicle Design /

Technology

Departments of 

motor vehicles No specific agency

Law Enforcement No specific agency State police / 

highway patrol Police departments

Transit Safety Federal Transit 

Administration No specific agency

Metropolitan planning 

organizations

Municipal transit agencies
5-2 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

Federal Agencies

The Federal role in implementing 

road safety initiative is carried out 

largely through the U.S. Department 

of Transportation (USDOT) and the 

many agencies under that department. 

These agencies are each tasked with 

a specific focus area as the Federal 

Government seeks to address safety 

issues for various modes of travel. 

These agencies include:

J Federal Highway Administration

J National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration

J Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration

J Federal Transit Administration

J Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Highway 

Administration 

www.fhwa.dot.gov

Focus Area: Road Design 

and Environment

The Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) works to reduce highway 

fatalities through partnerships with 

State and local agencies, community 

groups, and private industry. The 

FHWA Office of Safety advocates 

designs and technologies that improve 

road safety and administers safety 

programs, such as the Highway 

Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). 

FHWA’s Resource Center also provides 

technical assistance, technology 

deployment, and training. FHWA has 

a significant role in safety research 

through the Office of Safety Research 

and Development, which develops 

and implements safety innovations 

through teams of research engineers, 

scientists, and psychologists. 

In addition, FHWA oversees 

the Local and Tribal Technical 

Assistance Program (LTAP/TTAP), 

which provides information and 

training programs to local agencies 

and Native American Indian tribes 

to improve road safety.3

 Further, 

FHWA maintains division offices in 

each state to deliver assistance to 

partners and customers in highway 

transportation and safety services at 

the State level.

National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration 

www.nhtsa.gov

Focus Areas: Road User Behavior 

and Vehicle Design and Technology

The National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA) 

focuses on the safety of the vehicle, 

driver, and road user. NHTSA 

investigates safety defects in motor 

vehicles, establishes and enforces 

safety performance standards for 

motor vehicles and motor vehicle 

equipment, sets and enforces fuel 

economy standards, collects data, 

and conducts research on driver 

behavior and traffic safety, and 

helps states and local communities 

reduce the threat of impaired 

driving and other dangerous 

road user behaviors. 

NHTSA carries out research and 

demonstration programs in many 

behavioral areas including impaired 

driving, occupant protection, speed 

management (shared with FHWA), 

pedestrian, motorcycle and bicycle 

safety, older and younger road users, 

drowsy, and distracted driving. 

NHTSA is also the lead Federal 

agency for emergency medical 

services (EMS) and 9-1-1 systems.

“About the National 

Program,” last 

updated June 20, 

2013, accessed June 

20, 2013, http://

www.ltap.org/about/.

“Who We Are and 

What We Do,” 

accessed June 20, 

2013, https://www.

nhtsa.gov/aboutnhtsa. 

3

4
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-3

Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration 

www.fmcsa.dot.gov

Focus Areas: Road User Behavior 

and Vehicle Design and Technology

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA) focuses 

on reducing crashes, injuries, and 

fatalities involving commercial use 

of large trucks and buses. FMCSA 

develops and enforces researchbased regulations that balance 

safety and efficiency. The agency 

manages safety information systems 

to enforce safety regulations with 

regards to drivers who have high 

risk in factors, such as health, age, 

experience, and education. 

FMCSA also targets educational 

messages to carriers, commercial 

drivers, and the public.5

 Some key 

programs administered by the 

agency include:

J Commercial Driver’s License 

Program: FMCSA develops, 

monitors, and ensures 

compliance with the commercial 

driving licensing standards for 

drivers, carriers, and States.

J Motor Carrier Safety Identification 

and Information Systems: FMCSA 

provides safety data, State 

and national crash statistics, 

current analysis results, and 

detailed motor carrier safety 

performance data to industry 

and the public. This data allows 

Federal and State enforcement 

officials to target inspections 

and investigations on higher risk 

carriers, vehicles, and drivers.

J Safety education and outreach:

FMCSA implements educational 

strategies to increase motor 

carrier compliance with the 

safety regulations and reduce 

the likelihood of a commercial 

vehicle crash. Messages are 

aimed at all highway users 

including passenger car drivers, 

truck drivers, pedestrians, 

and bicyclists.6

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration develops, monitors, and ensures 

compliance with commercial driving licensing standards.

“About FMCSA,” 

accessed June 20, 

2013, https://www.

fmcsa.dot.gov/

mission/about-us.

“Key FMCSA 

Programs,” 

accessed October 

15, 2013, https://

www.fmcsa.dot.gov/

mission/we-arefmcsa-brochure.

5

6
5-4 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

Federal Transit Administration 

www.transit.dot.gov

Focus Area: Transit Safety

The Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA) seeks to improve public 

transportation by assisting State and 

local governments with planning, 

implementation, and financing of 

public transportation projects.7

 FTA 

manages many transit-oriented 

safety programs including:

J Bus and Bus Facilities: This 

program provides capital funding 

to replace, rehabilitate, and 

purchase buses and related 

equipment and to construct busrelated facilities.

J Public Transportation Emergency 

Relief Program: This program 

helps States and public 

transportation systems pay 

for protecting, repairing, and/

or replacing equipment and 

facilities that may suffer or have 

suffered serious damage because 

of an emergency including 

natural disasters.

J Research, Development, 

Demonstration, and Deployment 

Projects: This program supports 

research activities that improve 

the safety, reliability, efficiency, 

and sustainability of public 

transportation.

J Transit Safety and Oversight: FTA 

has the authority to establish and 

enforce a new comprehensive 

framework to oversee the 

safety of public transportation 

throughout the United States 

as it pertains to heavy rail, 

light rail, buses, ferries, and 

streetcars.8

The Federal Transit Administration seeks to improve public transportation, such as buses.

“Federal Transit 

Administration,” 

last updated 

September 6, 

2013, https://

www.usa.gov/

federal-agencies/

federal-transitadministration.

“MAP-21 Programs,” 

accessed October 

16, 2013, https://

www.transit.dot.

gov/regulationsand-guidance/

legislation/map-21/

map-21-programfact-sheets.

7

8
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-5

Federal Safety Programs

Federal agencies advance road 

safety through numerous programs 

and initiatives. Federal programs 

can be very influential due to large 

funding sources provided by Federal 

legislation. These funds are often 

distributed to State and local levels 

to implement various improvements 

to roads and intersections. 

Specific funding programs can 

change with each new piece of 

transportation legislation. However, 

it may be useful to look at an 

overview of some of the types of 

current and past funding programs. 

Below are listed a few programs 

that have been widely used through 

the years to develop and implement 

improvements to road safety:

J Highway Safety Improvement 

Program (FHWA)

J Traffic Records Improvement 

Grants (NHTSA)

J Safety Data Improvement Program 

Grant (FMCSA)

Highway Safety Improvement 

Program (FHWA)

HSIP is a Federal program focused 

on infrastructure improvements that 

will lead to significant reduction in 

traffic fatalities and serious injuries 

on all public roads. HSIP is Federally 

funded and administered by FHWA, 

but it is implemented by the State 

departments of transportation 

per the strategies laid out in the 

State’s Strategic Highway Safety 

Plan (SHSP). Funding is provided 

for safety-related infrastructure 

improvements, such as sidewalks, 

traffic calming, or signing upgrades. 

The States are required to develop 

a data-driven, strategic approach 

for improving highway safety 

through the implementation of 

such infrastructure improvements.9

States are also required to report to 

the U.S. Secretary of Transportation 

on progress made implementing 

highway safety improvements and 

the extent to which fatalities and 

serious injuries on all public roads 

have been reduced. 

Traffic Records Improvement 

Grants (NHTSA)

NHTSA administers Federal funding 

to encourage States to implement 

programs that will improve the 

timeliness, accuracy, completeness, 

uniformity, integration, and 

accessibility of State data used in 

traffic safety programs. The Federal 

SAFETEA-LU legislation established 

this program of incentive grants, 

and the funding continued under 

subsequent legislation. The funds 

were to be used to evaluate the 

effectiveness of efforts to make 

safety data improvements, to link 

safety data systems within the State, 

and to improve the compatibility 

of the State data system with 

national data systems and data 

systems of other States. A State 

may use these grant funds only to 

implement such data improvement 

programs. To qualify, a State must 

meet certain requirements including 

a functioning Traffic Records 

Coordinating Committee (TRCC), 

a strategic plan to address data 

deficiencies, and a regular traffic 

records assessment.10

Safety Data Improvement 

Program Grant (FMCSA)

The Safety Data Improvement 

Program (SaDIP), administered 

by FMCSA, provides financial and 

Data-driven

An approach 

of which the 

priorities are 

determined by 

examination of 

crash data or 

other objective 

and reliable 

safety data, 

rather than 

priorities set by 

preferences of 

a few parties, 

current “hot” 

topics, or high 

profile rare 

events.

Source: “Highway 

Safety Improvement 

Program (HSIP),” 

accessed August 12, 

2013, http://safety.

fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/ 

and “HSIP History,” 

accessed August 

12, 2013, http://

safety.fhwa.dot.

gov/hsip/gen_info/

hsip_history.cfm.

NHTSA, Section 

408 SAFETEA-LU 

Fact Sheet, 

https://one.

nhtsa.gov/Laws-

&-Regulations/

Section-408-

SAFETEA%

E2%80%93

LU-Fact-Sheet

9

10
5-6 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

technical assistance to States to 

improve data collected on truck 

and bus crashes that result in 

injuries or fatalities. The assistance 

is provided to State departments 

of public safety, departments 

of transportation, or State law 

enforcement agencies. SaDIP funds 

have been used to hire staff to code 

safety performance data, purchase 

software for field data collection, 

and revise outdated crash forms.

FMCSA maintains the Motor Carrier 

Management Information System 

(MCMIS) and supplies access to the 

system for designated employees in 

each State through SAFETYNET, an 

online network of safety data. States 

use MCMIS and SAFETYNET to enter 

data on motor carriers, drivers, 

compliance reviews, inspections, 

and crashes. At the national level, 

FMCSA uses the data to characterize 

the safety experience of commercial 

motor vehicles, and to help States 

with the task of identifying high 

risk carriers and drivers. The data 

are also used by motor carrier 

companies, safety researchers, 

advocacy groups, insurance 

companies, the public, and a variety 

of other entities.

State Agencies

All fifty States, the District 

of Columbia, and Puerto Rico 

administer road safety programs. 

State agencies administer roadway 

systems, driver licensing, injury 

prevention programs, traffic law 

enforcement, and other road safety 

activities. However, assignment of 

these responsibilities varies widely 

from State to State. In many cases, 

two or three government agencies 

are responsible for most or all 

of these activities. Other States 

distribute these responsibilities 

to numerous agencies and 

offices. Regardless of how these 

responsibilities are distributed, 

States share a vital role in improving 

road safety for all citizens.

In general, State agencies that 

address road safety issues include:

J State departments 

of transportation

J State highway safety offices

J State departments 

of motor vehicles

J State highway patrols

J State health departments

State 

departments of 

transportation 

oversee design, 

construction, 

maintenance, 

and operation 

of roads.
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-7

State Departments 

of Transportation

Focus Area: Road Design 

and Environment

Each State has a department of 

transportation (DOT), which 

oversees the design, construction, 

maintenance, and operation of the 

State’s roads. This agency may 

also be called the State Highway 

Administration or Department 

of Roads. State DOTs have many 

official responsibilities. For highway 

safety issues, State DOTs have 

official transportation planning, 

programming, and project 

implementation responsibility. 

These agencies typically oversee 

all Interstate highways and most 

primary highways (State highways). 

State DOTs focus on roadway 

safety, and thus work in direct 

partnership with FHWA. They serve 

as liaisons between the Federal and 

local transportation agencies and 

provide resources and technical 

assistance to local agencies. State 

DOTs coordinate the use of Federal 

HSIP funds to improve roads and 

intersections on the local level.

In some States, the DOT 

administers, maintains, and 

operates county and city streets or 

secondary roads. State DOTs also 

work cooperatively with tolling 

authorities, ports, local agencies, 

and special districts that own, 

operate, or maintain portions of the 

transportation network.

The State DOT typically leads 

the development of the SHSP, a 

statewide-coordinated safety plan 

that provides a comprehensive 

framework for reducing highway 

fatalities and serious injuries on 

all public roads. The State DOT 

also develops long-range (20 to 

30 year) transportation plans 

and short range (five to 10 year) 

plans that outline the vision of the 

transportation network and which 

projects will be constructed to fulfill 

that vision. 

State Highway Safety Offices

Focus Area: Road User Behavior

State Highway Safety Offices 

(SHSOs) administer a variety of 

national highway safety grant 

programs authorized and funded 

through Federal legislation.11 The 

governor of each State appoints a 

highway safety representative to 

administer the Federal Highway 

Safety Grant Program and numerous 

other highway safety programs 

designated by Congress. The 

governor’s representative promotes 

safety initiatives in the State, such 

as high visibility enforcement 

campaigns like Click It or Ticket. 

The State Highway Safety Office 

focuses on behavioral aspects of 

roadway users, and thus works in 

direct partnership with NHTSA. 

Safety programs implemented by 

the SHSO include:

J Encouraging safety belt, child car 

seat, and helmet use

J Discouraging impaired driving

J Promoting motorcycle safety

J Improving the skills of younger 

and older drivers

State Departments 

of Motor Vehicles

Focus Area: Vehicle Design 

and Technology

State Departments of Motor Vehicles 

“SHSO Programs & 

Funding,” accessed 

June 20, 2013, 

http://www.ghsa.

org/about/federalgrant-programs.

11
5-8 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

(DMVs) administer State programs 

for driver licensing, and automobile 

inspection and registration. 

Generally, DMVs reside either within 

the State DOT or a department of 

public safety. A few States have a 

cabinet-level DMV. 

The DMV is responsible for 

identifying at-risk drivers and 

maintaining driver records. The 

agency also implements driver 

license standards, monitors 

graduated licensing programs, and 

establishes requirements for driver 

education. Some State DMVs also 

serve as the primary owners of the 

statewide crash data.

State Highway Patrols

Focus Area: Law Enforcement

State highway patrols (also known 

as State police and State patrols) 

operate in every State except Hawaii. 

State police patrol highways and 

enforce motor vehicle laws 

and regulations. 

State law enforcement agencies play 

an important role in reducing the 

frequency and severity of crashes. 

At the scene of crashes, State police 

direct traffic, administer first aid, 

call for emergency equipment, 

write traffic citations, and 

complete crash reports. 

State highway patrols also 

investigate motor vehicle crashes, 

which are important sources of 

State and Federal crash data. They 

work closely with State highway 

safety representatives to identify 

enforcement needs. They play a 

vital role in implementing impaired 

driving laws, safety belt use, and 

other safety programs. Certain 

troopers in the State highway 

patrol are tasked with inspecting 

large trucks to ensure the driver 

and the vehicle comply with safety 

regulations, such as vehicle size and 

weight, driver hours of service, and 

medical fitness.

State Health Departments

Focus Area: Road User Behavior

State health departments also 

play an important role in reducing 

crash severity. These agencies 

are typically responsible for 

statewide trauma center planning. 

State health departments provide 

training, certification, and technical 

assistance for EMS providers, 

administer injury prevention 

programs, and maintain trauma and 

injury databases. Some State health 

departments coordinate with other 

public agencies and community 

groups to promote young driver 

safety, older driver safety, child 

passenger safety, and pedestrian 

and bicycle safety.

State highway 

patrols enforce 

motor vehicle laws 

and regulations, 

investigate 

crashes, and 

work to identify 

enforcement 

needs.

Comprehensive

Using all types 

of strategies to 

improve road 

safety, such as 

infrastructure 

improvements, 

law enforcement,

and campaigns 

to change 

driver behavior. 

This is seen in 

the types of 

crashes which 

serve as the 

focus areas of 

an SHSP, such 

as speeding 

related crashes, 

which are most 

effectively 

addressed 

through a 

combination 

of speed 

enforcement, 

engineering 

modifications, 

and behavioral 

campaigns.

Coordinated

People from 

many agencies 

come together 

to develop an 

SHSP, including 

those from the 

department of 

transportation, 

department 

of motor 

vehicles, state 

highway patrol, 

public health, 

universities, 

and others.
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-9

State Safety Plans 

and Programs

State agencies use numerous 

approaches to improve road safety 

within their State. Often, they seek 

to identify State-specific safety 

issues and direct Federal or State 

funding to solve those issues. State 

agencies take the lead in developing 

statewide safety plans or programs, 

many of which are encouraged or 

required by the Federal Government. 

Although States differ in their 

specific safety improvement efforts, 

the following plans or programs are 

developed in every State:

J Strategic Highway Safety Plan

J Long Range Transportation Plan

J Statewide Transportation 

Improvement Program

J Railway-Highway 

Crossing Program

J Highway Safety Program

Although the HSIP was previously 

covered under Federal safety 

programs, it should be noted that 

the State plays the major role 

in selecting locations that need 

safety improvement, designing, 

and implementing the safety 

improvement, and reporting annually 

on all the HSIP funded projects that 

were constructed that year. 

Strategic Highway Safety Plan

A State’s SHSP is a statewidecoordinated safety plan that provides 

a comprehensive framework for 

reducing highway fatalities and 

serious injuries on all public roads. 

An SHSP identifies a State’s key 

safety needs and guides investment 

decisions toward strategies with the 

highest potential to save lives and 

prevent injuries. Since 2005, Federal 

legislation has required States to 

develop, implement,evaluate, and 

update their SHSP.12,13

The State DOT develops an SHSP 

in a cooperative process with local, 

State, Federal, tribal, and private 

sector safety stakeholders. It is 

a data-driven, multi-year plan 

that establishes statewide goals, 

objectives, and key emphasis 

areas. The development of an SHSP 

provides a venue for highway safety 

partners in the State to align goals, 

leverage resources (i.e., combine 

Federal and State resources), and 

collectively address the State’s 

safety challenges.14

An ideal SHSP meets several criteria:

J It addresses engineering, 

management, operation, 

education, enforcement, and 

emergency service elements of 

highway safety as key factors in 

evaluating highway projects.

J It considers safety needs of, and 

high-fatality segments of, all 

public roads.

J It considers the results of 

State, regional, or local 

transportation and highway 

safety planning processes.

J It describes strategies to reduce 

or eliminate safety hazards.

J It gains approval of the governor 

of the State or a responsible 

State agency.15

As mentioned on page 5-5, in order 

to spend HSIP funds, a State must 

have a current SHSP, produce a 

program of projects or strategies to 

reduce safety problems, and evaluate 

the SHSP on a regular basis.16 

Coordinated, 

Comprehensive

See previous 

page.

“Strategic Highway 

Safety Plans: 

A Champion’s 

Guidebook to Saving 

Lives 2nd ed.,” 

Federal Highway 

Administration 

(Washington, 

D.C., October 

2012), History and 

Background, http://

safety.fhwa.dot.

gov/hsip/shsp/

guidebook/ovrvw.

cfm

“Map-21,” Title 

23 U.S.C. (2012), 

accessed August 19, 

2013, http://www.

gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/

PLAW-112publ141/

pdf/PLAW112publ141.pdf

“Highway Safety 

Improvement Plan 

(HSIP),” accessed 

August 14, 2013, 

http://www.fhwa.

dot.gov/map21/hsip.

cfm.

“Strategic Highway 

Safety Plan (SHSP),” 

accessed August 13, 

2013, http://safety.

fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/

shsp/.

12

15

16

13 14
5-10 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

Long-Range 

Transportation Plans

Long-range transportation plans 

(LRTPs) identify transportation 

goals, objectives, needs, and 

performance measures over a 20- to 

25-year horizon and provide policy 

and strategy recommendations 

for accommodating those needs. 

LRTPs are prepared at both the 

State and MPO level. LRTPs are 

fiscally-unconstrained and typically 

present a systems-level approach 

that considers roadways, transit, 

pedestrian, and bicycle facilities. 

LRTP’s have wide scopes; the 

components of the plan may be 

policy-oriented and strategic or 

focused on specific projects. The 

types of improvements range 

widely, as well. Safety-focused 

improvements in a LRTP may be 

directed at infrastructure, such 

as building new interchanges 

or bringing certain highways 

up to current design standards, 

or behavioral efforts, such as 

addressing seat belt use or 

aggressive driving.

Statewide Transportation 

Improvement Programs

The Statewide Transportation 

Improvement Program (STIP) 

identifies the funding and 

scheduling of transportation 

projects throughout the State that 

support the goals identified in 

the LRTP. STIPs are short-range 

(typically an outlook of five to ten 

years) and fiscally constrained, 

meaning that the projects must have 

designated funding. While many 

STIP projects are constructed for 

capacity or mobility reasons (i.e., 

build a bypass or widen a road), 

there are also STIP projects that are 

focused on improving safety, such 

as widening shoulders or installing 

rumble strips. Projects included in 

STIPs must have identified funding 

sources (e.g., HSIP, State, or local 

funding). The State DOT identifies 

projects in areas outside MPOs, 

such as rural areas and smaller 

urban jurisdictions, for inclusion 

in the STIP.17

Railway-Highway 

Crossings Program

The Railway-Highway Crossings 

Program funds safety improvements 

to reduce the number of fatalities, 

injuries, and crashes at public grade 

crossings.18 A grade crossing is a 

location where a public highway, 

road, street, or private roadway 

(including associated sidewalks and 

pathways) crosses a railroad track at 

the same level as the street. These 

locations are high-risk spots for 

road users. The United States has 

more than 200,000 grade crossings.19 

Types of crossing improvements 

that the Railway-Highway Crossings 

Program implements include:

J Crossing approach improvements:

projects such as channelization, 

new or upgraded signals on the 

approach, guardrail, pedestrian/

bicycle path improvements near 

the crossing, and illumination

J Crossing warning sign and 

pavement marking Improvements:

projects such as signs, 

pavement markings, and/or 

delineation where these project 

activities are the predominant 

safety improvements

J Active grade crossing equipment 

installation/upgrade: projects 

such as new or upgraded flashing 

lights and gates, track circuitry, 

“Railway-Highway 

Crossings Program,” 

accessed August 

9, 2013, http://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/

map21/rhc.cfm.

Title 49, United 

States Code, § 5304

Railroad-Highway 

Grade Crossing 

Handbook 2nd ed. 

Federal Highway 

Administration 

(Washington D.C., 

August 2007)

18

17

19
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-11

wayside horns, and signal 

improvements such as railwayhighway signal interconnection 

and pre-emption.20

Highway Safety Program

Each State administers a Highway 

Safety Program, approved by the 

U.S. Secretary of Transportation. 

The program is designed to reduce 

deaths and injuries on the road by 

targeting user behavior through 

education and enforcement 

campaigns.21 The State conducts 

this program through the State 

highway safety office. A State is 

eligible for SHSP grants by having 

and implementing an approved 

Highway Safety Plan (HSP). The 

HSP establishes goals, performance 

measures, targets, strategies, and 

projects to improve highway safety 

in the State. It also documents the 

State’s efforts to coordinate with 

the goals and strategies in the 

SHSP. However, the Highway Safety 

Program is distinct from an SHSP. 

SHSPs target improvements to 

infrastructure and road users, and 

are broad in content and context, 

while highway safety programs 

focus more on road user behavior.22

An HSP might address issues such 

as excess speeds, proper use of 

occupant protection devices, driving 

while impaired, and quality of traffic 

records data.23

The Railway-Highway Crossings Program funds safety improvements at crossings.

“MAP-21,” Title 

23, U.S.C. (2012), 

accessed August 

16, 2013, http://

www.fhwa.dot.

gov/map21/docs/

title23usc.pdf, Sec. 

148.

“MAP-21,” Title 

23, U.S.C. (2012), 

accessed August 

16, 2013, http://

www.fhwa.dot.

gov/map21/docs/

title23usc.pdf, Sec. 

402.

“Railway-Highway 

Crossings Program 

Reporting 

Guidance,” 

accessed August 

9, 2013, http://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/

map21/guidance/

guiderhcp.cfm.

22

21 23

20
5-12 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

Local Agencies

Local agencies, such as city and 

county governments, play an 

important role in improving road 

safety and identifying and selecting 

transportation projects. These agencies 

that administer roads at the local level 

may be called by various names: public 

road agency, department of public 

works, departments of transportation, 

or road commissions. Due to their 

smaller size, many local agencies 

may not have a staff member who is 

specifically focused on road safety. 

The urban nature of their jurisdiction 

naturally causes their efforts to be 

focused on different types of road 

safety topics than a State DOT. 

For example, a city transportation 

department would typically focus on 

urban elements such as sidewalks, 

transit accommodations, and high 

density access management, where 

as a State DOT would typically be 

focused on more rural elements, such 

as high speed curves and isolated 

intersections.

Most safety issues for local streets, 

intersections, or corridors are the 

responsibility of the city or county 

government. These agencies 

supplement State laws, establish 

traffic laws in their jurisdictions, 

and determine penalties for 

noncompliance. Local law enforcement 

agencies investigate crashes and 

submit crash data to State and Federal 

agencies. City and county planning and 

engineering staff help plan and design 

roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks. Many 

local police departments partner with 

State police to implement impaired 

driving, work zone safety, motorcycle 

safety, heavy truck, and safety belt 

education and enforcement programs. 

In some States, the State DOT owns 

many of the major roads in the city 

and may coordinate with the local 

agency to identify potential safety 

improvements and get them installed. 

Many local agencies also collaborate 

with the State DOT to develop a Local 

Road Safety Plan.

At the regional level, metropolitan 

planning organizations (MPOs) plan, 

program, and coordinate Federal 

highway and transit investments. 

When an urban area meets certain 

minimum characteristics (e.g., 

population), Federal law requires the 

creation of an MPO for the region 

to qualify for Federal highway or 

transit funds in urbanized areas. 

MPOs do not typically own or operate 

the transportation systems in their 

jurisdiction. MPOs play a coordination 

and consensus-building role in 

planning and programming funds for 

capital improvements, maintenance, 

and operations. MPOs involve local 

transportation providers in the 

planning process by coordinating 

with transit agencies, State and 

local highway departments, airport 

authorities, maritime operators, 

rail-freight operators, Amtrak, port 

operators, private providers of public 

transportation, and others within the 

MPO region.26

Charlotte Pedestrian Safety

The City of Charlotte developed its 

Transportation Action Plan (TAP) in 

2011 to describe how to reach its safety 

and mobility transportation goals. The 

plan emphasized the safety of all road 

users and included objectives such as 

constructing 375 miles of new sidewalk by 

2035.24 To support the goal of pedestrian 

safety, Charlotte developed Charlotte 

WALKS, the city’s first comprehensive 

Pedestrian Plan. This plan identified new 

strategies to meet the pedestrian safety 

and walkability goals in Charlotte’s TAP.25

The City of 

Charlotte 

Transportation 

Action Plan Policy 

Document, 5 Year 

Update, August 22, 

2011. 

http://charlottenc.

gov/Transportation/

Programs/Pages/

default.aspx

The Transportation 

Planning Process 

Briefing Book, 

Federal Highway 

Administration 

and Federal Transit 

Administration, 

2015 Update, 

http://www.fhwa.

dot.gov/planning/

publications/

briefing_book/

fhwahep15048.pdf

24

25

26
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-13

Other Safety Partners

Although government agencies have 

the support of large budgets and 

institutional authority to 

implement improvements to road 

safety, they are not the only entities 

working to improve road safety. 

Government agencies work with 

partners from a variety of fields 

to improve the nation’s roadways 

including those in private industry, 

special interest groups, and 

professional organizations.

Private industry

Automobile Manufacturers

Auto manufacturers have a critical 

effect on road safety by designing 

vehicles that assist the driver in 

avoiding crashes and that absorb 

energy in crashes that do occur. 

Federal standards stipulate that 

vehicles must have certain safety 

improvements, such as seat belts, 

air bags, and electronic 

stability control.27 However, 

auto manufacturers have also 

implemented various non-required 

safety improvements. These 

improvements typically make use of 

emerging technologies or materials. 

For instance, in the early 2000’s, 

auto manufacturers began 

manufacturing vehicles that 

had “smart” technologies to 

improve safety, such as collision 

warnings and assisted braking. 

These technologies, which were 

not required by the government, 

addressed some of the most 

common crash types, such as rear 

end crashes. These improvements 

also set the stage for more 

advanced automated vehicle 

designs and technologies.

Insurance Companies

Insurance companies often assist 

in identifying ways to improve 

safety on the nation’s roads. The 

most notable organization in this 

respect is the Insurance Institute 

for Highway Safety (IIHS) and its 

sister organization, the Highway 

Loss Data Institute (HLDI). These 

are organizations that study road 

safety issues and use insurance data 

to provide data-based evidence of 

safety by vehicle make and model. 

These organizations are funded 

by a pooled group of insurance 

companies and associations. IIHS 

runs the Vehicle Research Center, 

which conducts crash tests of many 

vehicle types to encourage auto 

manufacturers to produce safer 

vehicles and inform the consumer 

on vehicle safety ratings.

Title 49 of the 

United States Code, 

Chapter 301, Motor 

Vehicle Safety; 

and Federal Motor 

Vehicle Safety 

Standard (FMVSS) 

No. 218

27
5-14 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

Special interest groups

Special interest groups are 

associations of individuals or 

organizations that promote their 

common interests by influencing the 

legislative process at the local, State, 

and/or Federal levels of government. 

Many interest groups also serve 

other functions, such as providing 

services and information to their 

members. Interest groups fill a 

vital role in advancing the cause of 

safety-related legislation.

A few examples of road safetyfocused interest groups include the 

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 

National Safety Council, Mothers 

Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 

the American Council of the Blind, 

and the National Federation of the 

Blind. There are many other interest 

groups involved in influencing 

transportation and safety legislation. 

These groups engage 

in a variety of activities, 

such as sponsoring independent 

research and evaluation, 

mobilizing citizens to contact their 

legislators in support of or against 

certain pieces of legislation, and 

disseminating policy reports in 

support of or against legislation 

affecting the safety of the road users 

they represent. 

Professional organizations

Professional organizations bring 

together road safety professionals 

from common backgrounds or 

spheres of influence to foster 

discussion and advancement of 

safety issues. Members of these 

organizations who recognize 

emerging road safety issues can 

use the power of the group to 

advocate legislation or sponsor 

research to address these issues. 

These organizations often hold 

regular conferences that allow 

safety professionals to network, 

share ideas, and gain knowledge 

from others in their field. The 

organizations also provide training 

opportunities that help advance and 

disseminate road safety knowledge.

There are many professional 

organizations covering many 

disciplines that relate to road safety. 

While this textbook is not intended 

to provide an encyclopedic listing, a 

few examples are listed below.

American Association of 

State Highway Transportation 

Officials (AASHTO)

AASHTO members consist of 

representatives from highway 

American Council of the Blind 

(ACB) and National Federation of 

the Blind (NFB)

The ACB and NFB represent the 

interests of people who are blind or 

visually impaired. These organizations 

work to inform legislators, city and 

State agencies, and the public about 

road safety issues that are unique to 

individuals with visual impairment. 

They promote policies and practices 

that assist visually impaired individuals 

in traveling safety and independently. 

These include enhancements, such as 

auditory stop announcements on buses 

and accessible pushbuttons that provide 

information about street crossing 

signals.
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-15

and transportation departments 

in the 50 States, the District of 

Columbia, and Puerto Rico. AASHTO 

provides tools such as Safety 

Analyst, an analytical software 

package, and publishes the Highway 

Safety Manual, which provides 

an analytical and quantitative 

framework for analyzing a road’s 

safety performance. AASHTO focuses 

on emerging safety issues through 

its Standing Committee on Highway 

Traffic Safety. AASHTO inspired the 

development of a national safety 

plan called Toward Zero Deaths, 

committed to reducing the number 

of highway fatalities to zero.

Institute of Transportation 

Engineers (ITE)

ITE is an association of 

transportation professionals 

who are responsible for meeting 

mobility and safety needs. ITE 

promotes professional development 

of its members and facilitates 

the application of technology and 

scientific principles to the safety 

of ground transportation. ITE’s 

Transportation Safety Council covers 

issues, such as roadside safety, 

pedestrian and bicyclist safety, and 

work zone safety.

Association of Transportation Safety 

Information Professionals (ATSIP)

ATSIP focuses on data and is the 

leading advocate for improving the 

quality and use of transportation 

safety information. ATSIP furthers 

the development and sharing of 

traffic records system procedures, 

tools, and professionalism. Its goal 

is to improve the quality of safety 

data and encourage their use in 

safety programs and policies.

Governors Highway Safety 

Association (GHSA)

GHSA represents the State and 

territorial highway safety offices 

that implement programs to 

address behavioral highway 

safety issues including occupant 

protection, impaired driving, and 

speeding. GHSA provides leadership 

and advocacy for the States and 

territories to improve traffic safety, 

influence national policy, enhance 

program management, and promote 

best practices.

International Organizations

As of 2017, there is no U.S. 

organization that combines the 

narrow focus of improving road 

safety and a broad multidisciplinary 

approach. The current inventory 

of U.S. professional organizations 

is usually specific to a type of 

discipline, such as engineering or 

behavioral science. Looking beyond 

the U.S. borders shows that other 

countries have formed organizations 

that bring together many different 

disciplines to address road safety 

including the following:

J World Road Association (PIARC, 

after its former name Permanent 

International Association of Road 

Congresses), www.piarc.org/en/

J La Prévention Routière 

Internationale (PRI), www.lapri.org 

J United Nations Road 

Safety Collaboration, 

www.who.int/roadsafety/en/ 

J Global Road Safety Partnership, 

www.grsproadsafety.org

J International Road Federation, 

www.irf.global
5-16 UNIT 

5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

J RESEARCH a recent road safety project 

in your city, county, State, or region. 

Identify the roles and responsibilities 

of the Federal, State, and/or local 

governmental agencies in the project. 

Prepare a brief report for a 

class presentation.

J USE your local, State, or regional 

highway department’s website to 

determine its most pressing road safety 

concerns. Prepare a brief report that 

explains the concerns, how the agency 

identified them, the proposed remedies, 

and the agency’s next steps.

J PREPARE a brief presentation that 

summarizes how your local government 

administers roadway programs. Identify 

the form of government (city, county, 

municipality, parish, etc.), the local 

agencies, and their responsibilities to 

roadway safety programs.

J RESEARCH a private or nonprofit 

interest group that works to improve 

road safety. Prepare a class presentation 

that includes a brief history of the interest 

group, a synopsis of important and 

successful campaigns, and a summary 

of its current work. Some examples of 

private or nonprofit interest groups 

include the Automobile Association 

of America (AAA), Mothers against 

Drunk Driving (MADD), the Insurance 

Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and 

the American Bikers Aimed Toward 

Education (ABATE), and many others.

J RESEARCH your local, State, or regional 

transportation safety planning group. 

Prepare a brief report that identifies the 

group’s current safety goal(s), explains 

how the group plans to alleviate the 

safety challenge(s), and describes the 

group’s strategic communications plan. 

J RESEARCH a private sector or industry 

association that works to improve road 

safety. Prepare a class presentation that 

includes a brief history of the interest 

group, a synopsis of important and 

successful campaigns, and a summary 

of its current work. Some examples of 

private sector or industry associations 

include the American Insurance 

Association (AIA), the American Traffic 

Safety Services Association (ATSSA), 

the American Road and Transportation 

Builders Association (ARTBA), the 

National Association of County Engineers

 (NACE), the American Public Works 

Association (APWA), and many others.

J FIND OUT how professional associations 

like the National League of Cities, the 

American Association of State Highway 

Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the 

Governor’s Highway Safety Association 

(GHSA), and the Standing Committee 

on Highway Traffic Safety (SCOHTS) 

influence road safety policy. 

What are some examples of past 

successful campaigns?

J Using the State DOT website, 

RESEARCH your home State’s Highway 

Safety Program. Prepare a brief 

presentation that identifies the State and 

describes how it is working to improve 

roadway safety. You may want to focus on 

the State’s efforts with a particular road 

user or road safety provider. Be sure 

to include details about how the State 

identified the safety challenge(s), how 

the State chose its countermeasure(s), 

and how its efforts measure against 

national performance criteria.

EXERCISES
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-17

Road safety practitioners are 

constantly seeking the most 

effective means for preventing 

injuries and fatalities on the 

road. To accomplish this, they 

need to understand the nature 

of the road safety problems and 

which behavioral or infrastructure 

countermeasures are the best at 

addressing these problems. When 

weighing two possible safety 

treatments, they need to know 

which one is more effective (would 

prevent more crashes) and more 

efficient (preventing crashes at a 

lower cost). Additionally, safety 

practitioners work with a limited 

budget, so they need to know which 

safety treatment is more cost 

effective, that is, how many crashes 

can be prevented for the same dollar 

spent. These goals lead to many 

questions, such as:

J What age range should be 

targeted in a young driver 

safety program?

J What is an effective strategy 

for preventing 

run-off-road crashes?

J How many crashes would be 

expected on one type of road 

versus another type?

J How many serious injuries 

could be prevented by installing 

additional safety measures at a 

signalized intersection?

Research is the key to answering 

these questions and providing 

quality information to the safety 

practitioner. Unit 3 of this textbook 

provides a look at the various types 

of safety data and how they can 

be used together. Good research 

analyzes one or more kinds of safety 

data to gain knowledge on ways to 

prevent crashes or decrease injuries 

when crashes do occur. 

General Types of 

Road Safety Research

The intention of this chapter is not 

to summarize the entire field of 

road safety research, but rather to 

provide an overview that will show 

what types of research have been 

conducted within the topic of 

road safety. 

Road Safety Research

CHAPTER 14 IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS
5-18 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

One way that these road safety 

research projects can be generally 

categorized is by grouping them by 

the safety factor they address: the 

person, the vehicle, or the roadway. 

For each of these categories, safety 

research typically focuses either 

on identifying safety problems or 

on evaluating solutions to safety 

problems. Table 5-2 demonstrates 

this classification of safety research 

areas and provides example 

questions that would drive research 

studies in each area.

While this chapter presents 

road safety research in terms of 

identifying problems or evaluating 

solutions, researchers also play key 

roles in developing new solutions 

to road safety problems. For 

example, the Florida Department 

of Transportation (FDOT) was 

experiencing thousands of crashes, 

including many fatalities, in 

construction work zones and sought 

an alternative to the traditional 

work-zone barrier. University of 

Florida civil engineering researchers 

hired by FDOT developed a new 

type of portable temporary lowprofile barrier that can redirect 

cars and small trucks, preventing 

them from crashing into the work 

zone and protecting the passengers 

in the vehicle. The barrier was 

advantageous in that it could be 

broken down into small inexpensive 

segments that are easy to install 

and move around.28 Additional 

research was carried out to evaluate 

this new type of barrier in terms of 

criteria like crash performance 

and durability.

TABLE 5-2: Safety Research Categorization

RESEARCH QUESTION EXAMPL

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION EVALUA

PERSON

What are characteristics of crashes 

involving teen drivers?

What type of driver is overrepresented 

in alcohol-related crashes? 

What is the safety effect of instituting 

a graduated driver license law? 

Has the arrival of ride-sharing apps in 

cities reduced alcohol-related crashes?

VEHICLE

What models of vehicle are more 

prone to run-off-road crashes? 

What factors are associated with 

large truck-related crashes?

What is the effect of an antilock 

braking system on run-off-road crashes?

What is the effect of airbags on 

injury severity?

RO

AD

ENVIRONMENT

What road features are associated 

with run-off-road crashes? 

How does lane width influence 

driver speed?

Are some land development patterns 

riskier from a safety standpoint?

What is the safety effect of installing 

rumble strips?

What is the safety effect of narrowing 

lanes on urban roads?

What is the safety effect of controlling 

road access in dense urban areas?

University of 

Florida, Office 

of Technology 

Licensing, “Portable 

Temporary LowProfile Barrier 

(PTB) for Roadside 

Safety”, UF #11052, 

US Patent 6,767,158

28
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-19

Examples of 

Road Safety Research

The following sections provide 

descriptions and examples of 

research studies. These examples 

will give the reader a look at the 

types of studies that are conducted 

within each of the six categories 

shown in Table 5-2.

Research on the Person

Problem Identification

The IIHS sponsored a study to 

examine the characteristics of 

crashes involving 16-year old 

drivers. The researchers used 

crash data from NHTSA’s General 

Estimates System (a national crash 

database built on sampling from 

police agencies around the U.S.). 

They compared crash involvement 

of sixteen-year-olds to that of 

other age categories of drivers 

and found that sixteen-year-olds 

were more likely to be involved in 

single-vehicle crashes and night 

time crashes (6:00pm to 11:59pm). 

Sixteen-year-olds were also more 

likely to have received a moving 

violation and been at fault for a 

crash. They were also more likely to 

be accompanied by other teenage 

passengers. Researchers also found 

some indications that drivers 

with less on-the-road experience 

(females in this study) were 

proportionately more involved 

in crashes.29

Evaluation of Solutions

In 1997, Michigan instituted its 

Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) 

program to address the high rate of 

fatal crashes involving teen drivers. 

This program required teen drivers 

to gain driving experience under 

relatively low risk conditions before 

obtaining full driving privileges. A 

new driver would progress through 

Level 1 (a learner’s stage requiring 

extensive supervised practice), Level 

2 (an intermediate stage which 

prohibited teenage passengers and 

driving at night), and Level 3 (full 

licensure with no restrictions). 

NHTSA funded a group of 

researchers to evaluate the effect of 

the GDL program on the crash risk of 

16-year-old drivers. The researchers 

examined Michigan statewide crash 

data from 1996 (pre-GDL) and 1998 

and 1999 (post-GDL). They analyzed 

the pre-GDL and post-GDL rates 

of 16-year-old drivers involved in 

crashes by unit of the statewide 

population. Researchers also 

compared to crash rates of drivers 

over age 25 to control for any other 

trends. They found that the overall 

crash risk for 16-year-old drivers 

decreased 25% by the year 1999 (two 

years after GDL was implemented). 

They also found significant 

reductions in many specific crash 

types, such as night crashes and 

single vehicle crashes. These 

findings showed a significant benefit 

to the GDL program and served to 

support GDL implementation in 

other States.30

Research on the Vehicle

Problem Identification

The design of a vehicle, particularly 

how well it protects the occupants 

in the event of a crash, can have 

a significant effect on injuries 

sustained in the crash. A group 

of researchers from the IIHS 

investigated the relation of vehicle 

roof strength to occupant injury 

during crashes. They examined 

crash data from fourteen States 

Shope, J., L. Molnar, 

M. Elliott, P. 

Waller. Graduated 

Driver Licensing 

in Michigan: Early 

Impact on Motor 

Vehicle Crashes 

Among 16-YearOld Drivers. 

Journal of the 

American Medical 

Association, Vol. 

286, No. 13, October, 

2001. http://jama.

jamanetwork.

com/article.aspx? 

articleid=194251

Ulmer, Robert G., 

Allan F. Williams, 

and David F. 

Preusser, Crash 

Involvements of 

16-Year-Old Drivers, 

Journal of Safety 

Research, Vol. 28, 

No. 2, pp 97-103, 

1997. http://www.

sciencedirect.com/

science/article/pii/

S0022437596000412

30

29
5-20 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

for single-vehicle rollover crashes 

involving midsize SUVs. They also 

used a rating of roof strength for 

each vehicle type in the crash data. 

Their findings showed that the 

crush resistance of a vehicle’s roof 

was strongly related to the risk of 

fatal or incapacitating injury to the 

occupants. This research identified 

one statistically significant factor 

(roof strength) in the severity of 

rollover crashes. The researchers 

also recommended the study of 

other vehicle factors to determine 

their effect on the severity of 

rollover crashes.31

Evaluation of Solutions

Anti lock braking system (ABS) is 

a technology that was developed 

to combat the problem of drivers 

losing control of their vehicle during 

hard braking due to locked wheels. 

ABS modulates braking power to 

prevent a vehicle’s wheels from 

locking up. Since this technology 

requires drivers to employ it 

correctly (i.e., step and hold on the 

brake rather than pumping), the 

Federal Government conducted a 

public information campaign in 

1995 to inform drivers how to use 

ABS correctly. The NHTSA sponsored 

a study that took a long term look at 

the effect of ABS from 1995 to 2007. 

The researchers used crash data 

from two Federal databases (the 

Fatality Analysis Reporting System 

and the General Estimates System of 

the National Automotive Sampling 

System) to estimate the long-term 

effectiveness of ABS for passenger 

cars, light trucks, and vans. They 

found that ABS reduced fatal crashes 

with pedestrians but increased fatal 

run-off-road crashes. ABS proved to 

be quite effective in reducing nonfatal 

crashes in all types of vehicles. 

This result is for the ABS alone; the 

authors recognized that electronic 

stability control (a technology which 

automatically applies brakes to 

individual wheels to keep the driver 

on the road) would soon be paired 

with ABS for potentially greater 

crash reductions.32

Research on the Road 

Environment

Problem Identification

Curves on the road, both horizontal 

and vertical, are known to be 

problem spots for road safety. 

They are particularly concerning 

when they occur together, such 

as a horizontal curve at the peak 

of a hill. FHWA sponsored a study 

to identify and quantify the road 

and curve characteristics that are 

associated with higher instances 

of crashes. The researchers 

examined curves in Washington 

State using crash data and roadway 

characteristics contained in the 

Highway Safety Information System 

(HSIS). They analyzed locations 

where horizontal and vertical curves 

occurred independently, as well as 

locations where both occurred in 

the same place. The researchers 

developed equations that predicted 

the effect on crash frequency for 

each type of curve combination. 

These predictive equations included 

road and curve characteristics found 

to affect the frequency of crashes. 

These characteristics included the 

sharpness of the vertical curve and 

the radius of the horizontal curve.33

Evaluation of Solutions

Rumble strips are expected to 

decrease crashes by generating 

noise to alert sleepy or inattentive 

drivers that they are about to leave 

Kahane, C., and J. 

Dang. The LongTerm Effect of 

ABS in Passenger 

Cars and LTVs. 

National Highway 

Traffic Safety 

Administration, 

Report DOT HS 811 

182, August 2009.

Bauer, K.M. and 

Harwood, D.W. 

Safety Effects 

of Horizontal 

Curve and Grade 

Combinations on 

Rural Two-Lane 

Highways, Report 

No. FHWAHRT-13-077, 

Federal Highway 

Administration, 

Washington, DC, 

2013.

Brumbelow, M., E. 

Teoh, D. Zuby, and 

A. McCartt. Roof 

Strength and Injury 

Risk in Rollover 

Crashes. Traffic 

Injury Prevention, 

10:252-265, 2009. 

DOI: 10.1080/ 

15389580902781343

32

33

31
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-21

the travel lane. Rumble strips on 

both the centerline and shoulder 

ensure that drivers are alerted no 

matter which side of the lane they 

depart. FHWA, through a pooled 

fund from 38 States, conducted 

a study to determine the safety 

effect of installing centerline and 

shoulder rumble strips on rural 

two-lane roads. The researchers 

gathered data on roads in three 

States and compared crash 

performance for roads where the 

rumble strips were installed versus 

roads without rumble strips. The 

analysis showed that the combined 

rumble strip strategy was effective 

at reducing crashes. As expected, 

the greatest crash reductions were 

for crash types that were related 

to lane departure including headon crashes (37% decrease), runoff-road crashes (26% decrease), 

and sideswipe-opposite-direction 

crashes (24% decrease).36

Major Road Safety 

Research Sponsors and 

Research Programs

Most road safety research is funded 

by the government, through state 

or federal agencies. However, some 

research is also funded by privately 

run companies or foundations. The 

organizations that sponsor research 

projects are often focused on one 

category of research. The list below 

presents a look at some of the major 

research sponsors and their area of 

focus in road safety research.

Federal Research Sponsors

Federal Highway Administration

FHWA sponsors research studies 

on a variety of road safety topics, 

and their primary focus is on the 

roadway or the built environment. 

This research investigates the 

impact of road characteristics on 

Lyon, Craig; 

Bhagwant Persaud; 

and Kimberly Eccles. 

“Safety Evaluation 

of Centerline 

Plus Shoulder 

Rumble Strips.” 

Federal Highway 

Administration, 

Report FHWAHRT-15-048, 2015.

Maartens, N., A. 

Wills, and C. Adams. 

Lawrence of Arabia, 

Sir Hugh Cairns, 

and the Origin of 

Motorcycle Helmets. 

Neurosurgery, 

Vol. 50, No. 1, 

January 2002.

Liu, B., R. Ivers, R. 

Norton, S. Blows, 

S.K. Lo. Helmets 

for preventing 

injury in motorcycle 

riders (review). 

The Cochrane 

Collaboration, John 

Wiley and Sons, Ltd. 

January 2008. DOI: 

10.1002/14651858.

CD004333.pub3

36

34

35

Motorcycle helmets are now a common 

road safety element to reduce serious head 

injuries, but they were not always so. The 

original interest in motorcycle helmets 

began when Colonel T.E. Lawrence (better 

known as Lawrence of Arabia) died after 

suffering a head injury in a motorcycle 

crash. One of the physicians who attended 

him, Hugh Cairns, was moved by the 

incident and began studying the prevalence 

of head injuries among motorcyclists in 

the British Army. His work ultimately led to 

helmets becoming mandatory in the British 

Army and the U.K. 

Early motorcycle helmets were leather caps 

that did little to protect riders. Then in the 

1950s, Roth and Lombard came up with the 

idea of using a crushable, energy absorbing 

material (Styrofoam) inside the helmet. A 

study in 1957 by a physician named George 

Snively helped this new type of helmet take 

hold through unusual means – testing six 

popular motorcycle helmets on human 

cadavers. The Roth and Lombard helmet 

with the protective lining was by far the 

most effective in preventing head injuries. 

Many more studies have documented the 

effectiveness of motorcycle helmets. This 

eventually led to standards for motorcycle 

helmets and universal helmet laws.34, 35

How Research Affects 

Implementation: 

Motorcycle Helmets
5-22 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

road safety and seeks solutions to 

known safety problems. The FHWA 

Offices of Safety and Safety Research

and Development conduct research 

to address issues including driver 

interaction with the roadway, 

intersection safety, pedestrian and 

bicycle safety, and keeping vehicles 

on the roadway.37 The FHWA TurnerFairbank Research Center houses 

more than 20 laboratories, data 

centers, and support facilities, and 

conducts applied and exploratory 

advanced research in road safety, 

among other topics. Additionally, 

FHWA staff participates and 

provides input to many other venues 

of research around the nation.

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration

NHTSA studies behaviors and 

attitudes in road safety, focusing 

on drivers, passengers, 

pedestrians, and motorcyclists. 

Research sponsored by NHTSA 

identifies and measures behaviors 

involved in crashes or associated 

with injuries, and develops and 

refines countermeasures to

 deter unsafe behaviors and 

promote safe alternatives. The 

research topics include occupant 

protection, distracted driving, 

motorcycle safety, speeding, 

and young drivers.38

Transportation Research Board

The Transportation Research 

Board (TRB) is part of the National 

Academies of Sciences and provides 

advice to the nation and informs 

public policy decisions. TRB plays a 

major role in road safety research. 

It hosts an annual meeting where 

transportation professionals 

https://www.fhwa.

dot.gov/research/

tfhrc/programs/

safety/index.cfm

https://www.nhtsa.

gov/research-data

Graham, J.L., 

Richard, K.R. , 

O’Laughlin, M.K., 

Harwood, D.W., 

“Safety Evaluation 

of the Safety 

Edge Treatment” 

Report No. 

FHWA-HRT-11-024, 

Federal Highway 

Administration, 

Washington, DC. 

(2011) http://www.

fhwa.dot.gov/

publications/

research/

safety/11024/11024.

pdf

37

38

39

The ultimate intent of safety research is 

to provide solid data to affect the way that 

safety measures are carried out in the real 

world. The development of Safety EdgeSM is 

a good example of this.

Drivers who run off the road and then 

try to regain control often go too far and 

over-steer, leading to veering into the 

opposite lane or running off the road 

on the other side. This problem is made 

worse when the soil is eroded away from 

the pavement edge, creating a drop off. 

This safety concern was recognized in the 

1980s, and the 1989 AASHTO Roadside 

Design Guide included a recommendation 

for adding a sloped edge to the pavement 

to assist drivers in regaining control onto 

the roadway. A few States attempted 

this treatment, but it was not widely 

implemented. Through the following 

years, other research showed a correlation 

between drop off crashes and fatalities.

In the early 2000s, several States (Georgia, 

New York, Colorado, and Indiana) decided 

to install several miles of the sloped edge 

as demonstration project. The FHWA 

sponsored a research study to evaluate the 

effect of the sloped edge, now called Safety 

EdgeSM, on run-off-road crashes. The results 

showed a positive effect, and this finding 

swayed many safety offices in favor of the 

treatment. Those now in favor of Safety 

EdgeSM worked to get other offices, such as 

pavement offices, on board with the idea. 

Eventually it became a widespread practice, 

and by 2015, forty States required Safety 

EdgeSM to some degree in their 

design policies.39

How Research Affects 

Implementation: Safety EdgeSM
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-23

from around the world present 

new research on many different 

transportation topics. The papers 

presented at the annual meeting 

are peer-reviewed, and a portion 

of them are published in the 

Transportation Research Record.

TRB also maintains standing 

committees that provide direction 

to the research field and assist in 

disseminating research findings. 

Committees such as Transportation 

Safety Management, Highway 

Safety Performance, Pedestrians, 

Occupant Protection, and many 

others specifically address topics 

related to road safety. TRB manages 

the National Cooperative Highway 

Research Program (NCHRP), 

described below. 

State Research Sponsors

American Association of State 

Highway Transportation Officials 

(AASHTO)

AASHTO is the organization behind 

NCHRP. The NCHRP funds many 

road safety research projects each 

year on a variety of topics that are 

integral to the State departments 

of transportation (DOTs) and 

transportation professionals at 

all levels of government and the 

private sector. The NCHRP is 

administered by the Transportation 

Research Board (TRB) and 

sponsored by individual State 

departments of transportation. The 

research projects are conducted in 

cooperation with FHWA (FHWA). 

Individual projects are conducted by 

contractors with oversight provided 

by volunteer panels of expert 

stakeholders. NCHRP projects cover 

a wide range of highway topics, but 

there is a specific focus area for 

safety.40 AASHTO also maintains 

several committees that oversee 

road safety topics including the 

Standing Committee on Highway 

Traffic Safety and the Subcommittee 

on Safety Management. These 

groups decide which research topics 

should be prioritized for funding 

under NCHRP.

State Research Programs

In addition to participating in 

large scale research efforts, such 

as NCHRP, State departments of 

transportation often fund road 

safety research projects on topics 

that are of particular interest to 

their State. They use portions from 

Federal funds that are specially 

designated for research projects. 

Every State has a different process 

for how the research projects are 

conceived and conducted, but 

a common arrangement is that 

the State DOT contracts with 

universities in the State to conduct 

the research. The research topics 

typically pertain to current road 

safety issues that are high priority 

within the State or issues related to 

geography, terrain, weather, driver 

population, or other such factors 

that may be particular to that State. 

For example, a State in a snowy 

climate may sponsor a research 

project on how snowplowing affects 

the visibility and durability of inpavement reflective markers. 

http://www.trb.org/

NCHRP/NCHRP.

aspx

40

Other Research Sponsors

Although the majority of road safety 

research is funded by government 

sources, private companies and 

organizations also participate in 

funding road safety research. Prominent 

examples of these are the IIHS and 

the American Automobile Association 

Foundation for Traffic Safety.
5-24 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

A key part of many efforts to 

improve road safety is sharing 

safety messages through strategic 

communications. This chapter 

provides an outline of the most 

basic elements of strategic 

communications that transportation 

safety professionals should 

use when working with their 

communications teams to craft and 

disseminate messages that seek 

to improve traffic safety culture. 

As mentioned in Unit 1, strategic 

communications programs like 

public education campaigns are 

commonly used to improve road user 

attitudes and awareness. 

A strategic communications 

program involves elements of 

communications, marketing, and 

public outreach. These components 

often overlap and are not easily 

separated into distinct categories 

with unique functions. Strategic 

communications is more than the 

sum of its parts. Rather, it is a 

structured methodology that fuses 

messaging with marketing while 

garnering public support.

Several examples demonstrate that 

strategic communications can result 

in behavioral changes. An effort 

in the late 1980s to stop impaired 

driving resulted in substantial 

decreases in Driving Under the 

Influence (DUI) citations. NHTSA 

saw successful results from the 

implementation of the “Buckle Up 

America Campaign” and the National 

Safety Council’s “Airbag and Seat 

Belt Safety Campaign” and the highvisibility public information program 

“Click It or Ticket” safety belt 

enforcement campaign. Strategic 

communications was a key element 

of all of these efforts.

Other examples of communications 

efforts include:

J Campaigns with careful pre-testing 

and delineation of a target group 

that receives the messages. 

J Longer-term programs that 

deliver a message in sufficient 

intensity over time.

Strategic Communications

CHAPTER 15 IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS

Public education campaigns like this 

one are commonly used to improve road 

user attitudes and awareness. 

(Source: NHTSA)
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-25

J Education programs built around 

behavioral change models, using 

interactive methods to teach 

skills to resist social influences 

through role playing.

J Public information campaigns 

that accompany other ongoing 

prevention activities. 

J Programs conducted as part of a 

broader community effort or in 

support of law enforcement.

An effective strategic 

communications program, like any 

effective endeavor, needs a plan. The 

following are key steps in developing 

a strategic communications plan that 

every road safety professional should 

know:

1. Develop objectives

2. Identify target audience

3. Design messaging

4. Select communications channels 

5. Determine budget and resources

6. Measure results

Each step of this communications 

plan outline is discussed in the 

sections below.

1. Develop Objectives 

The first phase in creating a 

strategic communications plan is 

to determine objectives. A welldesigned communications strategy 

may achieve multiple goals, such 

as informing the public about 

transportation safety issues, 

educating key political leaders 

on their roles in saving lives, and 

encouraging active participation 

from safety partners. 

To develop objectives, safety 

professionals must start by defining 

what “success” should look like. 

Important questions include: 

J What are we trying to achieve?

J Do we want people to take a new 

action, or do we want people to 

modify an old behavior? 

J How do we know when we have 

achieved our goal (i.e., what are 

our target metrics)?

Establishing measurable goals is 

an important piece that should be 

not be overlooked. Having a target 

or measurable goal (metric) makes 

it simpler to gauge the success of a 

campaign. 

2. Identify Target Audience

After developing communications 

objectives, the next step is deciding 

what populations to target. For 

example, safety professionals must 

decide if the program should be 

aimed at the general public or a 

specific sub-set of the population, 

such as young drivers, pedestrians, 

or people who drive aggressively. A 

message could also be aimed at road 

safety professionals and government 

officials. In addition to a target 

audience or audiences, secondary 

audiences may be included. For 

instance, if the program targets young 

drivers, a secondary audience may 

include the parents of these novice 

drivers. 

3. Design Messaging

Once safety professionals identify the 

target audience, they must determine 

what the message will be. A key 

step is to define the problem that 

needs to be solved in order to craft 

the message. Messaging should be 

designed so that it encourages specific 

actions, and draws upon established 
5-26 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

objectives to determine what those 

actions should be. Designing the 

message will bring about questions 

like these: “Is the intended action 

a change in safety funding or 

policies? Or is the goal a change in 

user behavior?” Focusing efforts 

on strategies that connect with 

the target audience is particularly 

important in today’s environment of 

tight budgets and scarce resources.

After message development, safety 

professionals should consider pretesting the message with the target 

audience. A pre-test can identify 

points of view of the target audience, 

provide unexpected insights or 

reactions that can help further refine 

messaging, and help determine if the 

communications plan will improve 

the chance of accomplishing the 

stated objectives. 

4. Select Communications 

Channels 

Carefully crafted messages need to 

be conveyed through appropriate 

channels in order to be effective. 

Communications channels include 

the personal and the non-personal. 

Personal channels include the 

advocate channel (advocates 

championing the objectives of 

a campaign), expert channel 

(independent experts making 

statements to the target audience), 

and social channel (word of mouth 

communications). Non-personal 

channels include media, events, 

and public outreach – examples 

of common non-personal 

dissemination techniques include, 

but are not limited to, the following:

J Brochures

Watch for Me NC is a comprehensive 

program run by the North Carolina 

Department of Transportation (NCDOT) 

in partnership with local communities. 

It is aimed at reducing the number of 

pedestrians and bicyclists crashes.

The Watch for Me NC program involves 

two key elements: 1) safety and 

educational messages directed toward 

drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists, and 

2) enforcement efforts by area police to 

crack down on some of the violations of 

traffic safety laws. Local programs are 

typically led by municipal, county, or regional 

government staff with the involvement 

of many others including pedestrian 

and bicycle advocates, city planners, law 

enforcement agencies, engineers, public 

health professionals, elected officials, 

school administrators and others.

All North Carolina communities are 

encouraged to use Watch for Me NC 

campaign materials to improve pedestrian 

and bicyclist safety in their communities.

Watch for Me NC

WatchForMeNC.org

Make room for bikes.

1,400 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $410.20, or $0.293 per copy. (07/13) 

WatchForMeNC.org

Yield to people in crosswalks.

It’s the law.

2,000 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $586, or $0.293 per copy. (07/13) 

(Source: Watch for Me NC)
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-27

J Conferences/workshops 

J Dynamic message signs 

J Media advisories

J New media (e.g., blogs, podcasts, 

Facebook pages)

J News media events 

J Newsletters and press releases

J Public service announcements 

J Print, radio, and television 

advertising

J Social media

J Websites

Safety professionals must work 

with the communications team 

to determine the right media 

mix, which is the combination of 

communication channels needed to 

meet communications objectives. 

Together they must figure out 

which channels -- personal and/

or non-personnel – and which 

tactics will help meet the stated 

road safety goals. For example, 

personal channels may work well 

with government officials, while 

non-personnel channels may 

work best with reaching out to the 

public. Also, a detailed timeline of 

channels and tactics to employ, is 

crucial for implementing a strategic 

communications plan.

5. Determine Budget 

and Resources

Implementing a comprehensive 

communications program requires 

resources like money, staff, and 

time. Therefore, developing a budget 

for the program is an integral part 

of carrying out the plan. Safety 

professionals should consider every 

element of the proposed plan, and 

make sure there are resources to 

cover them all. For instance, it may be 

necessary to hire an outside firm to 

help develop and refine messages and 

tactics, and that should be factored 

into the budget. All program expenses 

should be tracked to determine how 

well the budget has been met when 

measuring results.

6. Measure Results

Evaluation of a strategic 

communications program is 

essential. Without evaluation, current 

programs may waste resources and 

fail to contribute to a road safety 

program’s goals. Evaluations help 

safety professionals learn from 

outcomes and help them allocate 

funds in the most efficient manner. 

If a program does not meet expected 

metrics, they should re-examine the 

program and/or move the resources to 

other efforts.

To measure the results of the 

program, safety professionals must 

go back to the objectives and predetermined measurable goals and 

targets. The original questions in 

Step 1 will guide the evaluation of 

the success of the program. Surveys, 

focus groups, and/or one-on-one 

interviews are often good ways of 

measuring the performance of a 

strategic communications program. 

As far as data allow, safety professionals 

should also attempt to compare the 

effectiveness of communication 

campaigns in the same way that 

they compare the performance 

of traditional infrastructure 

countermeasures. The comparison 

will help identify campaigns that are 

both effective and efficient.
5-28 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

This chapter covers the crucial role 

that safety leaders, champions, 

and coalitions play in road safety 

management. While the various 

agencies and organizations involved 

in road safety bring unique and 

valuable perspectives to the 

problem of road safety, they also 

bring competing philosophies 

and problem-solving approaches. 

Bringing these various entities 

together to develop and implement 

an effective road safety program 

is a challenge. 

The major topics include:

J Leaders

J Champions

J Coalitions

Leaders

Leadership is essential in any field, 

but it is particularly important in 

road safety for three major reasons:

J The safety field is diverse. 

It draws on the skills of 

educators, politicians, advocates, 

bureaucrats, public servants, 

and others. These groups 

sometimes work in harmony, 

but too often, they work in 

isolation. Leaders are necessary 

for cohesion in a complex, 

multi-stakeholder environment.

J A great deal of technical 

knowledge is available in the 

safety field regarding the most 

effective means of addressing the 

contributing factors to crashes. 

However, technical knowledge 

is not sufficient for change to 

occur. Leadership is necessary 

to ensure technical knowledge 

is used.

J Road safety programs and 

projects compete with other 

public sector priorities. Without 

strong leaders to support the 

safety cause, public sector 

decision makers might not 

consider or prioritize safety.

Leadership Activities

Leaders are an instrumental part 

of any planning process, and road 

safety programs are no exception. 

Leaders bring people together, 

provide essential direction, and 

motivate people to participate in and 

implement the program. Leaders 

should be engaged and actively 

involved in the process. 

Consider a few examples of 

leadership in safety:

J State DOT leaders decide that 

reducing fatal and serious 

crashes should be the first 

priority of the department. They 

garner staff support to make 

funding and structural changes 

to the organization to support 

the shift in priorities.

J Law enforcement officers 

develop new incentive programs 

to encourage officers to identify 

and arrest impaired drivers. They 

successfully sell the program to 

their managers.

Advancing Road Safety

CHAPTER 16 IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-29

J A trauma nurse initiates a 

“teachable moments” campaign 

in which nurses teach patients 

about the risks associated with 

drinking and driving.

J A mayor recognizes that many 

streets in her city are not suitable 

for safe travel by pedestrians 

and garners support and funding 

from the city council to build 

sidewalks and improve the safety 

of transit stops. 

In each of these examples, the 

leaders recognized a need for 

change, acted on the need, and 

inspired others to follow. Anyone 

with drive, dedication, and a good 

idea can lead.

Leadership Traits and Skills

Good leaders influence policy 

direction, set priorities, and 

define performance expectations. 

They energize the road safety 

process and see to it that a plan is 

developed, and once developed, is 

implemented. They are risk takers, 

problems solvers, and creative 

thinkers committed to doing what 

is necessary to advance the cause, 

which sometimes means breaking 

traditional institutional barriers 

and balancing competing 

agency priorities.

Leaders are often known as program 

managers, and their activities keep 

the implementation process on 

track. They manage the process 

and attend to the day-to-day tasks 

of arranging, facilitating, and 

documenting meetings, tracking 

progress, and moving discrete 

activities through to completion.

Leaders are needed throughout all 

stages of road safety development, 

implementation, and evaluation. 

They communicate the safety 

vision and support a collaborative 

framework that enables safety 

stakeholders to participate actively 

in implementation.

Leaders bring people together, provide essential direction, and motivate people.
5-30 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

Leadership Development

To expand leadership support, begin 

with the safety partners already 

committed to the safety concept and 

process. Encourage the leadership 

of those partners to contact their 

peers, explain the significance of 

their efforts, and marshal support. 

Their endorsement of the safety 

vision should include encouraging 

staff to stay engaged and building 

relationships across organizational 

boundaries and traditional areas 

of responsibility. 

Leadership support affects agencies 

or organizations internally by 

granting permission to dedicate time 

and resources to the safety effort. 

It also holds those responsible for 

safety accountable. Leadership 

should recognize that this is an 

ongoing process and institutionalize 

the change in the safety decisionmaking culture.

The safety program manager may 

perform either as a part- or fulltime permanent role; experience 

demonstrates a dedicated role 

is preferable.

Champions

Successful road safety programs 

call for at least one champion to 

assist in gathering all critical safety 

partners into a collaborative group. 

Champions provide enthusiasm and 

support for the safety programs. 
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-31

http://safety.fhwa.

dot.gov/hsip/shsp/

41

Like leaders, champions must 

be credible and accountable, 

have excellent interpersonal and 

organizational skills, and be 

skilled expediters. 

Champion Activities

Safety champions help secure the 

necessary leadership, resources, 

visibility, support, and commitment 

of all partners. Sometimes the DOT 

leadership, or the leadership of 

the primary sponsoring agency, 

appoints the champion. A safety 

champion can reside at any level 

within the organizational structure 

and can perform various functions. 

For example, a safety champion 

may lead the executive committee 

that meets periodically to solve 

problems, remove barriers, track 

progress, and recommend further 

action. The role of the executive 

committee is to decide which 

projects or strategies are funded 

based on input from the emphasis 

area teams, and to prioritize them 

based on benefit/cost analysis, 

expected fatality reductions, and 

the extent to which they address the 

project’s goals and objectives. 

Where relationships are not fully 

developed, the champion may 

have to put in additional effort to 

keep the full range of safety 

partners committed and 

actively participating.

Champion Traits and Skills

FHWA published the 

“Strategic Highway Safety Plan 

Implementation Process Model” 

that identifies two types of 

transportation safety champions.41 

The first have access to resources 

and the ability to implement 

change. In other words, they may 

not be involved in the day-today management responsibility 

for program development and 

implementation, but they are able 

to “move mountains” in terms 

of resource allocation and policy 

support. The second are leaders 

who inspire others to follow their 

direction. These champions are 

people who provide enthusiasm and 

support to transportation project 

implementation. They tend to be 

subject matter experts and highly 

respected within their own agencies 

and in the safety community.

Succession Planning

All agencies and organizations 

undergo staff changes, and it is 

essential to train the leaders of 

tomorrow to ensure that the focus 

on safety continues into the future. 

This can be accomplished by 

assigning leadership responsibilities 

for program implementation to 

newer staff and by ensuring that all 

staff have opportunities to engage 

and lead during meetings and 

other activities.

To ensure continuity when an 

individual champion or leader 

retires, takes a position in another 

organization, or moves out of State, 

a systematic approach to identifying 

their replacement is necessary. The 

selection process should be based 

on individual skills, leadership 

traits, and the position held within 

a stakeholder organization. One 

way to institutionalize the selection 

of safety committee members is to 

link their selection to the position 

they hold within the stakeholder 

organization. For example, whoever 

assumes the previous safety 

champion or committee member’s 

position should also become the new 

committee member. 
5-32 UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS

Coalitions

Safety partners and organizations 

bring unique and valuable perspectives 

to bear on the transportation 

safety problem. However, differing 

philosophies, competing priorities, 

and varying business cultures may 

make collaboration a challenge. 

Coalitions are an opportunity for road 

safety leaders and champions to bring 

together the various disciplines and 

agencies and focus on the shared 

goal of reducing crashes. Whether 

coalitions are short-term, longterm, or permanent, they offer road 

safety collaborators the prospect 

of solving complex issues through 

partnerships.

Safety Partners

The organizational structure of 

agencies and interagency working 

relationships are important factors 

to consider when bringing safety 

partners together. Rather than 

create entirely new committees, 

a champion should build upon 

existing relationships, interagency 

working groups, and committees. 

Many States have functioning 

transportation safety committees, 

such as a TRCC, an Executive Committee 

for Highway Safety, or a Towards 

Zero Deaths (TZD) coalition. 

Regardless of how safety partners 

are brought together and organized 

to contribute to the safety process, 

champions should look for ways to 

expand membership to include a 

broad range of partners, such as 

insurance, trucking and motor coach 

companies, fire and rescue, local 

businesses, and others. 

When States implement the 

Federally required SHSPs, their 

safety partners typically include 

those that are Federally required, 

such as EMS providers, health and 

education departments, Motor 

Carrier Safety Assistance Program 

(MCSAP) managers, local agencies, 

tribal governments, special interest 

groups (e.g., MADD), and others.

With an emphasis on wide-ranging 

collaboration that includes many 

external partners, it can be easy to 

overlook the importance of broad 

DOT involvement, as well. Early 

involvement of planning, design, 

operations, and maintenance will 

enhance the implementation of 

safety strategies, especially if they 

are new or experimental.

Some champions bring partners 

together by convening a safety 

summit or meeting. This could be 

a large initial kickoff meeting or a 

meeting of the safety working group 

or steering committee. It provides 

an opportunity to learn about each 

of the safety partner priorities and 

understand what they contribute. 

Coalitions should give participants 

the opportunity to describe their 

safety concerns and current 

programs. This may advance the 

discussion of critical safety issues, 

identify opportunities, and forge an 

agreement on how to proceed.

Benefits of Collaboration

Engineering, planning, emergency 

response, and behavioral approaches 

all have roles to play in addressing 

road safety. Professionals in these 

various disciplines have different 

skill sets, and they approach 

solutions using different methods. 

Dramatic improvements in 

roadway safety are more likely to 

result through a combination of 

techniques than from techniques 

from a single discipline. This need 
ROAD SAFETY FUNDAMENTALS UNIT 5: IMPLEMENTING ROAD SAFETY EFFORTS 5-33

for multidisciplinary solutions 

necessitates collaboration.

Unit Summary

Improving road safety is a complex 

endeavor requiring the knowledge 

and expertise of a wide range 

of professionals. Road safety 

improvement is a joint effort 

across many Federal, State, and 

local agencies, each with their own 

particular focus area. 

Federal agencies often play a 

role in providing funding and 

national cooperation for focused 

road safety efforts. State and local 

agencies implement road safety 

improvements, either for roads and 

intersections in their jurisdiction, or 

on the road users themselves. The 

efforts of these government agencies 

is supported by a broad base of 

road safety research, which provides 

knowledge on identifying safety 

problems or evaluating potential 

solutions. Strategic communications 

allow all road safety partners to be 

effective in their efforts to improve 

road safety, either in communicating 

to the public or to transportation 

professionals.

Leadership is essential in the road 

safety field. The diversity of the 

field, the importance of coordination 

among disciplines, and the need 

to defend safety programs among 

a host of competing public sector 

priorities all contribute to the need 

for strong leadership. Successfully 

implementing road safety efforts 

relies on safety champions and 

coalitions that bring together 

safety partners from all agencies 

and disciplines.

J IDENTIFY a road safety leader in your 

community, State, or region. Determine 

the leader’s area(s) of concern, observe 

how the leader engages with the 

transportation safety community, and 

assess the leader’s success. Write a 

brief report summarizing your research. 

Include an explanation for why or why 

not the leader was successful.

J FHWA has explicitly stated that a 

“safety champion” should lead safety 

efforts, specifically development of 

State SHSPs. Using your home State’s 

DOT website, RESEARCH past or 

present safety champions. Prepare a 

brief class presentation that identifies 

the champion, explains why he or 

she was chosen for the role, what the 

requirements of the position were, and 

what projects the State implemented 

under the champion’s guidance. Be 

sure to include an assessment of the 

champion’s tenure.

J Coalition building requires a thoughtful, 

reasoned approach. CHOOSE an 

important road safety issue that the 

transportation community is still 

studying. Propose a list of coalition 

members that could best approach 

the issue from all available disciplines 

and interests. Be sure to keep the list 

reasonable. In a report, summarize 

the safety issue and introduce the 

coalition members. Explain why each 

member is critical to the coalition 

and the expectations for each 

member’s contributions. 

EXERCISES
FHWA, Office of Safety

Felix H. Delgado, P.E.

Felix.Delgado@dot.gov

FHWA-SA-18-003

Road Safety Fundamentals is available for free at: 

https://rspcb.safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsf/