Winter 2022, Volume 16, Issue 1

 Message from the Associate Administrator for Safety, Cheryl Walker

Combating the Crisis of Rising Roadway Fatalities

I write this at a time when we are all appalled by the fatality numbers for the first half of 2021.

Secretary Buttigieg delivered the grim news during the American Association of State Highway and

Transportation Officials (AASHTO) annual meeting in San Diego. We saw the largest 6-month increase

in fatalities ever recorded in the history of the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). An

estimated 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes on our roadways during this time, an

astonishing 18.4-percent increase over the same period in 2020.

If this trend continues, 40,000+ people could lose their lives on our roads in 2021. To echo the

Secretary’s words, this situation is a crisis. This increase in fatalities is unconscionable. Back in 2020,

we were shocked when fatalities increased even while vehicle miles traveled precipitously decreased.

With this continued uptick in fatalities in 2021, we cannot view 2020 as an anomaly. We are truly in a

crisis, and it’s a crisis for everyone—particularly the people who lost their lives and the families and

friends left behind. The stakes could not be higher as we continue to push forward and seek new ways

to eliminate fatalities on our roads.

First and foremost, we have unprecedented opportunities to advance safety through the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure

Law. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has safety as a foundational mission and will enable crucial investments in safety for our

Nation’s roads.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is finalizing a National Roadway Safety Strategy, which will

consolidate and streamline the safety-related work being executed by the modal agencies and will set forth a comprehensive set

of actions to work with our partners to significantly reduce road deaths and serious injuries.

FHWA has also just released information on nine new Proven Safety Countermeasures (PSCs)—road design elements and

strategies that markedly improve road safety (see page 2). The new PSCs include rectangular rapid flashing beacons, crosswalk

visibility enhancements, bicycle lanes, lighting, pavement friction management, wider edge lines, variable speed limits,

appropriate speed limit setting, and speed safety cameras. The data show that these strategies can have a huge impact on road

safety.

Finally, our revamped Focused Approach to Safety (FAS) initiative (see page 3) will also provide key resources to focus States.

These States will receive priority access to technical assistance to address the most common types of crashes that result in

fatalities (roadway departures, intersection crashes, and pedestrian/bicycle crashes).

While we are dismayed by the increase in fatality numbers in 2021, we are mobilized to address this crisis. We look forward to

working with our partners both inside and outside USDOT to reverse these numbers and decrease fatalities on our roadways.

Cheryl Walker

Associate Administrator

for Safety
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 2 –

in this issue...

 What’s New.......................................................................................................................................................................... 2

Nine New Proven Safety Countermeasures Added.................................................................................................................................................... 2

Recalibrating the Focused Approach to Safety ............................................................................................................................................................ 3

 Awards................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

2021 FHWA Safety Discipline Awards .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4

National Roadway Safety Awards Winners Honored by FHWA and the Roadway Safety Foundation................................................. 5

 Safety Driven Changes and Improvements ................................................................................................................. 7

Safe System Strategic Plan: A New Resource on Implementing the Safe System Approach Together................................................ 7

High-Friction Surface Treatments: Creating Friction for Crash Reduction in Pennsylvania ....................................................................... 7

 Learning Together.............................................................................................................................................................. 8

FHWA Hosts Virtual Peer Exchanges on Safe System for Pedestrians and Bicyclists.................................................................................... 8

Case Studies for FHWA Pedestrian and Bicycle Focus States and Cities............................................................................................................ 9

Training Updates from the National Highway Institute..........................................................................................................................................10

Safety Stories ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................10

 Data and Analysis ..............................................................................................................................................................12

Puerto Rico Highway Safety Corridor Program..........................................................................................................................................................12

Making Work Zones Safer with Better Data: Introducing the Work Zone Data Exchange.......................................................................15

 New Resource Roundup..................................................................................................................................................16

Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool, Version 3, Available!......................................................................................................................16

New Resources and Incorporation of the Bikeway Selection Guide into State Planning Documents ..................................................16

Moving Freight Safely: New Directions at FHWA ......................................................................................................................................................18

 Announcements.................................................................................................................................................................19

FHWA Safety R&D Completes the Final Release of the Interactive Highway Safety Design Model ....................................................19

Winter 2022 Edition of Public Roads Magazine.........................................................................................................................................................19

Upcoming Conferences and Events ................................................................................................................................................................................19

Visit the FHWA Office of Safety Booth #537 in the TRB Exhibit Hall!................................................................................................................20

WHAT’S NEW

Nine New Proven Safety

Countermeasures Added

By Philip Bobitz, FHWA Office of Safety

In October 2021, the FHWA Office of

Safety introduced nine NEW

countermeasures to the Proven

Safety Countermeasures initiative

(PSCi). These additions enhance the

already diverse set of safety

strategies for State, local, regional,

and Tribal transportation

professionals to consider

implementing as part of their efforts

to improve safety for all road users

on the Nation's roadways.

In addition to nine new

countermeasures and crosscutting

strategies, this most recent iteration

of the PSCi adds recent research

and considerations to the existing

proven safety countermeasure

(PSC) materials. New features have

been added to the PSC website,

including a filter tool and search

function that will help practitioners
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 3 –

identify applicable countermeasures

that meet their needs.

Widespread implementation of

PSCs, where appropriate, can serve

to accelerate the achievement of

local, State, and national safety

goals. The updated PSC website is

the one-stop shop for resources and

information to advance the now 28

countermeasures for your

jurisdiction.

For more information or assistance,

please contact Phillip Bobitz, P.E., at

Phillip.Bobitz@dot.gov.

Recalibrating the Focused

Approach to Safety

By Jeffrey B. Shaw, P.E., FHWA Office of

Safety

Since 2004, FHWA has used FAS, a

unique, data-driven, agency-specific

approach to safety, to offer priority

assistance to select focus States in

order to reduce fatalities and serious

injuries on the Nation’s highways. In

October 2021, an adjusted and

updated FAS was rolled out based

on current data and program

evaluation. A refreshed FAS web

page includes the explanatory

update memo, the list of new focus

States, frequently asked questions,

and a link to the public webinar

recording. 

This 2021 update relied on 6 years

(2014–2019) of data from FARS,

Census Bureau, and FHWA highway

statistics. Some of the notable

changes implemented with this

update include:

• Pedestrians and bicyclists are

now treated as two separate

focus areas for a total of four,

including roadway departure and

intersections.

• Speed management is featured

as an emphasis area for all

focus areas, and two-lane rural

roads is featured as another

emphasis area for roadway

departure.

• The analysis procedures,

techniques, and criteria to select

focus States and metropolitan

planning organizations

(MPO)/regions were very

different from prior iterations of

FAS, but similar in identifying

over-representation across the

focus areas.

• A metric for equity was

developed and used as a

selection criterion.

FHWA’s nine new PSCs. (Source: FHWA)

Map of focus States. (Source: FHWA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 4 –

• The number of focus States was

reduced from 25 to 16.

• MPOs/regions are identified

within focus States instead of as

individual cities.

These 16 new focus States, shown

in the map, represent 51 percent of

all traffic-related fatalities that

occurred in the United States during

the analysis period. Within these 16

focus States, there were also 23

MPOs/regions over-represented for

fatalities in the intersections,

pedestrians, and bicyclists focus

areas.

As with past iterations of FAS,

FHWA is providing priority technical

assistance and training to the focus

States.

For more information, please contact

Jeff Shaw at jeffrey.shaw@dot.gov

or 202-738-7793.

AWARDS

2021 FHWA Safety Discipline

Awards

By Cheryl Walker, FHWA, Office of Safety

The Safety Discipline Awards

recognize individuals for their

demonstrated leadership and

accomplishments in safety. The four

2021 awardees are Carol Tan,

Jessica Rich, Brooke Struve, and

Mark Bartlett.

Howard Anderson Lifetime

Achievement Award

In 1974

Howard

Anderson was

named the

first FHWA

Associate

Administrator

for Safety. In

honor of his

safety

contributions to FHWA, the Howard

Anderson Lifetime Achievement

Award was established in 2014 to

recognize a current or retired FHWA

employee with an exemplary career

of outstanding and significant service

to the FHWA safety discipline.

Nominees are evaluated for

continuous efforts to champion

safety internally and externally to

FHWA.

For 32 years, Dr. Carol H. Tan has

established herself as the technical

authority for roadway and crash data

elements, analytical and statistical

techniques, and road asset

management for safety and safety

management systems. She is a

nationally recognized expert on data

analysis to determine the causative

factors in crashes and identifying

trends in the aggregate of those

crashes. Her analyses have directly

contributed to the development of

several PSCs, which in turn have

saved lives. Dr. Tan’s work in the

Highway Safety Information System,

Model Minimum Inventory of

Roadway Elements, Pedestrian and

Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool

(PBCAT), and so many other data

and analysis efforts has left an

enduring mark on the analyses

conducted for safety. It is for this

dedication to a lifetime of improving

highway safety and commitment to

quality that Dr. Tan is receiving the

Howard Anderson Lifetime

Achievement Award.

Field Safety Peer Awards

Jessica G.

Rich has led

numerous

efforts in

improving

highway

safety in

Tennessee,

where she

has been the safety engineer for the

past 18 years. She has also had an

impact on national safety program

initiatives. She has focused on

several efforts that have helped her

State make great strides in

addressing roadway departures and

improving intersection and

pedestrian safety. She has promoted

and institutionalized road safety

audits (RSAs), created systemic

safety programs, facilitated

discussion with key stakeholders to

improve crash data, and led the

development of the local roads

safety initiative. She has also served

on the FHWA safety exchange

website team, provided assistance

for traffic control plans and interview

panels for other States, served on

the Highway Safety Improvement

Program (HSIP) scan team, and

developed safety profiles for 13

opportunity States identified as

Dr. Carol H. Tan. 

(Source: FHWA)

Jessica Rich. (Source: 

FHWA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 5 –

having the highest number of

fatalities nationwide. Her dedication

and efforts in promoting highway

safety in Tennessee and nationally

demonstrate why she is well

deserving of the Field Safety Peer

Award.

Brooke

Struve has

excelled in

her national

work as a

safety and

design

engineer for

the

Resource Center. She is noted for

specific efforts to improve safety that

went above and beyond in service to

State initiatives to improve

pedestrian and bicycle safety. In

Alabama, for example, Brooke

organized and led a pedestrian

safety workshop that included all

division office personnel and focused

on selecting appropriate

countermeasures to be included in

project plans. She also pulled

together review teams, conducted

pedestrian safety reviews, and

delivered the results on corridor

projects in a timely manner. In

Louisiana, Brooke provided technical

reviews of pedestrian and bicycle

designs for key projects.

Additionally, she reviewed the City of

New Orleans Moving NOLA Bike

Plan, drawing on her national

experience to improve the handling

of mixing bike lanes and loading

zones in the commercial business

district, and provided training on the

Americans with Disabilities Act to the

Louisiana Department of

Transportation and Development.

She has repeated these activities,

and more, in States across the

Nation. For her tireless efforts in

promoting pedestrian and bicycle

safety nationally and using that

expertise to improve the safety of

vulnerable users on numerous

projects in multiple States, Brooke

was selected to receive the Field

Safety Peer Award.

Field Leadership Safety Award

Mark Bartlett

is the

inaugural

recipient of

the Field

Leadership

Safety

Award. This

award was

established in 2020 to recognize a

division administrator, deputy

division administrator, or Federal

Lands Division director for

outstanding leadership that

advances safety. The professionals

selected for this award establish a

safety culture in their offices, provide

safety leadership with partners,

implement innovative practices, and

participate in national leadership.

Serving as the Alabama Division

administrator, Mark provides

support, guidance, and leadership in

the division and the State. His

personal commitment to safety has

led to significant improvements in

pedestrian safety, the expansion of

local road safety plans, and

increased implementation of

roundabouts. Mark has also led

national efforts to encourage

increased integration of safety into

project development. For these and

other efforts, Mark is recognized as

the first recipient of this award.

National Roadway Safety

Awards Winners Honored

by FHWA and the Roadway

Safety Foundation

By Norah Ocel, FHWA, Office of Safety, and

Bruce Hamilton, Roadway Safety Foundation

FHWA and the Roadway Safety

Foundation (RSF) announced the

seven winners and three honorable

mentions of the 2021 National

Roadway Safety Awards during a

virtual ceremony on October 6

keynoted by Secretary Buttigieg.

The awards, which have been

cosponsored by RSF and FHWA for

2 decades, honor public agencies

that have demonstrated exceptional

innovation, effectiveness, and an

efficient use of resources in a

roadway safety project or program.

Winning projects of the biennial

awards program are promoted in the

Noteworthy Practices Guide for the

benefit of other agencies that want to

replicate or adopt them in their

communities.

Winners of the 2021 awards in the

infrastructure and operational

improvements category were:

• Florida Department of

Transportation (FDOT) for a

first-of-its-kind study of smart

work zone safety technologies

Mark Bartlett. 

(Source: FHWA)

Brooke Struve. 

(Source: FHWA)

“Today’s honorees are proof that

we have no shortage of

willpower, good ideas or talent

for improving roadway safety,”

Secretary Buttigieg told attendees,

adding that additional funding and

resources are needed to scale up

projects like these and embrace a

Safe System Approach nationwide.
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 6 –

on arterial roads, which

demonstrated a 10.6-percent

reduction in approaching vehicle

speeds and a nearly 40-percent

increase in safe driving

behavior.

• North Carolina Department of

Transportation (NCDOT) for its

long-life pavement markings

safety initiative, which helped

reduce lane departure crashes

by nearly 20 percent and is

estimated to have up to a 60:1

benefit-cost ratio due to reduced

maintenance costs.

• Village of Whitefish Bay,

Wisconsin, for its

communitywide safety

improvements, including a mix

of immediate low-cost

treatments and larger projects

that together have reduced

crashes by almost 40 percent

since 2015.

There were four winners in the

program planning, development and

evaluation category:

• The City of Bellevue,

Washington, for its video

analytics program that

dramatically reduces the time it

takes to conduct safety studies

and check countermeasure

performance, finding in one

example a 60-percent reduction

in critical conflicts at a major

intersection.

• Broward MPO for its innovative

Complete Streets Master Plan,

which has cut severe injury and

fatal crashes by 75 percent on

Wilton Drive in Fort Lauderdale

and sees similar benefits on

other local roadways.

• California Department of

Transportation (Caltrans) for its

transformative 2020–2024

Strategic Highway Safety Plan

(SHSP) to reverse a trend of

rising fatalities and injuries on

State roads.

• Texas Department of

Transportation and Texas A&M

Transportation Institute for

developing and implementing an

all-new safety scoring tool,

which is required for rural twolane and multilane non-accesscontrolled projects, fostering a

proactive approach to safety and

strengthening the traffic safety

culture in the State.

FDOT, Montana Department of

Transportation, and the Town of

Portland, Connecticut, received

honorable mentions.

In addition to publication in the

Noteworthy Practices Guide, award

winners receive local media support

to help generate publicity among

their stakeholders and raise public

awareness of the importance of

roadway safety investments. RSF

and FHWA have traditionally hosted

a representative from each winning

agency at a luncheon awards

ceremony in Washington, DC. In

2021, the ceremony moved to a

virtual format.

Winners are selected by a blueribbon panel of judges representing

diverse perspectives within

transportation, including State and

local government, academia, and

public health. To learn more about

the projects the panel selected for

this year’s awards, visit the RSF

website. Prospective applicants

should keep an eye out for the

official call for nominations around

January 2023.

For more information, please contact

Norah Ocel at norah.ocel@dot.gov

or Bruce Hamilton at

brucehamilton@roadwaysafety.org.

The 2021 Noteworthy Practices Guide

details each project and provides

agency contact information for

readers interested in learning more.

(Source: RSF)

2021 Roadway Safety Award. 

(Source: FHWA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 7 –

 SAFETY DRIVEN CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS

Safe System Strategic Plan:

A New Resource on

Implementing the Safe

System Approach Together

By Norah M. Ocel, P.E., FHWA, Office of Safety

The FHWA Office of Safety is

pleased to share a new resource

with the transportation community:

the Safe System Strategic Plan. This

publication is the product of

collaboration and cooperation

among many organizations that are

part of the Road to Zero Coalition.

These organizations worked

together and shared input on how to

move the Safe System Approach

forward in the United States.

Other countries that have embraced

the Safe System Approach have

seen impressive outcomes. The

United States has unique

perspectives and it will take many

partners working together, including

transportation system planners,

designers, builders, operators, and

users (drivers, bicyclists, and

pedestrians) to advance the Safe

System Approach. Embracing this

approach will take:

• Leadership and working

together beyond silos.

• Striving for new ways of doing

business in many disciplines.

• Stepping out of our comfort

zone.

• Talking to others who have the

same goal of zero road fatalities

and serious injuries.

When we have the political will, the

adequate processes, and the public

demand for facilities that

accommodate every single road user

regardless of their mode of

transportation, we’ll get closer to

zero.

The Safe System Strategic Plan is a

roadmap for transportation

professionals in the United States to

implement the Safe System

Approach with immediate, near-, and

long-term time frames. FHWA is

committed to its partnership role in

implementing the Safe System

Approach, and hopes transportation

stakeholders will work together and

have meaningful conversations

about what it will take to implement

the items identified in the plan. We

hope everyone in the transportation

community will be part of the

conversation and implement, to the

best of their abilities, many of the

action items to further advance the

Safe System Approach. The Safe

System Approach should be the way

our transportation system is planned,

designed, built, and operated.

And remember, let’s work together

because one life lost on our roads is

one too many!

For more information about safety

partnerships, please visit

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

mpions_partnering.aspx or contact

Norah M. Ocel at

Norah.Ocel@dot.gov.

High-Friction Surface

Treatments: Creating

Friction for Crash Reduction

in Pennsylvania

By Joseph Cheung, P.E., FHWA, Office of

Safety

In Pennsylvania more than half of

fatal and serious injury crashes

involve a lane departure. Intersection

crashes account for 21 percent of

annual fatalities and 30 percent of

serious injuries, with a significant

fraction of these crashes attributed

to slippery and wet road conditions.

To reduce wet pavement crashes at

curves and intersections throughout

the Commonwealth, the

Pennsylvania Department of

Transportation (PennDOT) has been

installing high-friction surface

treatments (HFSTs) at strategic

locations.

HFSTs are a safety countermeasure

with exceptional skid-resistant

properties intended to restore and

maintain pavement friction in wet

and dry conditions to reduce

crashes. These properties are the

result of the application of durable

aggregates bonded to the existing

pavement by a layer of polymer

resin. HFSTs are effective in

reducing crashes on horizontal

curves and ramps, intersections, and

pedestrian crossings, especially

those with limited sight distance.

HFSTs are also suitable for high

traffic volume, conditions where the

road will need to reopen to traffic

quickly, and roads within an

environmentally sensitive area. An

FHWA advanced statistical study
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 8 –

using empirical Bayes methodology

shows a crash reduction of 57

percent for total crashes and a crash

reduction of 83 percent for crashes

on wet curves.

PennDOT piloted its first HFSTs at a

high-crash location along State

Route 611 in Northampton County

(District 5). The treatment was

located at a sharp horizontal curve

on a rural, two-lane road with 9-foot

travel lanes and no shoulders. In the

10 years prior to installation of

HFSTs, 20 wet pavement-related

crashes occurred at the site. An

analysis of the crash data over the

next few years after HFSTs were

installed revealed the project

experienced zero wet pavementrelated crashes. Since then,

PennDOT has used the treatment in

areas with a history of a high number

of rear-end or off-road crashes.

PennDOT says studies in other parts

of the State have shown HFSTs to

be highly effective. According to

PennDOT, 47 locations reviewed 3–

5 years after the surface was applied

experienced a “significant crash

reduction.” Most notably, one

location in Northampton County saw

a 100-percent reduction in crashes.

1

While PennDOT has installed HFST

at approximately 500–600 locations

Statewide, District 11, including

Allegheny County, has just started

installing HFSTs in the past couple

of years. Recently, PennDOT and

Allegheny County targeted several

locations with dangerous curves or

intersections with high rear-end

collision rates. In September,

PennDOT and Allegheny County

installed HFSTs at five locations in

Penn Hills on Frankstown Road and

Allegheny River Boulevard,

Westinghouse Avenue in North

Versailles, Lincoln Way in White

Oak, and Route 88 in Castle

Shannon. In parallel, Allegheny

County began installing HFSTs on

September 27 on Vanadium Road

between Route 50 and Main Street

in Collier Street and Scott Street.

The work was completed with little or

no traffic interruption, as most of the

work was performed at night, and

the road segment reopened to traffic

the next morning.

PennDOT considers HFSTs an

innovative low-cost option to deal

with high crash locations, especially

when dealing with friction and wet

weather-related crashes. It is much

more cost-effective than redesigning

the roadway. The rolling terrains with

steep grades and horizontal curve

sections in District 11 lead PennDOT

to believe applying HFSTs to reduce

crashes will be widespread in this

region as well.

For more information, please contact

Joseph Cheung at

joseph.cheung@dot.gov.

LEARNING TOGETHER

FHWA Hosts Virtual Peer

Exchanges on Safe System

for Pedestrians and

Bicyclists

By Tamara Redmon, FHWA, Office of Safety

On March 19, FHWA hosted a virtual

peer exchange on the Safe System

Approach for pedestrians and

bicyclists, which followed along with

the recently developed Primer on

Safe System Approach for

Pedestrians and Bicyclists. The

purpose of this primer is to provide

 1 Ed Blazina, "Creating Friction: PennDOT, Allegheny County Install Rough Surface to Make Intersections, Curves Safer," Pittsburgh

Post Gazette, September 19, 2021, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2021/09/19/PennDOT-Allegheny-County-roughroads-safety-improvement-reduce-crashes-High-Friction-Surface-Treatment-HFST/stories/202109190039.

transportation agencies a baseline

understanding of the Safe System

Approach and how it relates to

bicycle and pedestrian safety. The

FHWA Office of Safety has been

encouraging applications of Safe

System to be adopted nationally.

The peer exchange discussion

focused on planning-level

applications, followed by projectlevel applications of Safe System.

The goal of the meeting was to talk

about how to implement the Safe

System Approach with an eye to

prioritizing safety for pedestrians and

bicyclists and to reflect big

takeaways, participant concerns,

and lessons that could be useful for

other agencies doing similar work.

The peer exchange was attended by

participants from departments of

transportation (DOTs) in California,

Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania,

Oregon, and Washington State.

Moderators closed the day with a

final discussion about

implementation of Safe System

moving forward. This started with a
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 9 –

few poll questions. The responses

are summarized in the illustration

above. Participants thought that it

would be valuable to have Safe

System messaging from all Federal

agencies, and a few suggested that

mandating the adoption of the Safe

System Approach would be a big

step forward.

FHWA held a second peer exchange

on April 14 on Pedestrian and

Bicyclist Safety Action Plan (PBSAP)

development. The peer exchange

followed a webinar held on the

preceding day in which participants

from State agencies were also

invited to participate in the virtual

peer-to-peer event. Representatives

from 19 State and local governments

attended.

PBSAPs are valuable tools that can

help transportation agencies

establish a framework and approach

for reducing deaths and serious

injuries among vulnerable road

users. FHWA developed How to

Develop a Pedestrian and Bicycle

Safety Action Plan many years ago

to help guide agencies through the

steps required to develop their own

action plans for improving safety.

During the webinar, authors of the

guide reviewed the elements of

successful PBSAPs and described

how State DOTs can develop their

own plans. Panelists from Virginia

and Oregon discussed their

approaches to crafting and

implementing their plans and offered

lessons for the audience. You can

review the recording here.

During the peer exchange,

participants discussed safety action

plan development with other State

agencies and representatives from

FHWA. The session was largely a

discussion and was intended to

support agencies in the process of

developing their own action plans.

Some key takeaways that agencies

noted when establishing a vision and

goals for their plans include:

• Coordination among agencies

can be difficult and should be

intentional when developing the

scope and goals.

• Behavioral programs and

infrastructure can be brought

together through the inclusion of

the State DOT and public health

departments.

• Fatal and severe injury crash

reduction goals—and zero

fatalities overall—can be difficult

to achieve and track over a

longer time line when States

want to achieve reductions now.

• An assessment is key to

establishing a baseline for

developing a PBSAP, and it can

also be used to bring together

stakeholders for developing the

vision and goals.

• Some State agencies, such as

FDOT, are using their context

classification systems to assess

and craft more tailored PBSAPs

and goals for small areas such

as FDOT districts.

For more information, please contact

Tamara Redmon at

tamara.redmon@dot.gov.

Case Studies for FHWA

Pedestrian and Bicycle

Focus States and Cities

By Tamara Redmon, FHWA, Office of Safety

The Office of Safety has been

working to aggressively reduce

pedestrian and bicyclist deaths by

focusing extra resources on the

cities and States with the highest

pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities

and/or fatality rates. This effort is

known as focus States and cities.

As part of this effort, FHWA has

been providing free training on

designing safe pedestrian and

bicyclist facilities and workshops that

have led to the development of

PBSAPs, and many other

successes. More than 300 technical

assistance workshops have been

held over the past 17 years.

Safe System Approach poll questions. 

(Source: FHWA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 10 –

This new case study document

provides information on how

agencies have worked with FHWA to

improve pedestrian and bicyclist

safety through the Pedestrian and

Bicyclist Safety Focused Approach

Program. It includes case studies for

Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia,

New Mexico, New York, and the City

of Austin, Texas.

For more information, please contact

Tamara Redmon at

tamara.redmon@dot.gov.

Training Updates from the

National Highway Institute

By Thomas Elliott, NHI, and Sabrina

Sylvester, contractor for NHI

The National Highway Institute (NHI)

focuses on providing innovative and

relevant training that meets the

needs of today’s transportation

industry. NHI recently released a

course for highway safety

practitioners and students to learn

the concepts and processes of road

safety and the reduction of road

fatalities.

New Training: Road Safety

Fundamentals

In 2017, FHWA published the Road

Safety Fundamentals textbook,

which introduces the fundamental

concepts of road safety. In the

textbook, students learn the

landscape of road safety issues and

human behavior pertaining to the

road environment and identify ways

to address safety challenges. This

Road Safety Fundamentals textbook

is widely used as one of the

reference materials for the Road

Safety Professional Certification.

The textbook’s objective is to

prepare the reader with foundational

road safety knowledge.

Road Safety Fundamentals

(Textbook) (FHWA-NHI-380124A) is

a web-based training that teaches

the concepts of road safety in all

phases of roadway design,

operation, and maintenance. Upon

completing this course, participants

will learn the history of road safety,

multiple disciplinary methods,

understanding of human behavior,

various types and importance of

safety data, problem solving through

a safety management process, and

the process of implementing road

safety efforts. Participants also

explore these concepts of road

safety through resolving common

safety issues, evaluating data to

develop various road safety

objectives, and strategizing

achievable steps to enhance road

safety and reduce fatalities.

NHI designed this online training in

an innovative learner-centric format

where instructors encourage

learners to interact with the content

in various and meaningful ways.

Through an in-video format,

participants engage with the content,

including infographics and

downloadable worksheets, to

reinforce key learning points

throughout the course. These

resources will help the participants

refine and further their

comprehension of the materials on

road safety.

This course is expected to take an

average of 12 hours of training time.

Participants can work through the

course materials and assignments at

their own pace. At the end of the

training period, participants who

pass the exam with a grade of 70

percent or more will earn 1.2

continuing education credits.

Participants who successfully

complete the course will also grasp

the fundamental concepts of road

safety and be equipped to help

develop a workforce that is better

prepared to address road safety

challenges.

To learn about the Road Safety

Fundamentals training course, along

with other safety training courses,

visit NHI’s website at

https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/.

Safety Stories

By Chimai Ngo, FHWA, Office of Safety, and

Kevin Elliott, ARA

Transportation safety boils down to

people, including transportation

practitioners themselves. Those who

design and deploy safety treatments

also travel the roads like everyone

else. Many times, they are saved by

those very treatments.

Case study document. (Source: FHWA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 11 –

This is a series of real stories of

people, including transportation

practitioners, who had personal

experiences being saved from harm

by the safety strategies and

countermeasures we promote every

day. Their stories drive home the

importance of making safety a top

priority in the transportation industry.

Tony Kemnitz, Wisconsin DOT

Tony Kemnitz, a traffic safety

engineer with Wisconsin DOT, knew

something had to be done after the

mother of a young man who had

died on a curve in Tony’s jurisdiction

reached out to Tony. The young man

was returning home following a

friend’s bachelor party. He was, no

doubt, tired and drifted across the

centerline on a curve, striking an

opposing vehicle.

After this young man’s death, Tony

prepared an improvement plan for

the roadway that justified the cost of

installing centerline rumble strips on

the curve with a nearby project. The

man’s mother was able to attend the

installation.

“Unfortunately, it is an after-the-fact

response. But we were able to

respond and make the highway

safer,” Tony said. “We did not save

that young man, but we did help

reduce the chance for another

mother (family) to suffer the loss of a

family member.” Here is a link to

news coverage of this story:

https://www.wsaw.com/2020/10/19/

mother-of-man-killed-in-crash-getsdot-to-install-rumble-strips-on-hwy73/.

For Tony, roadway safety is a

personal matter.

“I lost my brother-in-law and his

girlfriend in a fatal crash in 1990.

This caused me to change my

career path and pursue a traffic

engineering position with a goal of

improving safety and operations on

our roads,” Tony said. “That is why I

do what I do. Best job I have ever

had because in doing it you can

save lives.”

Yanira Rivera, FHWA

Yanira, a safety engineer in the

Eastern Federal Lands Division

Office, was driving home after a long

day. She had worked a full-time job

and then attended evening classes

while finishing her civil engineering

degree. As she embarked on her 40-

minute commute home, tired from a

long day, she didn’t realize how

fatigued she felt. When her vehicle

began to drift from the travel portion

of the road, rumble strips alerted her

of the potential danger by causing a

vibration and audible sound through

the wheels of the vehicle.

“Thank goodness for those rumble

strips. Otherwise I probably would

have left the road and hit a tree or

other fixed object,” Yanira said. “That

experience stayed with me so much

that I decided to study centerline

rumble strips for my master’s

project.”

Did you know rumble strips are an

effective deterrent to roadway

departure crashes? According to the

FHWA Rumble Strips and Rumble

Stripes Technical Advisories, milled

centerline rumble strips can provide

a 38–50-percent reduction in headon and opposite-direction, sideswipe

injury crashes on rural, two-lane

roads. Milled shoulder and edge

rumble strips provide significant

reductions in single-vehicle run-offroad injury crashes: 10–24 percent

on rural freeways and 26–46 percent

on two-lane rural roads.

Visit the FHWA Rumble Strips and

Rumble Stripes web page for

additional information:

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_

dept/pavement/rumble_strips/.

Do you have a story to share? Do

you know someone in your

organization whose life was saved

by safety treatments or whose

career was inspired by a safety

story? If so, please contact Chimai

Ngo at chimai.ngo@dot.gov.

Tony Kemnitz. (Source: FHWA)

Yanira Rivera. (Source: FWHA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 12 –

DATA AND ANALYSIS

Puerto Rico Highway Safety

Corridor Program

By Grace Diaz-Estrada and Juan C. RiveraOrtiz, area engineers, FHWA Puerto Rico and

USVI Division

Puerto Rico is called the Island of

the Enchantment for its national

resources, friendly people, food, and

other amazing things that anyone

can see on a small 100-by-35-mile

island in the Caribbean. At first

glance at the Island of Enchantment,

one may not notice its highway

safety program. Under Section 165

of Title 23 of the United States Code,

the Puerto Rico Highway Safety

Program must annually obligate at

least 25 percent of its Federal funds

to projects or programs eligible

under HSIP. The 25 percent of the

total Federal funds is approximately

$30 million a year in highway safety

projects. As highway safety

engineers, this requirement is music

to our ears. But what happens if the

highway safety program of the

Puerto Rico Highways and

Transportation Authority (PRHTA),

grantee of the FHWA funds, is not

prepared to obligate highway safety

improvements projects due to lack of

a data-driven approach and a safety

culture in engineering processes?

These obstacles were overcome by

a passionate group of professionals

who pioneered the highway safety

program in PRHTA and developed

the Puerto Rico Highway Safety

Corridor Program.

Let’s go back in time to the year

2013 and begin the description of

our program. In that year, Puerto

Rico completed its first SHSP. In

developing the plan, the engineers

found that crash reports in the police

department of transportation had

been completed manually and there

was a backlog of 4 years of data to

be entered into the crash

database—meaning a data-driven

analysis was not feasible due to lack

of data. The first step in developing a

Highway Safety Corridor Program

was looking for innovative ways of

having crash data for analysis. The

Traffic Records Coordinating

Committee worked on various efforts

in this area, and from 2013 to the

present, made achievements in the

data category.

The 4-year backlog in the crash

database was eliminated in 2015 in

phases. The first phase entered only

fatal and serious injuries crashes in

the database. When the personnel of

the Office of Collection and Analysis

of Crash Data completed this first

phase, they began entering the

crashes with property damages only

in the database. This effort required

the collaboration of different

agencies to provide staff on

rotational assignments for evaluation

and database entry of crash reports.

At the same time, the police

department was updating the crash

form with the Model Minimum

Uniform Crash Criteria requirements

and developing an electronic crash

form that allows crash information to

be obtained in 24–48 hours. The

electronic crash form was completed

in 2019 and began implementation in

2020. This was a breakthrough in

data analysis.

After data efforts were completed,

the next step was to develop a data

analysis approach. In 2017, the

engineers from the public and

private sector collaborated on the

development of the High Crash

Location Report (HCLR). With the

phrase, “Knowledge is one of the

most powerful tools in the decisionmaking process,” transportation

professionals developed HCLR to

guide Puerto Rico to a better

understanding of the roadway

locations that need more attention

from the 4Es of safety (engineering,

education, enforcement, and

emergency medical services [EMS])

to reduce the number of fatalities

and serious injuries caused by traffic

crashes. The HCLR defines

corridors (3 kilometers or more),

spots (500 meters), and

intersections with higher crash cost

factors and frequency indexes for

specific 3-year periods. The list of

roads by functional classification,

SHSP emphasis areas, and special

cases (motorcyclists, festive periods,

older population, and transportation

management areas) was vital for the

initial steps of the Highway Safety

Corridor Program. Another objective

of the HCLR was to assist the other

3Es (enforcement, education, and

EMS) in the development of their

safety and security plans.

“Knowledge is one of the most

powerful tools in the decisionmaking process.” – High Crash 

Location Report
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 13 –

Once the data barrier was

overcome, the next goal was to

promote a safety culture among

senior management and engineering

departments. Safety should be a top

priority and must be evaluated in all

projects with the inclusion of PSCs in

other States and territories or

recommended by FHWA programs

(e.g., Every Day Counts).

The Highway Safety Division in

PRHTA used the following process

to implement the Highway Safety

Corridor Program (see flowchart):

Training

A highway safety corridor project

requires the evaluation of all road

users and how the deficiencies and

problems identified in the corridor

will be impacted by the engineering

measures. It was important to

promote education to designers in

the public and private sector on the

innovative engineering measures

that will be included in the highway

safety projects. With the

collaboration of FHWA Puerto Rico

and U.S. Virgin Islands Division and

the Puerto Rico Local Technical

Assistance Program, the

transportation community received

the following training:

• RSAs

• Data-driven safety analysis

• Low-cost safety improvements

(i.e., rumble strips, signing on

curves)

• Every Day Counts safety

countermeasures (e.g., safety

edge, HFST)

• Guardrail design

• Innovative intersection design

(e.g., roundabouts, diverging

diamond interchange)

Update of Standards and

Specifications

The trainings helped us understand

that our standards and specifications

in the PRHTA needed to be updated

to incorporate the new safety

countermeasures. New

specifications and standard drawings

were developed for rumble strips,

HFSTs, safety edge, and guardrails

(in compliance with Manual for

Assessing Safety Hardware [MASH]

requirements).

Selection of the Highway Safety

Corridors

Engineers and planners selected

safety corridors that would be

included in the program. The maps

and tables of the HCLR were used in

the selection of the corridors, and it

was important to schedule the

projects for the next 4 years. A 4-

year plan of highway safety corridor

projects was included in the

Statewide Transportation

Improvement Program and in

consultation with the MPO.

RSAs

An efficient highway safety program

requires the cooperation and

involvement of all road users and

stakeholders. The development of

RSAs in some of the highway safety

corridors was a good exercise to

know how representatives from other

safety areas (enforcement,

education, and EMS) think about

and solve highway safety problems

from their perspective. The results of

the RSAs were included in the

planning phase of future safety

projects.

Design Program

PRHTA invested State funds in the

selection of designers (private

sector) to initiate the design of

highway safety corridors that had

been chosen in the 4-year plan. The

design program was divided in two

phases, with a total investment of

approximately $120 million over the

4 years. Designers will complete the

plans of the highway safety projects

in a two-step process: preliminary

engineering reports (PER) and plans

development.

PER

During this step, designers collected

information on crash data, geometry,

pavement, and RSA

recommendations to produce a

report with analysis of the crash

data, expected reduction in fatal and

The Highway Safety Corridor Program

process. (Source: FHWA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 14 –

serious injuries crashes, and

identification of safety

countermeasures. Designers

presented the report to State

engineers and FHWA

representatives. At the end of the

presentation, designers received

from PRHTA the notice to proceed

for the elaboration of plans with the

safety alternatives recommended in

the PER and selected during the

meeting.

Plans Development

In this step, the designer completed

the environmental studies and

developed the plans, specifications,

and estimations for the projects. To

develop a safety culture as part of

the programs, all designers should

consider the following

countermeasures in their projects:

• Signing improvements,

especially on horizontal and

vertical curves.

• Pavement marking and raised

reflective pavement markers.

• Guardrail update to MASH.

• Crash cushions and impact

attenuators in gore areas and

other locations with fixed objects

and limited space.

• Lighting, especially in urban

areas and intersections.

• Rumble strips, edge lines, and

centerlines in rural areas.

• HFSTs on dangerous curves.

• Clear zone improvements.

• Pedestrian facilities (e.g.,

crosswalks, traffic calming

measures, sidewalks, push

buttons)

• Speed reduction with traffic

calming options.

• Update to traffic signal systems

and the inclusion of backplates

with retroreflective borders.

• Road diets.

• Traffic delineators on exit ramps.

• Evaluation of traffic control

devices in school zones.

Evaluation

Most of the highway safety corridors

are currently under construction,

except for several that were

completed in 2019 and

2020. PRHTA expects to

implement an evaluation

program with the

development of beforeand-after studies with data

from 3 years before

improvements and 3 years

after. This evaluation

process with the beforeand-after studies will

provide us with the tools to

improve our current

highway safety program,

including trainings and new ideas for

the design process.

Our Federal-aid program is not the

largest in the Nation, but it is not the

smallest either in comparison with

other territories. With the lack of

State funds for the development of

preservation and construction

programs, the use of Federal funds

is essential to continue with

improvements to our highway

system. The efficient use of

resources, labor, and funds is key in

the implementation of the Puerto

Rico Highway Safety Corridor

Program. Our goal is to involve all

design firms on the island (more

than 20 firms) in the process of

designing highway safety corridors

to spread the seed of safety and

innovation in their minds.

Puerto Rico has been working hard

to implement a safety culture in the

PRHTA and all engineering

processes. Fatalities on the Island

went from 308 in 2018 to 289 in

2019 and 242 in 2020. Collaboration

among all stakeholders as part of the

SHSP efforts and the

implementation of the Puerto Rico

Highway Safety Corridor Program

have contributed to the reduction of

fatal crashes on the island. In

addition, the Puerto Rico Highway

Safety Corridor Program has been

effective in encouraging a safety

culture in the Puerto Rico

transportation community. This

program is helping us prioritize

highway safety in all project and

investment phases. Fatalities on the

island have been on a downward

trend over the years, and the

improvements in the highway system

have played an important role.

Number of fatalities per year (the number included in

year 2021 is until October 6, 2021). (Source: FHWA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 15 –

For more information, please contact

Juan Carlos Rivera-Ortiz at

juan.riveraortiz@dot.gov or Grace

Diaz at grace.diaz-estrada@dot.gov.

Making Work Zones Safer

with Better Data:

Introducing the Work Zone

Data Exchange

By Martha Kapitanov, FHWA, Office of

Operations

Work zone safety is a national

priority. USDOT, FHWA, and

transportation agencies are working

to reduce fatalities, injuries, and

crashes in work zones nationwide.

The United States saw 842 work

zone fatalities in 2019.

Looking to the future, technology will

play a vital role in improving work

zone safety. While intelligent

transportation system tools such as

smart work zone devices are rapidly

advancing, the data they collect are

much more valuable if everyone can

easily access and interpret it. And

that’s where the Work Zone Data

Exchange (WZDx) comes in.

What Is WZDx?

WZDx is a cooperative effort led by

USDOT and stakeholders to

advance a national data

specification—a universal

language— for all work zone data.

WZDx supports the sharing of all

data (and there are a lot of it),

making it available for third-party

users such as mapping companies,

vehicle and vehicle equipment

manufacturers, and automated

vehicles.

Community-developed data

specifications, such as the General

Transit Feed Specification for public

transportation, are widely used by

transportation agencies nationwide.

The WZDx specification is the first

open specification for sharing

information on work zone impacts.

Partnering across the Nation

100+ organizations—including State

and local DOTs, construction firms,

mapping companies, and vehicle

technology manufacturers—

participate in the Work Zone Data

Working Group. Working group

members are dedicated to

developing and implementing the

WZDx specification in work zones

nationwide. Any person or

organization is welcome to join, and

several subcommittees address

specific aspects of development and

implementation.

Earlier this year, USDOT awarded

grant funds for projects in 13 States,

including Massachusetts and

Arizona. Each project is working to

get a WZDx data feed up and

running, but each has its own unique

elements. Minnesota DOT,

for example, is working to

create a mobile application

that work zone operators

can use to report real-time

work zone information, such

as lane shifts, closures, and

worker presence.

Looking to the future

Like all technology,

progress is incremental. In

the case of WZDx, things

are moving along at a rapid

pace. Version 4 of the

specification is coming

soon, and with each

version, the data that the

WZDx is capable of communicating

become more comprehensive and

more precise. And precise data are

more useful data.

Ultimately, WZDx will save lives and

make travel on public roadways

safer and more efficient—but to

gather data from across the country,

broad adoption is critical.

Let’s Put Work Zones on the Map

The first step in accelerating

adoption is to get the word out.

Earlier this year, FHWA launched a

partnership and awareness

campaign, called Put Work Zones on

the Map, to do just that. The purpose

of the campaign is to educate and

engage potential partners on the

capabilities, benefits, and progress

of WZDx. Those interested in

helping spread the word can visit the

campaign’s toolkit web page to find

fact sheets, social media content,

and links to past webinars.

Together we can create smarter and

safer roadways by putting work

WZDx. (Source: FHWA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 16 –

zones on the map and improving the

way we navigate work zones daily.

For more information on WZDx and

Put Work Zones on the Map, visit the

WZDx website or email Martha

Kapitanov at

martha.kapitanov@dot.gov.

NEW RESOURCE ROUNDUP

Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash

Analysis Tool, Version 3,

Available!

By Tamara Redmon, FHWA, Office of Safety,

and Ana Maria Eigen, FHWA, Office of Safety

R&D

FHWA has released version 3 of

PBCAT. PBCAT is a crash typing

software product intended to assist

State and local pedestrian/bicycle

coordinators, planners, and

engineers with improving walking

and bicycling safety. PBCAT helps

road safety professionals improve

their understanding of non-motorist

crashes. Through development and

analysis of a database containing

details associated with crashes

between motor vehicles and

pedestrians or bicyclists,

transportation professionals can

make their systems safe. One of

these crash-associated details is

crash type, which describes the precrash actions of the involved parties.

After developing a database of crash

information, PBCAT users can

analyze the data, produce reports,

and select countermeasures to

address the problems identified by

the software. The application allows

users to categorize their nonmotorist crashes and create a data

set for analysis. Version 3 of PBCAT

has new graphics and logic,

considers micromobility, and is now

a web-based tool. Version 3 is free

through the Highway Safety

Information System web page under

Products/Safety Analysis Tools. The

accompanying User Guide provides

detailed information on how to use

PBCAT.

For more information, please contact

Dr. Carol Tan at carol.tan@dot.gov.

New Resources and

Incorporation of the

Bikeway Selection Guide

into State Planning

Documents

By Tamara Redmon, FHWA, Office of Safety

FHWA released its Bikeway

Selection Guide 2 years ago. This

resource helps transportation

practitioners consider trade-offs and

make decisions to accelerate the

delivery of high-quality bicycle

networks.

FHWA also recently completed

supplemental resources to

complement the Bikeway Selection

Guide. The first of these, On-Street

Motor Vehicle Parking and the

Bikeway Selection Process, is

intended to inform discussions about

on-street parking and bikeway

selection. It begins with a discussion

of on-street parking and bikeway

types, with associated dimensional

requirements and trade-off

considerations. It then presents

strategies involving choices relating

to the overlap between general

purpose on-street parking and

passenger or commercial loading

activities, design details, and

bikeway selection.

The other resource, entitled Traffic

Analysis and Intersection

Considerations to Inform Bikeway

Selection, is intended to inform

trade-off decisions associated with

bikeway selection at intersections. It

discusses common performance

metrics, spatial needs of bikeways at

intersections, safety- and equityfocused design principles, and

operational traffic analysis trade-offs

and assumptions.

FHWA held a webinar on these two

new resources on April 7. The

recording can be viewed here.

FHWA also held a webinar on the

Bikeway Selection Guide when the

guide was developed in 2019, which

can be viewed here.

As part of the project, 23 workshops

were held across the United States

between summer 2019 and spring

2021: El Paso, Texas; Jonesboro,

Arkansas; Springdale, Arkansas;

Chesapeake, Virginia; Columbus,

Ohio; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania;

Raleigh, North Carolina; Mesquite,

Texas; Fort Worth, Texas; Fort

Lauderdale, Florida; Denver,

“Work zones are particularly problematic for commercial motor vehicles and automated

vehicles. Just imagine if automated vehicles could access live data that tell them where

workers are in a work zone, when the lanes are going to shift, and even when to slow down

and avoid crashes.” – Martha Kapitanov, FHWA
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 17 –

Colorado; Coco, Florida; Tampa,

Florida; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;

St. Louis, Missouri region; North

Carolina DOT; Hawaii DOT;

PennDOT; Mid-Ohio Regional

Planning Committee; Washington

County Council of Governments,

Oregon; and Metropolitan

Washington Council of

Governments.

FHWA offered free technical

assistance for 2 years to any State

or locality that wanted to use the

guide. During this process FHWA

documented how States and

localities are starting to use the

guide. These are some known

applications of the guide in local or

State plans and documents:

• Minnesota DOT updated its

Bikeway Facility Design Manual

in 2020 and incorporated

content from the Bikeway

Selection Guide in its

development of selection

guidance.

• A bike/pedestrian master plan

for East Baton Rouge Parish,

Louisiana, is being developed

and the guide has been used

extensively.

• The City of La Crosse,

Wisconsin, cited the guide as a

reason for putting bike lanes on

a busy street, which had been

opposed by businesses and

other groups because it would

have removed parking on one

side of the street.

• Arlington, Virginia, referenced

page 46 of the guide in the

bicycle element of its

Transportation Master Plan.

• Michigan DOT is incorporating

information from the guide into

its Training Wheels 3.0 course

and into its new Blueprint for

Urban Design (2020). The guide

is referenced as a resource for

applying design flexibility and

creating low-stress bicycle

networks in policy, planning, and

project development.

• The Town of Bloomfield,

Connecticut, referenced the

guide in its Complete Streets

Master Plan (2019).

• The Alaska Department of

Transportation and Public

Facilities included the guide as a

resource and basis for

describing different types of

bicyclists and design users in its

Alaska Statewide Active

Transportation Plan (2019).

• The Waco MPO referenced the

guide in its Waco Metropolitan

Area Active Transportation Plan

(2019) to describe bicycle

suitability and how to address

bikeways when selecting

corridors for future study.

• The Ohio State and U.S. Bike

Route System Overview and

Implementation Guide (led by

Ohio DOT) references the

Bikeway Selection Guide to

identify facilities appropriate for

rural, suburban, and urban

contexts.

• Virginia DOT included a bicycle

facility matrix that is based on

the Bikeway Selection Guide in

“Appendix A-1” of its VDOT

Road Design Manual. The

matrix includes context

considerations such as speed,

average annual daily traffic, and

whether the bikeway is

alongside on-street parking.

• NCDOT hosted three workshops

and began applying the Bikeway

Selection Guide to refine the

scope of roadway projects. In

2021, NCDOT incorporated the

guide as a tool for designers in

revisions to the Roadway

Design Manual.

• Caltrans issued a memo on

Contextual Guidance for Bike

Facilities in 2020, encouraging

the guide as supplemental

guidance for making informed

decisions related to bikeway

selection. Caltrans envisions the

guide being used during project

initiation development, project

approval, and environmental

documentation to refine the

preferred facility type selected

during project scoping.

• The 2020 Sarasota County

Bicycle and Pedestrian Master

Plan Update highlights the guide

in an appendix to its Pedestrian

and Bicycle Facility Design

Guide Review.

• The Caldwell, Idaho, Pathways

and Bicycle Route Master Plan

(2020) incorporates several

sections and exhibits of the

guide when discussing preferred

bikeway type and intersection

design, and encourages using it

to guide design decisions.

• The Montgomery County Vision

Zero Community Toolkit (2021)

references the guide several

times to provide additional

considerations for bikeway
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 18 –

selection and trade-offs of

different bikeway types.

FHWA is very encouraged by the

amount of interest in the guide.

Enthusiasm for bicycle facilities

remains strong and there is

increasing demand as popularity of

this mode of travel increases

throughout the country.

We always like to hear about any

new uses and applications of the

guide and supplemental resources. If

your State, city, or locality is using

the guide in other ways, please let

us know by contacting Tamara

Redmon at

tamara.redmon@dot.gov.

Moving Freight Safely: New

Directions at FHWA

By Caitlin Hughes and Chip Millard, FHWA,

Office of Freight Management and

Operations

Freight safety is more than just safe

vehicles and well-rested truck

drivers—it’s also about the operation

of freight vehicles on roads, bridges

and tunnels, at ports and grade

crossings, and in emergency

situations where greater loads may

be needed. FHWA’s Office of Freight

Management and Operations

(HOFM) is conducting a variety of

initiatives to study, improve, and

promote freight safety. These

activities include:

• Researching and implementing

initiatives recommended by the

former Emergency Route

Working Group to expedite

emergency response and

recovery through enhanced

State permit automation and

standardization, emergency

routing, and communication.

• Sponsoring an Automated

Oversize/Overweight Vehicle

Permitting Best Practices

Roundtable to help States

design and expand their

automated permitting systems

by learning from best practices

of other States. By 2022, it is

anticipated that all States will

finally have some form of autoissued permitting capability.

• With AASHTO, developing an

emergency declaration web

page to provide a single location

for all States to post information

and truck drivers to retrieve

information on increased weight

limits allowed by permit during

emergency events. The web

page is expected to be active by

fall 2022.

• Collecting and sharing truck size

and weight enforcement data on

USDOT’s Data Hub. Data from

2019 and 2020 are currently

posted, providing transparency

and allowing for State-by-State

comparison.

• Supporting the use of electronic

camera monitoring systems

(CMS) on trucks by not

penalizing States for nonenforcement of vehicle length

and width requirements. CMS

technologies are being piloted

for approval by the National

Highway Traffic Safety

Administration and Federal

Motor Carrier Safety

Administration for future

widespread use.

• Developing a truck parking

design guidebook that will

provide practitioners with

resources to plan for, advocate

for, and implement safe truck

parking facilities.

• Collaborating with the Office of

Safety to promote increased

investment in highway-railway

grade crossing improvements

and grade separations. As truck

and rail freight activity grows, atgrade rail crossings will be an

important area for increased

safety solutions. The National

Highway Freight Program can

help fund these remediations, if

States prioritize investment in

multimodal freight projects.

• Working jointly with AASHTO to

fund a Transportation Research

Board (TRB) study on bridge

strike prevention; independently

funding a World Road

Association Special Project that

examined bridge and tunnel

strikes by oversize vehicles, and

sharing results to help States

and localities reduce the

incidence of these collisions.

• Completing an implementation

plan and convening a working

group of subject matter experts

within USDOT to improve

planning and collaboration on

vehicle size and weight

research.

To add freight safety initiatives to the

HOFM work plan, please contact

Caitlin Hughes at

Caitlin.hughes@dot.gov.
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 19 –

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FHWA Safety R&D

Completes the Final Release

of the Interactive Highway

Safety Design Model

The Office of Safety R&D has

completed development of the

Interactive Highway Safety Design

Model (IHSDM) 2021 Public Release

(version 17.0.0), which is available to

download at the FHWA IHSDM

website. IHSDM supports FHWA’s

Data-Driven Safety Analysis initiative

through a suite of safety analysis

tools designed to evaluate the safety

and operational effects of projectlevel geometric design decisions on

highways. Its Crash Prediction

Module (CPM) implements “Part C

Predictive Method” of AASHTO’s

Highway Safety Manual for rural twolane highways, rural multilane

highways, urban/suburban arterials,

roundabouts, and

freeways/interchanges. This 2021

release marks a major milestone, as

it is the end of FHWA’s long-term

IHSDM software development efforts

since 1998. FHWA will continue to

provide technical support and

training to IHSDM users through

September 2024.

For assistance, please contact Dr.

In-Kyu Lim at in-kyu.lim@dot.gov.

Winter 2022 Edition of 

Public Roads Magazine

The Winter 2022 issue of Public 

Roads is now available online. This 

special issue focuses on the Safe 

System Approach—an 

internationally recognized practice 

that no one should 

die or be seriously 

injured on the 

roadways—and how 

FHWA is integrating 

it into its program 

areas with a goal of 

zero deaths. Feature 

articles take into 

consideration the five 

elements of a safe 

transportation 

system—safe road 

users, safe vehicles, 

safe speeds, safe 

roads, and postcrash care: 

• “Making our 

Roads Safer 

Through the Safe System 

Approach” by Mark Doctor and 

Chimai Ngo.

• “The Highway Safety 

Improvement Program: Paving 

the Road to a Safer Future” by 

Danielle Betkey and Karen 

Scurry.

• “The Safe System Paradigm: 

Reducing Fatalities and Injuries 

in the Nation’s Intersections” by 

Jeffrey B. Shaw, Richard J. 

(R.J.) Porter, Michael R. Dunn, 

Jonathan Soika, and Ivy B. 

Huang.

• “NHTSA’s Safe System 

Campaign: Educating and 

Protecting All Road Users” by 

Robert Ritter, Dee Williams, and 

Gamunu Wijetunge.

• “Speed Management is Key to 

Road Safety” by Guan Xu, Abdul 

Zineddin, Randolph Atkins, and 

Sarah Abel.

• “The Safe System Approach: 

How States and Cities Are 

Saving Lives” by Chimai Ngo, 

John Milton, Lily Reynolds, 

Rachel Carpenter, and Clay 

Veka.

• “Applying a Safe System 

Approach Across the Globe” by

Dr. Matts-Åke Belin, Anders 

Hartmann, Mari Svolsbru, Blair 

Turner, and Michael S. Griffith.

Upcoming Conferences and

Events

ATSSA Convention & Traffic Expo

2022, February 11–15, Tampa, FL.

The theme of this year’s convention

and expo is “Reunite for Roadway

Safety”. Join roadway safety

Winter 2022 Public Roads. (Source: FHWA)
SAFETY COMPASS NEWSLETTER · Winter 2022: Volume 16 Issue 1

– 20 –

transportation professionals for the

52nd convention.

2022 Lifesavers National

Conference on Highway Safety

Priorities, March 13–15, Chicago,

IL.

The 2022 National Lifesavers

Conference on Highway Safety

Priorities brings together a unique

combination of public health and

safety professionals, researchers,

advocates, practitioners, and

students committed to sharing best

practices, research, and policy

initiatives that are proven to work.

2022 National Bike Summit, March

27–30, Washington, DC, & Online.

With the theme of “Choosing Our

Future”, the 2022 National Bike

Summit will take place March 27–30

in person and online.

National Association of County

Engineers, NACE Annual

Conference, April 24–27,

Buffalo, NY.

The 2022 National Association of

County Engineers will be

gathering in Buffalo, New York,

for its annual conference to share

information and promote

awareness of the latest

innovations and best practices.

ITE International Annual

Meeting and Exhibition, July

31–August 2, New Orleans, LA.

This meeting and exhibition is an

international membership platform

for professionals working to

improve transportation mobility

and safety.

The Safety Compass Newsletter is a publication of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

FHWA publishes the Safety Compass Newsletter three times a year. We can be reached at:

FHWA Office of Safety

1200 New Jersey Ave SE

Room E71-320

Washington, DC 20590

The Safety Compass Newsletter is available online at the FHWA Office of Safety website at: 

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/newsletter/safetycompass/.

We welcome your comments and highway safety-related articles. The purpose of this newsletter is to increase highway safety awareness and 

information and to provide resources to help save lives.

We encourage readers to submit highway safety articles that might be of value to the highway safety community. Send your comments, 

questions, and articles for review electronically to Tara McLoughlin at tara.mcloughlin@dot.gov.

Visit the FHWA Office of Safety

Booth in the TRB Exhibit Hall

and online!

If you are attending the TRB annual 

meeting, be sure to stop by booth #537

in the exhibit hall!

Exhibit hours are as follows:

Sunday, January 9, 4–7 p.m.

Monday, January 10, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

Tuesday, January 11, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

If you cannot make it to TRB this year, 

you can access all booth materials at 

our Virtual TRB Exhibit Booth. Visit 

https://go.usa.gov/xtraA or scan the 

QR code below!

For more information, please contact

Tara McLoughlin at 202-366-2176 or

tara.mcloughlin@dot.gov.