Integrating Road 

Safety into 

NEPA Analysis

A Practitioner’s 

Primer

with support from

A Unique Opportunity

The safety field has reached a new 

level of sophistication with research 

and analytical tools practitioners 

can confidently use to assess and 

enhance safety beyond minimum 

requirements. The NEPA process 

provides an opportunity to capitalize 

on these advancements.

The End Result

The Practitioner’s Primer introduces basic 

concepts to help practitioners and road 

safety professionals:

• Link safety planning processes to 

NEPA analysis;

• Identify and gain input from safety 

stakeholders during public outreach 

and scoping;

• Understand the value of using safety 

analysis techniques to identify and 

address substantive safety problems, 

and to compare project alternatives; 

and 

• Identify opportunities for safety 

mitigation and going above and 

beyond required mitigations to 

enhance safety.

To download a copy 

of the Primer, 

visit the FHWA web site at: 

www.fhwa.safety.dot.gov

or contact:

Jennifer Warren, Office of Safety, 

Jennifer.Warren@dot.gov

Susan Grosser, Office of Planning, 

Susan.Grosser@dot.gov

June 2011

FHWA-SA-11-37
Make The Right Connection

Despite tremendous gains in 

reducing traffic deaths and 

injuries, the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration 

reports over 30,000 people 

died in traffic crashes in 2009, 

and another 1.5 million were

injured. It is no wonder 

why the U.S. Department of 

Transportation considers safety to be its number 

one priority. 

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

process presents a key opportunity to address 

safety. NEPA requires review of the environmental 

consequences – including safety impacts – of all 

Federally funded transportation projects. Taking 

a proactive approach to traffic safety before and 

during the NEPA process can save time, money, 

and most importantly – save lives.

A new tool created by the Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA) and the Transportation Safety Planning Working Group (TSPWG), 

Integrating Road Safety into NEPA Analysis: 

Practitioner’s Primer, presents a brief introduction to the topic of addressing safety in the NEPA 

process. It presents practitioners with basic 

concepts for including meaningful, quantitative 

analysis of project safety issues and for taking 

advantage of the latest tools, research, and techniques for improving road safety. 

Use the Right Tool 

The Integrating Road Safety into NEPA 

Analysis Primer is designed for NEPA practitioners who want to learn more about best 

practices for analyzing and addressing project 

safety issues during each stage of the NEPA 

process. It also is intended to help safety practitioners understand the basics of the NEPA 

process and where safety considerations can 

be incorporated. The Primer is organized into 

easy-to-use sections that walk users through the 

steps to accomplish the integration. 

These steps include:

• Considering Safety Prior to NEPA;

• NEPA Overview and Levels 

of Documentation;

• Public and Stakeholder Outreach;

• Purpose and Need Statements;

• Alternatives Analysis;

• Defining the Affected Environment; and

• Analysis of Environmental Impacts 

and Mitigations.

Further information is provided in the Appendices, including links to on-line courses, tools, 

and research documents, and several case 

studies describing best practice approaches 

used by several states. 

NEPA and Safety

Safety considerations should be incorporated 

into each stage of the NEPA process (project 

scoping, developing the purpose and need statement, alternatives analysis, etc.) and into each 

type of NEPA document (categorical exclusions 

(CEs), environmental assessments (EAs), and environmental impact statements (EISs)). Safety also 

can be considered prior to NEPA, during safety 

planning processes; and after NEPA, during project construction, operation, and maintenance.

The following figure illustrates the major stages 

in developing an EIS and summarizes how safety 

can be incorporated into each stage. 

“Safety should 

be considered 

first, every 

time, and at 

every stage of 

a project.”

FHWA Office 

of Safety