Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 1 

A Message from FHWA Associate 

Administrator for Safety Beth Alicandri

Improving Safety on the Roads Less Traveled

Many people think that America’s bustling interstate 

freeways, with their large volumes and high speeds, are 

more dangerous than smaller, local roads. However, the 

truth is that local roads have a fatality rate nearly THREE 

TIMES that of the interstate highway system. 

Local roads have unique safety challenges. They can have 

narrower lanes and can lack safety features such as shoulders and adequate

lighting. They also serve a variety of different users—cars and freight trucks, 

farm vehicles, buggies, transit vehicles, motorcyclists, bicycles, and 

pedestrians—often on the same traveled way. 

FHWA offers unique and focused assistance to make local roads safer, and 

we frequently partner with other organizations that focus on local road safety, 

such as the National Local Technical Assistance Program Association 

(NLTAPA), the American Public Works Association (APWA), the National 

Association of County Engineers (NACE), and the National Association of 

Counties (NACo). One key strategy is the development of Local Road Safety 

Plans (LRSPs), which provide a framework for identifying, analyzing, and 

prioritizing roadway safety improvements on local roads. 

FHWA offers a wealth of resources on LRSPs. We’ve developed a concise 

briefing sheet and a comprehensive manual, and we will be releasing a video 

later this spring. Our Data Driven Safety Analysis team has partnered with 

NACE on a pilot project to help 25 Counties develop LRSPs (see related story 

on page 3). In addition, based on a USDOT Resolution to Improve Safety on 

County Roads, the FHWA Office of Safety is collaborating with NACo to 

develop LRSPs in seven counties.

Other FHWA resources for improving safety on local roads include the 

Roadway Safety Data Program’s State and Local Data Integration Project

which offers technical assistance to help State, Tribal, and local agencies 

identify cost-effective ways to develop safety data systems that integrate 

safety data on all public roads, and our recently-released series of videos and 

brochures on how to effectively communicate with local elected officials about 

local road safety.

Please visit our Training, Tools, Guidance and Countermeasures for Local 

Practitioners web page to access our many resources to help save lives on 

local roads.

A Publication of the Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2

In This Issue:

Federal Aid Programs

Evaluation of a SHSP – Why is it 

Important?............................................2

Safety Data and Analysis

FHWA and NACE Partner to Promote 

Local Road Safety Plans .....................3

DDSA Team Continues to Spread 

Good Data Practices through EDC4....4

Econ 101: Quantifying Safety Benefits 

in Benefit-Cost Analyses......................5

Montana Uses SPFs, LOSS Approach 

to Improve Intersection Safety.............7

IHSDM Version 13.1.0 Now Available! 8

Vulnerable Road Users

Can a Sleeve and a Gateway Improve 

Pedestrian Safety? ..............................9

MAC Seeks Ways to Improve 

Infrastructure Safety ..........................10

Peer Exchange: STEP Strategies for 

Uncontrolled Crossings......................10

“Heads Up” Campaign Targets 

Pedestrian Fatalities in Maine............11

New Resource Roundup

Self-Enforcing Roadways Reduce 

Speeding............................................13

Improving Ped Safety at Uncontrolled 

Crossings ...........................................14

Crash Costs for Use in Highway Safety 

Analysis..............................................14

Safety PM Target Setting 

Communications Plan and Toolkit .....15

Got Questions about HFST? .............16

FHWA Launches Redesigned Zero 

Deaths Webpage ...............................17

Learning Together

Safety Data and Analysis Training.....18

TN Hosts RSA for Law Enforcement .18

Work Zones

FHWA Launches 2018 NWZAW....... 18

Awards News.............................................. 19

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Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 2

SUPPORTING THE STATES AND TRIBES: FEDERAL AID PROGRAMS

EVALUATION OF A STRATEGIC HIGHWAY 

SAFETY PLAN – WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

By: Danielle Betkey, FHWA Office of Safety

Why is evaluating a State Strategic Highway Safety 

Plan (SHSP) so important? Besides the fact that 

States are required to regularly evaluate and update 

their SHSP, evaluation is a critical component to any 

safety planning process, and the SHSP is no exception. Realizing safety improvements through an 

SHSP depends on the use of data-driven priorities 

and proven effective strategies. Evaluation helps 

achieve this goal, because analyzing the SHSP 

process makes it possible for States to determine the 

progress and impact of their SHSP, which in turn 

enables them to recognize their successes, uncover 

challenges in implementing strategies or meeting 

goals and targets, and identify opportunities for 

improvement.

The SHSP process is ongoing and cyclical, which is 

why it is important to regularly assess how the SHSP 

is managed, developed and implemented. It is also 

necessary to examine the SHSP’s performance and 

determine whether goals and objectives are being 

met. The results can help strengthen the SHSP 

process and performance and, in doing so, improve 

the safety of the State’s transportation system.

To help States meet their SHSP evaluation needs, 

the FHWA has a great resource to help – The SHSP 

Evaluation Process Model (EPM). The EPM helps 

States answer basic questions of evaluation, such 

as: What are we trying to do? How well are we doing 

it? How can we improve?

Evaluation is an ongoing process, but the EPM is 

intended to capture how well the SHSP is performing 

at a point in time. Evaluation is most beneficial 

before a major SHSP revision or update or after a 

period of active SHSP implementation.

The EPM provides States with a ready-made tool to 

help them:

• Assess their SHSP management process: Is 

the SHSP managed in such a way to support 

effective development, implementation and 

evaluation? For example, what is the 

organizational structure that supports the SHSP?

How is coordination achieved? How is data used 

to identify needs and strategies? How are other 

agency plans and priorities aligned with the 

SHSP?

• Determine progress in meeting their SHSP 

performance measures: To what extent have 

strategies and actions been implemented 

(outputs), and to what degree are goals and 

objectives being met (outcomes)? 

• Focus on results: How will results be interpreted 

and used to improve the SHSP process and 

performance? 

Before a State can even begin the evaluation, it

needs to establish evaluation objectives (i.e., what 

SHSP issues or 

questions need to be 

addressed), identify what 

data is needed to 

address the objectives, 

and determine who will 

be responsible for the 

evaluation effort and how 

the results will be used. 

The EPM helps guides 

States through these 

steps.

In each chapter, the EPM provides recommended 

actions and checklists or self-assessment questions 

that will help States apply the EPM. Chapter-specific 

worksheets in the appendix are intended to 

encourage a deeper review of the self-assessment 

questions. Equipped with this information, SHSP 

managers can more effectively administer their 

SHSP process, determine their State’s roadway 

safety needs, and chart the course ahead.

The primary audience for the EPM is the State DOT 

or lead agency responsible for the SHSP. SHSP 

leaders, program managers, transportation safety 

planners, and other traffic safety professionals will all 

benefit from the information in the EPM. 

For More Information

The FHWA Office of Safety is available to provide 

workshop or conference presentations, webinars, 

and technical assistance to support a State’s SHSP 

evaluation efforts or use of the EPM. For more 

information, please contact Danielle Betkey at 

danielle.betkey@dot.gov. 

Source: FHWA
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 3

BY THE NUMBERS: SAFETY DATA AND ANALYSIS

FHWA AND NACE PARTNER TO 

PROMOTE LOCAL ROAD SAFETY PLANS

By: Jerry Roche, FHWA Office of Safety

Local entities own about 75 percent of the road 

miles in the United States.

1 At the same time, local 

agencies tend to have the most limited 

resources to analyze and address safety risks.

To help local agencies, the Every Day Counts 

(EDC) data-driven safety analysis (DDSA) team 

added a local focus to its efforts for EDC-4.

A primary goal is to increase the number of 

local agencies that have a local road safety 

plan (LRSP). LRSPs are a proven safety 

countermeasure that provide a framework for local 

practitioners to identify the specific conditions that 

contribute to severe crashes on their roadways.

Agencies can then analyze local data to establish 

emphasis areas, determine risk factors, identify 

countermeasures, and prioritize safety 

improvements and strategies. 

As part of this campaign, the DDSA team has 

partnered with the National Association of County 

Engineers (NACE) on a pilot project to help 25 

Counties in California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, 

Ohio, and Wisconsin develop LRSPs.

The pilot provides agencies with a blended learning 

experience that includes technical assistance, a 

series of webinars, and, most recently, a hands-on 

workshop at the NACE Annual Meeting in 

Wisconsin that helped participants develop their

draft LRSPs. During a follow-up webinar in May, 

counties will share their final plans and discuss next 

steps in implementation as well as lessons learned 

from the pilot. 

“Our goal is to get several counties within each 

State to develop plans through the pilot,” said Brian 

Keierleber, Executive Director of NACE. “Those

agencies can then be spokespersons to influence 

their peers that there is value in investing time in a 

plan. If we can demonstrate success stories using a 

simple approach, people will be 

more comfortable starting their 

own.” 

Many pilot participants are already 

seeing the value of developing a 

plan and are eager to implement 

theirs. 

The pilot was based on a 

streamlined approach to 

developing LRSPs first 

demonstrated by Washington 

State and also successfully 

implemented by several Tribal 

agencies. 

In Washington State, where 33 of 

39 counties have an LRSP, 

Thurston County saw a 35 percent 

reduction in severe horizontal 

curve crashes after plan 

implementation. 

“Horizontal curve crashes 

represented 45 percent of our fatal 

and serious injury crashes from 

“It has been amazing,” said Teresa Guagliardo, Traffic 

Engineering Specialist for Pueblo County, Colorado. “Now 

I have more knowledge about how to address the 

stakeholders and how to address the issues that we have 

so we can solve them. It’s been phenomenal.”

Local Road Safety Plan infographic. Source: FHWA
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 4

2006 to 2010,” said Thurston County Traffic 

Engineer Scott Davis. “Developing our LRSP 

helped us identify that as a high-priority crash type 

and also define the highest-risk areas so we could 

treat them.” 

Hillary Isebrands, Roadway Safety Engineer for the 

FHWA Resource Center’s Safety and Design 

Technical Service Team, said that one 

misconception is that counties must have an 

engineer or data analyst on staff to develop an 

LRSP. 

“One of the great benefits of LRSPs is that they are 

scalable, so you can start small with the data you 

have on hand and don’t need to be a specialist,” 

she said. “Many effective plans are only a few 

pages.”

In a survey of county officials in Washington State, 

most participants reported spending an average of 

80 hours to prepare their LRSPs. More notably, all 

participants said the development of LRSPs was 

worth the effort.

“Given the benefits and results, there is no reason 

not to,” Davis said. 

View the DDSA webinar for local roads for more 

information, or to find out more about how to 

develop an LRSP for your community, contact Jerry 

Roche at jerry.roche@dot.gov.

__________

1 Bureau of Transportation Statistics – 2016.

DDSA TEAM CONTINUES TO SPREAD 

GOOD DATA PRACTICES THROUGH 

EDC4

By: Jerry Roche, FHWA Office of Safety

The Data-Driven Safety Analysis (DDSA) Team has 

been hard at work this spring continuing to promote 

the Every Day Counts 4 DDSA innovation to States 

that haven’t yet applied it. Efforts have included 

assisting State DOTs with some limited experience 

in more broadly integrating DDSA into their project 

development processes and procedures, and 

adding products and services to foster increased 

implementation of DDSA at the local level. As you 

might expect, the team’s success is measured in 

numbers, and the number of States at the demonstration level or above for DDSA rose from 37 in 

December of 2016 to 43 by the end of 2017.

Further, since 2016, six States have advanced 

along the implementation spectrum, going from the 

Development level to the Demonstration level, and 

one State has progressed from the Assessment to 

the Institutionalized level.

To date, 44 States have requested technical 

assistance in DDSA through EDC4, and in 2017 

alone, the team participated in nearly 40 

presentations, workshops, and exhibits, from local 

road safety plan peer exchanges to State and 

regional meetings and symposia, to national-level 

events such as the Transportation Research Board 

Annual Meeting and the American Society of Civil 

Engineers annual convention. The DDSA team still 

has their bags packed, and will be represented at 

six more events before the end of summer.

In addition to participating in these many events, 

the team has also completed a series of 18 “HowTo” and “Office Hours” webinars focused on topics 

ranging from “Systemic Safety Analysis 

Approaches with Limited Roadway Data” to a 

“Crash Course on DDSA in Project Development” 

to “Calibration and Development of Safety 

Performance Functions for DOT decision makers.” 

Many of these webinars were recorded and can be 

accessed available at the Data-Driven Safety 

Analysis Resources page. 

The next no-cost webinar will be on the “Crash 

Costs for Highway Safety Analysis Guide” (see 

related story on p. 14). It will feature an overview of 

the Guide and demonstrate how to use the supplemental tool. The webinar will be held on May 30, 

2018 from 1:00-2:30 ET. Those interested in 

attending can register online.

In addition, dozens of educational workshops and 

training courses have been delivered to date, 

including HSM for Practitioners, IHSDM Training, 

and a Safety Analysis of Freeways and 

Interchanges course. Development of a web-based 

usRAP course is underway as is new training 

material for Systemic Safety Analysis training.

If you are interested in learning more about any of 

these DDSA topics or activities, please visit the 

Data-Driven Safety Analysis Resources page. If 

you would like to request technical assistance, 

please contact Jerry Roche at jerry.roche@dot.gov

or John McFadden at john.mcfadden@dot.gov.
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 5

TRANSPORTATION ECONOMICS 101:

QUANTIFYING DIRECT AND INDIRECT 

SAFETY BENEFITS IN BENEFIT-COST 

ANALYSES

By: Michael Lawrence, Jack Faucett Associates; 

Frank Gross, VHB; and Karen Scurry, FHWA

Once called the “dismal 

science,” economics is not 

an area many engineers 

expect to need to know 

much about, and many do 

not have a complete 

understanding of the role 

of economics in weighing 

the benefits and costs of 

safety countermeasures. 

As a result, when it comes 

time to select projects for 

funding, many are not sure 

of the most accurate, data-based approach to use 

for assessing the alternatives.

To help practitioners manage this important step, 

the FHWA Office of Safety has issued the new 

Highway Safety Benefit-Cost Analysis Guide and 

Tool (the BCA Guide). 

Overview of the Guide

The BCA Guide has been developed specifically for 

traffic and safety engineers or planners who are not 

economists and who may not have training in economic evaluation techniques. It is intended to help 

these staff make consistent and sound decisions 

for evaluating and ranking safety countermeasures 

and projects from an economic perspective. 

The BCA Guide focuses on the safety benefits (i.e., 

expected change in crash frequency by severity) of 

competing highway safety projects and the benefits 

derived from changes in safety performance (e.g., 

reduced delay, travel time, and emissions resulting 

from fewer crashes). It explains how to quantify the 

expected change in safety among project 

alternatives and the operational and environmental 

impacts that result from a change in safety 

performance. It also explains how to monetize 

This map depicts the current EDC4 DDSA implementation status (as of December 2017) for each State and the 

goal attainment level each State has set for itself. Source: FHWA
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 6

What is Benefit-Cost Analysis? 

Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is a systematic process 

for calculating and comparing the benefits and 

costs of project alternatives. The purpose of a BCA 

is to capture all the benefits to society from a 

project or course of action as well as the cost to 

achieve those benefits, regardless of the form 

these benefits and costs take (e.g., lives saved, 

environmental impacts). 

Why is BCA Important to Safety 

Management and Project Development? 

The safety management and project development 

processes often include comparisons of multiple 

project alternatives. This may include alternative 

designs for a specific location or alternative projects 

as part of a program. A highway safety BCA helps 

to compare the cost-effectiveness of alternative 

designs and enables transportation professionals to 

consider safety-motivated projects in conjunction 

with resurfacing, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and 

expansion projects.

Benefits of BCA

Used properly, a BCA reveals the most 

economically efficient investment alternative; that 

is, the one that maximizes the net benefits to 

society relative to the allocation of resources. When 

oftentimes any number of safety countermeasures 

might enhance safety to the public, using BCA to 

determine the best “bang for the buck” can guide 

transportation professionals in choosing the best 

use of public funds.

those benefits to compute the net present value 

and benefit-cost ratio.

Transportation professionals can use the methods 

highlighted in the BCA Guide to analyze both sitespecific and systemic safety approaches with single 

or multiple engineering countermeasures. The 

guide also provides user-friendly guidance for

conducting a BCA for safety countermeasures by:

• Introducing fundamental BCA concepts such as 

the base condition, project analysis period, and 

discounting.

• Identifying types of agency costs to use and the 

types of benefits to consider in BCA.

• Describing methodologies for estimating and 

monetizing safety benefits of alternatives

(including changes in crash frequency and 

severity) and the changes in travel time, travel 

time reliability, vehicle operating costs, and 

mobile source emissions resulting from the 

change in crashes. 

• Providing examples projects that evaluate the 

implementation of single countermeasures, 

multiple countermeasures, and multiple locations 

(e.g., a systemic approach to safety).

• Offering examples to communicate and present 

BCA results to various audiences, including 

decision-makers and the public.

Overview of the Tool

A spreadsheet-based tool (the BCA Tool) 

complements the BCA Guide. The BCA Tool helps 

users calculate project costs and benefits as well

as economic measures such as the present value 

costs, present value benefits, net present value, 

and benefit-cost ratio. Decision-makers can use 

these measures to compare and rank project 

alternatives.

The BCA Tool only requires the user to provide 

basic data on estimated annual changes in crash 

frequency and severity and basic characteristics of 

the transportation facility (e.g., average daily traffic, 

facility type, and number of lanes). Like the BCA 

Guide, the BCA Tool does not require any special 

economic expertise. It includes default values for 

many required inputs, allowing the analyst to 

change the default values to reflect local conditions 

or agency preferences or policies. As such, the 

Tool provides a consistent, comprehensive, and 

reliable approach to estimate project costs and 

benefits among alternatives. 

The Tool provides an opportunity to quickly and 

easily update data inputs and generate revised 

BCA results throughout the project development 

process. Using the BCA Tool, the analyst may 

update the BCA as project alternatives are refined, 

and more accurate project costs and benefits 

become available. Transportation agencies can 

also use the BCA Tool after project implementation, 

when project costs are finalized and the effectiveness of the countermeasure can be observed, to 

determine if the anticipated benefits are realized. 
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 7

For questions or comments about the Highway 

Safety BCA Guide and Tool, please contact Karen 

Scurry at karen.scurry@dot.gov). Note that FHWA 

offers free training to State and local agencies on 

the Highway Safety BCA Guide and Tool upon 

request. 

MONTANA USES SPFS, LEVEL OF 

SERVICE SAFETY APPROACH TO 

IMPROVE INTERSECTION SAFETY 

By: Roy Peterson, P.E, MDT Traffic & Safety 

Engineer and Patricia Walsh Burke, P.E., MDT 

Safety Engineer

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) 

recently completed a statewide intersection study 

that developed safety performance functions 

(SPFs) and crash pattern maps for 22 intersection 

types. SPFs are statistical models used to estimate 

the average crash frequency for a specific site type

based on traffic volume and roadway segment 

length. These models and pattern maps will assist 

MDT in identifying and selecting locations with 

potential for greater crash reduction. This will 

significantly benefit both the Montana Highway 

Safety Improvement Program and MDT’s 

construction program by helping the agency to 

identify and address safety improvements with 

greater accuracy and effectiveness. 

The models were developed from 5 years of 

statewide crash data (2010-2014) by DiExSys LLC 

of Colorado. They can be used on most intersection 

configurations and are not limited by roadway

jurisdiction/ownership.

Using the Level of Service Safety Approach

Once the models identify an intersection of interest, 

MDT uses another method to define the magnitude 

of the safety problem. This method is the Level of 

Service of Safety (LOSS) concept. LOSS 

determines how a roadway segment is performing

relative to its expected crash frequency and 

severity at a specific level of annual average daily 

traffic. It provides a comparison of crash frequency 

and severity with the expected norms, although it 

does not provide any information related to the 

nature of the safety problem itself. If a safety 

problem is present, LOSS describes only its 

magnitude. Once the safety problem is identified, 

Home screen of the Highway Safety Benefit-Cost Analysis Tool.
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 8

an agency can go on to determine the nature of the 

problem through diagnostic analysis. This approach 

allows each intersection to be analyzed to determine whether the actual LOSS is greater or less 

than the predicted number of crashes or severity of 

crashes for each intersection type (Figure 1.) 

The LOSS ranges are broken down into four (4) 

categories:

• LOSS I – Indicates low potential for crash 

reduction.

• LOSS II – Indicates low to moderate potential for 

crash reduction.

• LOSS III – Indicates moderate to high potential 

for crash reduction.

• LOSS IV – Indicates high potential for crash 

reduction.

Using the LOSS concept, MDT will be able to 

quantitatively assess and qualitatively describe the 

level of safety for an intersection. This will allow 

engineers to effectively communicate the 

magnitude of the safety problem. In turn, MDT can 

redouble its efforts to improve safety at locations 

where the potential for crash reduction is greater. In 

addition, locations that are elevated based on a 

perceived safety concern can be vetted and 

evaluated by how they are actually performing.

Currently MDT is using these models to prepare its 

2018 HSIP project list and will begin to incorporate

them into safety analyses performed during the 

design phase of other MDT projects. Further 

disbursement of these Montana-specific models will 

be made in late 2018 to consultants, city and 

county governments and other interested parties.

For more information about the MDT study, please 

contact Roy Peterson at roypeterson@mt.gov or 

Peter Burke at pburke@mt.gov. 

NEW! IHSDM VERSION 13.1.0 NOW 

AVAILABLE!

The Interactive Highway Safety Design Model 

(IHSDM) - HSM Predictive Method 2017 Public 

Release Update (version 13.1.0) is now available at 

no cost!

What’s new in the IHSDM 2017 Release 

Update?

Expansion of the data entry and output/reporting 

options to include mileposts (MP). 

Expansion of the scope of the IHSDM Economic 

Analyses Tool (EA Tool) so that it now applies to all 

facility types currently covered by the IHSDM CPM 

(i.e., Part C of the Highway Safety Manual). 

Details of all enhancements can be found in the 

Release Notes.

How do I obtain the 2017 Release Update?

Registered IHSDM users: visit the IHSDM page

and use your username and password to access 

and download this new release. If you currently 

have an earlier version of IHSDM installed, a “call 

home” feature will remind you to update to the 

latest version the next time you use the software. 

New IHSDM users: visit the “Download 

Registration” page at and follow the instructions. 

Who do I contact for IHSDM technical 

support?

Contact the IHSDM Technical Support team at

IHSDM.Support@dot.gov or (202)-493-3407. 

Figure 1. A Montana intersection SPF. Source: MDT
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 9

SAFETY FOCUS AREA: VULNERABLE ROAD USERS

CAN A SLEEVE AND A GATEWAY 

IMPROVE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY?

SEATTLE AND MICHIGAN SAY “YES”!

By: Becky Crowe, FHWA Office of Safety

The FHWA has been promoting the Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) program to 

address pedestrian safety at uncontrolled crossing 

locations by promoting crosswalk visibility enhancements, raised crosswalks, pedestrian refuge 

islands, pedestrian hybrid beacons (PHBs), and 

Road Diets. State DOTs and local agencies are 

partnering with FHWA to advance STEP, and 

together they are rolling out a variety of low-cost 

improvements to supplement proven countermeasures and increase pedestrian safety. Both the 

City of Seattle and the Michigan DOT (MDOT) are 

also tackling pedestrian safety by adding low-cost 

safety improvements such as reflective “sleeves,” 

realigned curbs, warning signs, and “gateway” 

treatments.

In 2012, the City of Seattle secured a grant from 

the Washington DOT to add retroreflective sleeves 

to approximately 2,000 of the city’s 8,000 STOP 

and YIELD sign posts. The sleeve is a three-sided 

reflector that attaches to a sign post and matches 

the sign’s background color. These treatments 

increase the conspicuity of the sign, especially for

older, faded signs and during dusk and evening 

hours. The city considered local history and the 

MUTCD when deciding to add the sleeves. Before 

the widespread use of the metal sign post, the City 

of Seattle used 4 ft. by 4 ft. wooden posts painted 

red and white in a highly visible candy cane-like 

pattern, but it was not cost effective to paint or coat 

the newer metal sign posts with a similar pattern. 

However, the city found that the sleeve treatment 

required little time to install and featured low 

material costs (approximately $22 per each 4-ft. 

section).

Chris Eaves, Senior Civil Engineer for the City of 

Seattle and originator of the retroreflective sleeve 

program, noted that, “From a purely cost and time 

perspective, the sleeves are quick to install and are 

inexpensive. An all-way stop can be upgraded in a 

few minutes, and [the upgrade is] ‘wet weather’ 

work that crews can perform when they may 

otherwise be unable to stripe roads or perform 

hardscape maintenance.” The use of retroreflective 

sleeves is supported by the MUTCD (Section 

2A.21), which states that retroreflective materials 

may be used on regulatory and warning signs. The 

MUTCD specifies that such materials must be 2-in. 

wide and match the corresponding sign’s 

background color. 

Since the initial installations, the City of Seattle 

added the sleeves to an additional 3,000 signs, and 

other agencies have followed its example. The 

Washington DOT began installing retroreflective 

sleeves on signs at curves and on/off ramps, and 

the neighboring city of Shoreline, Washington, 

adopted Seattle’s approach for sign sleeves at 

crosswalks and intersections. Eaves recommends 

that interested municipalities and stakeholders 

consider the sleeve’s approved uses before 

beginning a similar program. For instance, after the 

city’s retrofitting program began, private developers 

began including sleeves, but these were not 

compliant with MUTCD requirements. The City has 

since formalized its policy to prioritize the sleeve 

treatment at critical locations like school crossings 

and low visibility intersections to ensure MUTCD 

compliance.

Meanwhile, across the country, the MDOT recently 

reported success with using “gateway” treatments. 

Gateways, designed to reduce vehicle speeds and 

improve driver yielding at crossing locations, 

consists of multiple R1-6 signs (“YIELD TO [or 

STOP FOR] PEDESTRIANS IN CROSSWALK”) 

installed at roadway edges and between travel 

lanes. Signs can be installed either on the curb, 

refuge island, or gutter pan, and on the roadway 

center line or lane markings. 

Western Michigan University performed multiple 

studies to evaluate the gateway treatment across 

15 pilot locations. The gateway treatment was 

found to be effective at increasing yielding and 

reducing speeds at crossings on roadways either 

with speeds of 30 mph or less or on roadways with 

speeds of 35 mph or less and annual average daily 

traffic (AADT) below 12,000. Compared to yielding 

rates before installation, driver yielding rates 

increased by an average of 15 percent. Total 

yielding rates averaged 75 percent, with some sites 

reaching 94 percent. Estimated costs for each 

gateway treatment ranged from $900 to $1,800, 

and installation took between 15 and 40 minutes 

per site.
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 10

Examples of R1-6 and R1-6a, which are mounted on a 

sturdy base and used as in-street “gateway” treatments. 

Low-cost treatments have great potential to 

enhance pedestrian safety at crossing locations 

without straining budgets. However, new signage 

and pavement markings should comply with the 

MUTCD and complement proven countermeasures 

such as those promoted by the STEP program. 

Visit the STEP web page for more information 

about the program and its resources. 

For more information about STEP, contact your 

local FHWA Division office or Becky Crowe, STEP 

program manager, at rebecca.crowe@dot.gov.

MOTORCYCLIST ADVISORY COUNCIL 

SEEKS WAYS TO IMPROVE 

INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY

By: Gabe Rousseau, FHWA Office of Safety

According to data from NHTSA, 5,286 motorcyclists 

were killed in the United States in 2016. In addition, 

although motorcycles account for 3 percent of all 

registered vehicles, in 2016, motorcyclists 

comprised 14 percent of all roadway fatalities. 

These statistics highlight critical safety need on our 

roadways. The challenge is to find infrastructurebased engineering solutions that will reverse this 

unfortunate safety trend. 

In 2017, the Office of Safety established the 

Motorcyclist Advisory Council (MAC) to garner

assistance from a broad range of safety and 

motorcycle interest groups in finding such solutions. 

The MAC is a federal advisory committee 

established to provide advice and recommendations concerning infrastructure issues related to 

motorcyclist safety including barrier design; road 

design, construction, and maintenance practices; 

and the architecture and implementation of 

intelligent transportation system technologies. 

In early 2017, FHWA solicited applications to serve 

on the MAC, and, during the summer, Secretary of 

Transportation Elaine L. Chao officially selected 10 

experts from across the country to advise FHWA on 

the infrastructure issues described above. In

December, FHWA convened the first MAC meeting 

in the Washington, DC, area, and the members 

began their discussions about this important safety 

issue. The minutes from this meeting are posted on 

the FHWA Safety website. This meeting and all 

future MAC meetings are open to the public. 

The next meeting is being planned for early June 

and will be convened virtually (i.e., online). Meeting 

information will be announced in the Federal 

Register two weeks before it occurs. We look 

forward to working with the MAC to find solutions to 

ensure that motorcyclists can safely reach their 

destinations.

For more information, please contact Gabe 

Rousseau at gabe.rousseau@dot.gov. 

SPRING PEER EXCHANGE FOCUSES ON 

STEP STRATEGIES FOR 

UNCONTROLLED CROSSINGS

By: Becky Crowe and Gabe Rousseau, FHWA Office of 

Safety

Representatives from FHWA and eight States met 

in Oklahoma City on March 13 and 14 to participate 

in a peer exchange sponsored by the Safe 

Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) 

program. The purpose of the peer exchange was to 

discuss common challenges and strategies for 

addressing pedestrian safety at uncontrolled 

crossing locations. Local and State transportation 

officials from Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, 

Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Tennessee 

each shared how they are working to achieve the 

goals set by their States through the Every Day 

Counts (Round 4) initiative. A representative from 

the Massachusetts Department of Transportation 

(DOT) participated by conference call to describe 

how pedestrian safety is incorporated within that 

State’s Complete Streets Funding Program. 

Source: FHWA, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 11

Key discussion themes included coordination 

between State and local agencies, growing an 

agency culture that prioritizes pedestrian safety, 

short-term implementation strategies, improving 

agency decision-making policies, and evaluating 

corridors for crash-based and risk-based 

improvements. For instance, the Arkansas DOT 

shared how it is working with the cities of Little 

Rock and Jonesboro to prepare corridor-level 

pedestrian safety plans. Learning from the 

practices shared, participants committed to taking 

action and continuing to share the practices they 

learned for improving pedestrian safety.

For more information, please contact Becky Crowe 

at rebecca.crowe@dot.gov or Gabe Rousseau at 

gabe.rousseau@dot.gov. 

“HEADS UP” CAMPAIGN TARGETS 

PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES IN MAINE

By: Wayne R. Emington P.E., FHWA Maine Division

The Problem

Maine has recently experienced an increase in

pedestrian fatalities. In 2014, Maine’s 5-year rolling 

pedestrian fatality average was 10.4 fatalities per 

year, but in 2015, 2016, and 2017, there were 19, 

17, and 21 pedestrian fatalities. 

Maine crash maps show that pedestrian crashes 

are concentrated in population centers, while 

pedestrian fatalities have been distributed 

throughout rural communities. Statistics from 2011 

to 2015 show that 10 community clusters of 21 

towns make up 29 percent of the State’s 

population, but account for 65 percent of the State’s 

pedestrian crashes, 35 percent of pedestrian 

fatalities, and 62 percent of pedestrian 

incapacitating injuries.

Pedestrian crashes in Maine (2011-2015).

Crashes Fatalities

Incapacitating 

Injuries

Statewide 1,397 63 291

21 Communities 

Results

905 22 181

Percent Total in 

the 21 

Communities

64.8% 34.9% 62.2%

Other key takeaways from the data include:

• Most pedestrian crashes occur in daylight, in 

clear weather, and on dry roads.

• Two-thirds of pedestrian fatalities occur between 

dusk and dawn (when poor visibility and dark 

clothing are an issue).

• Most pedestrian crash victims are between 30

and 49 years old.

Pedestrian fatalities in Maine by individual year (blue) 

and 5-year rolling average (red) (2000 – 2017).

The Response

Reacting to the high number of pedestrian fatalities 

in 2015, MaineDOT convened a broad group of 

non-motorized safety stakeholders to discuss this 

multi-faceted problem and 

come up with data-driven 

solutions. The end result 

was a branded (“Heads Up”) 

multi-agency safety 

campaign with engineering, 

education, and enforcement 

components. The Heads Up campaign, which 

began in 2017, emphasizes public engagement and 

Chase Phillips, a Transportation Planner and 

Safety Coordinator for the Indian Nations Council 

of Governments, gives the STEP Peer Exchange 

two thumbs up! 

Photo courtesy of Michael Hinkston.

Source: NHTSA
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 12

was incorporated into Maine’s 2017 Strategic 

Highway Safety Plan. Heads Up activities include:

Public Engagement

• Pedestrian Safety Forums to review pedestrian 

crash data, and prioritize locations for road 

safety assessments (RSAs).

• Safer Walking Forums to brainstorm and 

prioritize education and enforcement actions.

• Community-specific pedestrian safety mitigation 

plans to reduce pedestrian crashes.

• MaineDOT distribution of reflective safety 

equipment at community events and meetings.

Engineering

• Public forums and RSAs that will lead to 

Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) 

and Transportation Alternative Program projects.

• A pedestrian safety / traffic calming toolbox for 

use by State and local practitioners.

• An Every Day Counts-Safe Transportation for 

Every Pedestrian Action Plan recommending 

updates to pedestrian-related guidance.

Education

• Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) 

Crosswalks & Sidewalks Training.

• A Pedestrian Safety Interactive Story Map.

• A pedestrian safety outreach campaign 

leveraging television, radio, and social media. 

• Concentrated Safe Routes to School education. 

• Focused outreach to at-risk or vulnerable. 

populations (homeless, speakers of English as a 

second language, elderly, disabled). 

Enforcement

• Law enforcement distribution of free samples of 

reflective safety equipment to pedestrians 

engaged in risky behaviors. 

• Working with law enforcement to encourage 

consistent bicycle and pedestrian crash reports.

Spotlight: Pedestrian Safety Forums

MaineDOT’s partnership with the Bicycle Coalition 

of Maine has received positive media attention for 

its Pedestrian Safety Forums and the State’s 

diverse efforts to raise awareness on pedestrian 

safety issues. 

These interactive forums provide an overview of 

Maine’s pedestrian safety issues, pedestrian crash 

statistics, common beliefs, and misconceptions. 

The forums also provide 

attendees the opportunity 

to identify problem areas 

within their community.

The forums begin with a 

presentation exploring 

perceptions and realities of 

pedestrian safety based on 

MaineDOT crash data. 

Participants use wireless 

clickers to provide 

feedback as they are 

quizzed on demographics 

and pedestrian safety 

information, providing 

instant audience feedback. 

People are then asked to identify the most 

significant safety issues pedestrians face in their 

community, again using the clickers. The next 

phase involves small group discussion with maps 

and markers to pinpoint high-risk locations for 

pedestrians throughout the town. 

After the break-out work, an open mic period is held 

to make sure everyone has had a chance to bring 

their issues before the group. The evening 

culminates in a prioritization activity using the 

clickers to determine the best locations in town for 

a road safety assessment that involves municipal 

officials, MaineDOT, and FHWA. 

One goal of these public engagement events, and 

subsequent RSAs, is federally and/or State-funded 

pedestrian safety projects. FHWA participates in 

MaineDOT’s Highway Safety Committee, which is 

charged with HSIP project programming and 

reviewing RSA results to determine when HSIP

projects are warranted. For 2019, MaineDOT has

set aside $250,000 in HSIP funds for pedestrian 

safety and an additional 

$150,000 specifically for 

crosswalk projects. 

Outcomes

The 15 pedestrian safety 

forums that have been held 

so far have been well 

attended with 583 

participants. FHWA has 

participated in several of 

the 15 forums, as well as 8 

LTAP training sessions, 

and 6 RSAs held to date. Source: Maine DOT

Attendees participate in 

group discussions at a 

Pedestrian Safety 

Forum. 

Photo courtesy of Wayne Emington
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 13

MaineDOT cited Heads Up as a factor in their 

target setting decision for the non-motorized 

category. The agency established a 5-year annual 

average target of 90.0 for 2018, a reduction from a 

2016 baseline of 91.2.

So far there has been only 1 pedestrian fatality in 

Maine in 2018. It may take years before we’ll have 

enough data to determine the overall success of 

Heads Up, but there is reason to be optimistic!

For more information on MaineDOT’s pedestrian 

safety activities or the Heads Up campaign, contact 

Wayne Emington at wayne.emington@dot.gov.

Pedestrian and bicyclist fatal and serious injuries in Maine, 2003-2018 (projected)

Year Fatality (K) Serious Injury (A) K+A 5 Yr. Rolling Average

2003 12 79 91 NA

2004 11 67 78 NA

2005 13 64 77 NA

2006 14 72 86 NA

2007 13 77 90 84.4

2008 17 66 83 82.8

2009 13 56 69 81.0

2010 13 51 64 78.4

2011 11 81 92 79.6

2012 10 101 111 83.8

2013 15 58 73 81.8

2014 11 87 98 87.6

2015 19 65 84 91.6

2016 21 69 90 91.2

2017* 22 71 93 87.6

*Data for 2017 are preliminary.

NA = Not available.

NEW RESOURCE ROUNDUP

NEW GUIDE TO SELF-ENFORCING 

ROADWAYS HELPS STATES, LOCAL 

AGENCIES REDUCE SPEEDING

By: Abdul Zineddin, FHWA Office of Safety R&D, and 

Guan Xu, FHWA Office of Safety

Each year, more than 13,000 people are killed in 

speeding-related crashes, and the majority of 

speeding-related crashes occur on roads that are 

not part of the Interstate System. Due to the 

substantial number of speeding-related crashes in 

rural areas, FHWA encourages traffic safety 

improvement programs to apply proven crashreduction strategies in these areas, focusing on 

reducing speeding-related crashes on moderateand high-speed, two-lane rural highways, where the 

majority of these crashes occur. 

One approach to mitigating speeding is by building 

what are called “self-enforcing roads” (sometimes 

called “self-explaining roadways”), which are 

roadways that are planned and designed to 

encourage drivers to select operating speeds that 

are consistent with the posted speed limit. To effect 

speed compliance, designers typically use 

geometric elements that encourage drivers to 
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 14

select operating speeds that are appropriate for the 

intended purpose of the roadway. Properly 

designed self-enforcing roadways can be effective 

in producing speed compliance and may contribute 

to less severe crash outcomes. 

The newly released Self-Enforcing Roadways: A 

Guidance Report provides information to 

transportation agencies on how to produce selfenforcing roadways during the geometric design 

process. The report identifies six self-enforcing 

road concepts and the processes needed to 

implement the concepts when designing or 

evaluating existing two-lane rural highways. These

six methods include: (1) the speed feedback loop 

process, (2) the inferred design speed approach, 

(3) design consistency methods, (4) applying 

geometric design criteria, (5) using a combination 

of signs and pavement markings, and (6) setting 

rational speed limits. These methods can be 

applied individually or in combination for planned or 

existing two-lane rural highways. This report is 

designed for transportation professionals, State 

departments of transportation, and researchers 

interested in designing and/or retrofitting roadways 

to induce drivers to drive at more appropriate 

speeds.

For more information, contact Abdul Zineddin, 202-

493-3288, abdul.zineddin@dot.gov.

NEW GUIDE IMPROVES PEDESTRIAN 

SAFETY AT UNCONTROLLED CROSSINGS

By: Becky Crowe, FHWA Office of Safety

As part of the EDC-4 Safe Transportation for Every 

Pedestrian (STEP) program, FHWA released its 

Guide for Improving Pedestrian Safety at 

Uncontrolled Crossing Locations in January 2018. 

The FHWA guide follows a six-step process and 

provides tools that help agencies select 

countermeasures for uncontrolled crossing 

locations based on roadway characteristics and 

pedestrian safety issues. The guide is supported by 

a Field Guide for Selecting Countermeasures at 

Uncontrolled Pedestrian Crossing Locations that

helps practitioners document relevant roadway 

conditions, traffic information, and safety data. 

FHWA also provides a poster-sized 

graphic that illustrates the guide’s sixstep process. These guides and 

supporting resources are posted to the 

STEP program website. 

FHWA 

presented the guide 

during a recorded 

webinar on January 30, 

2018. More than 500 

attendees participated in 

the webinar, representing 

local and State 

governments across the 

United States. According 

to one webinar 

participant, “I thought the webinar was very 

informative, especially the table for crosswalk 

treatment options for different roadway scenarios.” 

During the webinar, participants were asked which 

of STEP countermeasures were least familiar. 

Participants indicated they were least familiar with 

the pedestrian hybrid beacon (42 percent of 

respondents) followed raised crosswalks (28 

percent). These responses will help inform future 

STEP webinar themes and technical assistance 

offered through the STEP program.

For more information on the Guide and associated 

resources, or the EDC4 STEP initiative, please 

contact Becky Crowe at rebecca.crowe@dot.gov.

NEW STUDY SUGGESTS UPDATED 

CRASH COSTS FOR USE IN HIGHWAY 

SAFETY ANALYSIS

By: Karen Scurry, FHWA Office of Safety

Everybody has heard the old adage “garbage in, 

garbage out,” and it’s commonly understood that 

when conducting safety data analyses, it’s 

important to have the highest quality data available 

so that the results of the analysis are as accurate 

as possible. Faced with ongoing funding and 

Self-Enforcing Roadways: A Guidance Report identifies six selfenforcing road concepts and the processes needed to implement 

the concepts when designing or evaluating existing two-lane 

rural highways.
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 15

human resource limitations, States often have 

difficulty obtaining the high-quality data they need 

to conduct accurate safety analyses. 

To alleviate this challenge, FHWA recently 

commissioned a study to determine the feasibility of 

establishing national crash costs for use in highway 

safety analysis. States often use crash costs when 

estimating the safety benefits of highway safety 

improvement projects. Each State independently 

selects, modifies, and updates these crash costs 

from one or more sources for their highway safety 

analyses. National costs would provide consistency 

in project decisions and research, while lessening 

the burden on States to each adopt and maintain 

their own crash costs. 

The result of this study is a new guide, Crash Costs 

for Highway Safety Analysis, which proposes a set 

of national crash unit costs for use in the FHWA 

Highway Safety Benefit Cost Analysis Guide and 

Tool (see related story on p. 4). It also suggests 

procedures to (1) update the crash unit costs over 

time and (2) adjust the crash unit costs to States 

based on State-specific cost of living, injury-tocrash ratios, and vehicle-to-crash ratio. A 

Supplemental Spreadsheet to Calculate Crash 

Costs allows users to implement these procedures.

The guide describes the various sources of crash 

costs, current practices and crash costs used by 

States, critical considerations when modifying and 

applying crash unit costs, and an exploration of the 

feasibility of establishing national crash unit cost 

values. This guide recommends national crash 

costs for use in highway safety analysis as shown 

in the table below. 

Recommended national KABCO comprehensive crash 

unit costs (2016 dollars).

Severity Comprehensive Crash Unit Costs

K $11,295,400

A $655,000

B $198,500

C $125,600

O $11,900

Want to learn more? Join us for a webinar on

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 from 1:00 – 2:30 PM 

ET. The webinar will feature an overview of the 

Crash Costs for Highway Safety Analysis Guide

and demonstrate how to use the supplemental tool. 

You’ll also hear about one State agency’s 

experience with the tool and how it is using the 

results to support highway safety analysis. Register

for the no-cost webinar today!

For more information, contact Karen Scurry at 

karen.scurry@dot.gov. 

NOW AVAILABLE!

SAFETY PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 

TARGET SETTING COMMUNICATIONS 

PLAN AND TOOLKIT

By: David Kopacz, Danielle Betkey, and Dana Gigliotti, 

FHWA Office of Safety

Communicating your performance story with a 

variety of audiences is important throughout all 

stages of the safety performance target-setting 

process. The FHWA Office of Safety developed a 

Safety Performance 

Management 

Communications Plan 

and Toolkit (Toolkit) to 

assist State departments 

of transportations (DOTs) 

and metropolitan 

planning organizations 

(MPOs) in 

communicating why 

safety performance 

targets are being 

established, which stakeholders are affected, and 

how a variety of audiences can get involved in 

helping establish the targets or in target 

achievement. The Toolkit includes six elements that 

can be customized and used together or 

separately, including a dashboard, presentation 

slides, press releases, a memo to target approvers, 

talking points, and a social media kit. These 

resources will help State DOTs and MPOs provide 

their stakeholders with the underlying rationale on 

how targets were established, encourage action 

towards meeting performance targets, and support 

implementation of activities that will help achieve 

the targets.

This communications plan and toolkit comes at an 

ideal time, as implementation of the new Safety 

Performance Management (PM) Final Rule is 

underway. States provided their first round of 

annual safety performance targets for 2018 in their 
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 16

Highway Safety Improvement Program reports, 

submitted to the FHWA in August 2017. The five 

safety performance measures for which States set 

annual safety performance targets are number of 

fatalities, rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle 

miles traveled (VMT), number of serious injuries, 

rate of serious injuries per 100 million VMT, and 

number of non-motorized fatalities and nonmotorized serious injuries combined. During this 

first round of the safety target setting process, State 

DOTs worked with their State Highway Safety 

Offices to identically align three of the safety 

performance measures (number of fatalities, rate of 

fatalities per 100 million VMT, number of serious 

injuries). States also coordinated with MPOs, which 

established their annual safety performance targets 

and submitted them to their respective State DOT 

by February 2018.

Collaborative process to set and achieve Safety 

Performance Measure targets. Source: FHWA.

As State DOTs and MPOs begin to prepare for the 

next round of safety target setting for 2019, 

communication is essential. Since safety target 

setting is a collaborative process, it requires 

working with audiences that have varying technical

knowledge and perspectives related to safety 

performance management. This Toolkit describes

the variety of audiences who will have a leading or 

supporting role in both setting and achieving targets 

or who may be interested in potential outcomes and 

impacts associated with implementing the Safety 

PM Final Rule. It will also help State DOTs develop 

customized messages by providing guidance on 

the appropriate forums and whom the messages 

should target. 

The Communications Plan and Toolkit, along with 

several other resources, is available on FHWA’s 

Safety Performance Management webpage.

GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT HFST?

We Have Answers! 

By: Joe Cheung, FHWA Office of Safety

What are the safety effects of High Friction Surface 

Treatment (HFST) for motorcyclists and bicyclists? 

Is HFST is a cost-effective solution? How durable 

is HFST, and what are its maintenance 

requirements? As interest in HFST has grown, so 

has the variety of questions practitioners have been 

asking. In response, FHWA recently updated the 

previously published HFST FAQ with more current 

technical information about this highly effective 

treatment. Because of the broad range of 

questions, the list is divided into specific areas of 

interest, including

• Safety

• Maintenance and Operations

• Cost

• Environmental Impacts

• Material Specifications / Durability

• Installation

• Lessons Learned. 

Key information has been added in each category. 

For example, under Material Specifications / 

Durability, readers can learn about the proper 

technique to recover/reuse left over aggregate or 

find new aggregate studies from the National 

Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT). They can 

also review a comparative discussion of the 

different installation methodologies under 

Installation. 

Whatever your question is, we encourage you to 

visit the HFST Frequently Asked Questions page to 

find the answer and learn more about the many 

benefits of this ground-breaking treatment for 

improving safety on horizontal curves. If you need 
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 17

additional information about HFST, or to inquire 

about technical assistance, please contact Joseph 

Cheung at joseph.cheung@dot.gov. 

FHWA LAUNCHES REDESIGNED ZERO 

DEATHS WEBPAGE

By: Chimai Ngo, FHWA Office of Safety

This spring, the Office of Safety re-launched its 

Zero Deaths webpage, featuring updated content 

and a refreshed, more user-friendly interface. 

Renamed “Safety Culture and the Zero Deaths 

Vision,” the new web page is more streamlined and 

better structured and offers a more visually 

appealing interactive design. It provides the 

transportation community with up-to-date

information on related efforts and access to 

external partners’ websites. A new “Current 

Spotlights” feature highlights noteworthy practices 

and initiatives and will be updated on a regular 

basis.We encourage you to bookmark the Safety 

Culture and the Zero Deaths Vision webpage and 

visit often to learn more about FHWA’s commitment 

to the zero deaths vision and the transportation 

community’s notable efforts to reach the zero 

deaths goal. If you have questions regarding the 

webpage, please contact Chimai Ngo at 

chimai.ngo@dot.gov.

NHTSA Deploys New Interactive Portal for Traffic Safety Facts Annual Report 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has deployed a dynamic and interactive 

online portal for its annual traffic safety report, Traffic Safety Facts: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle 

Crash Data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System. This portal 

gives users the ability to generate the numerous descriptive statistics about traffic crashes of all 

severities, from those that result in property damage to those that result in the loss of human life. 

This new portal fulfils a long-standing need for NHTSA to provide the tables in a more timely and easily 

accessible manner. It does this by incorporating features that allow users to output tables in various 

popular formats such as Excel and PDF and to request national and State-level versions of tables in 

cases where this type of data is available. In addition, users can also generate historic tables.

The data sources for this report are the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS, 2010-2016) and the 

National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (NASS GES, 2010-2015). (Note: 

NASS GES was discontinued in 2016 and replaced with a new system called the Crash Report 

Sampling System (CRSS).) The 2016 data year is the first data collection year of CRSS and estimates 

for injury and property-damage-only crash estimates for 2016 will be available soon.
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 18

LEARNING TOGETHER

NEW! SAFETY DATA AND ANALYSIS 

FUNDAMENTALS TRAINING

By: Esther Strawder, FHWA Office of Safety

The Office of Safety has a brand-new course 

designed to provide basic safety data and analysis 

information for planners, project managers, 

engineers, data collectors, and analysts, as well as 

program managers. The new “Safety Data and 

Analysis Fundamentals Training” course is 

available through NHI 380122 as a totally webbased offering with continuing education unit 

eligibility. For more information, please contact 

Esther Strawder at Esther.Strawder@dot.gov. 

TENNESSEE DIVISION HOSTS ROAD 

SAFETY ASSESSMENTS FOR LAW 

ENFORCEMENT 

By: Jessica Rich, Tennessee Division Safety Engineer

Oftentimes, law enforcement and first responders 

work on recurring crashes at the same location. 

Sometimes, writing tickets isn’t enough, and a 

broader perspective is needed to understand why 

those crashes occur. The Tennessee Division 

hosted two pilot Road Safety Assessments for Law 

Enforcement and First Responders workshops in 

Nashville and Alcoa, TN.

This two-day workshop, sponsored by the FHWA 

Resource Center Safety and Design Team,

provides law enforcement and first responders with 

an exploration of some of the enforcement and 

engineering countermeasures and strategies that 

can be implemented to improve safety in our 

communities and save lives.

Participants learned the importance of investigating 

crashes from a broader perspective than solely 

from the legal violation standpoint. Skills acquired 

through the workshop include determining whether 

a “hot spot” needs additional corrective action 

beyond enforcement, (i.e., education, EMS,

engineering), understanding the differences in 

possible causes of crashes and countermeasures, 

understanding the three elements of crash 

causation and their interaction, and understanding 

road safety assessments and how to conduct one.

Law enforcement, emergency response personnel, 

and traffic engineers found common ground on 

which to work together and even initiate resolution 

of issues that had been problems for law 

enforcement in smaller agencies for years. 

Participants stayed engaged by participating in

short surveys throughout the class. Attendees also 

reviewed a project completed by the Tennessee 

Department of Transportation, which taught them 

the importance of ensuring all stakeholders are 

involved with the analysis of a hazardous location. 

For more information on this workshop, contact 

Craig Allred, FHWA Resource Center Safety and 

Design Team at craig.allred@dot.gov.

SAFETY FOCUS AREA: WORK ZONES

FHWA AND PARTNERS LAUNCH 

NATIONAL WORK ZONE AWARENESS 

WEEK FOR 2018

“Work Zone Safety: Everybody’s 

Responsibility”

By: Martha C. Kapitanov, Office of Operations

#Orange4Safety or #OrangeForSafety? Both 

hashtags were used to promote work zone safety 

awareness during this year’s National Work Zone 

Awareness Week (NWZAW) April 9-13. 

The NWZAW kick-of event was hosted by Illinois 

DOT on April 10th adjacent to the Jane Byrne Interchange reconstruction Project in the Chicago metro 

area. FHWA joined the American Traffic Safety 

Services Association, the Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, the Occupational Safety and 

Health Administration (OSHA), the American 

Association of State and Highway Transportation 

Officials, the American Road & Transportation 

Builders Association, the Associated General 

Contractors, Illinois DOT, and other stakeholders to 

raise work zone safety awareness during the kickoff event.
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 19

Total Work Zone Fatalities 

2016 2015 % Change

Drivers and passengers 765 712 7

Pedestrians and bicyclists 635 595 7

Others 5 4 25

On Wednesday, April 11, agencies around the 

country encouraged their employees to wear 

orange to show their support for the work zone 

safety message, and especially to support the

families of victims who have lost their lives in work 

zones.

The message this year for everyone driving, 

walking or working in and around work zones is 

“Work Zone Safety: Everybody’s Responsibility.” 

To improve safety in and around work zones, two 

brochures have been developed under an FHWA 

Work Zone Safety Grant to help improve work zone 

safety. The first, “Driving Safely in and Around 

Work Zones,” is targeted at drivers of passenger 

vehicles and the second, “Safe Trucking Through 

Work Zones,” is designed to assist truckers in 

learning how to navigate a work zone safely. 

In 2016, the most recent year for which we have 

data, 765 traffic-related fatalities occurred in work 

zones (Fatality Analysis Reporting System 2015 

Final and 2016 Annual Report File), a 7 percent 

increase from 2015. Fatal work zone crashes take 

place most often in summer and fall. Based on data 

from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015 and 2016 

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, 

District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census 

of Fatal Occupational Injuries), 143 workers were 

killed at highway construction sites (work zones),2 a 

10 percent increase from 2015. Struck-by crashes 

are the leading cause of worker fatalities and 

injuries in highway construction. On average, 14 

motorists and 2 highway workers are 

killed in work zones each week. The 

goal of OSHA’s Focus Four Hazards

campaign is to raise awareness about 

the importance of recognizing, 

evaluating, and controlling the four 

hazards (falls, struck-by, electrocution, 

and caught-in/between) through the 

delivery of “toolbox talks,” available 

through the FHWA Work Zone Safety 

Clearinghouse, that employers can to provide to 

their workers. 

FHWA develops and provides a broad array of 

guidelines and training, conducts research, implements regulatory changes, and works continuously 

to increase public awareness through partnering 

activities. For information and resources, visit the 

FHWA Work Zone 

Management web site. 

Visit the National Work 

Zone Safety Week web 

page to learn more 

about this annual 

national event. 

Since 2005, the FHWA 

Work Zone Safety 

Grant Program has 

funded more than $40 

million in grants for

developing and 

conducting work zone 

safety guidance and 

training. To date, more than 3,900 courses have 

been conducted for over 104,000 field workers, 

state/local DOT personnel and other transportation 

agency staff. More detailed information on each 

product or resource, including access to materials, 

is available at the National Work Zone Safety 

Information Clearinghouse. 

AWARDS NEWS

FHWA ISSUES 2017 SAFETY 

LEADERSHIP AWARDS, LIFETIME 

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Early this spring, FHWA announced its 2017 

awardees, who have been recognized for their 

leadership in furthering the cause of zero fatalities 

and serious injuries on our Nation’s roadways. 

These awards have been presented annually since 

2000 to recognize employees for their demonstrated leadership and accomplishments in highway 

safety. Congratulations to the 2017 recipients!

FHWA Safety Leadership Peer Awards

Nicholas Fortey, Oregon Division Office. This 

award recognizes Nick’s notable accomplishments 

advancing safety in Oregon. Nick effectively 
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 20

promoted implementation of numerous Every Day 

Counts initiatives and played a key role in 

advancing data driven approaches to reducing 

crashes and fatalities. He initiated activities to 

analyze both intersection and run-off-the-road 

crashes for use in aiding the statewide 

development of priority -based response strategies. 

Nick was instrumental in Oregon’s decision to 

adopt the corridor -based design exceptions that 

led Oregon to align asset management with 

highway safety—a concept subsequently presented 

at a Transportation Research Board annual 

meeting. Nick also assisted Oregon in the effort to 

resolve issues and allow bike boxes to be 

implemented with experimental status per the 

Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. His vast 

knowledge of the safety program and his 

passionate approach to bringing safety 

improvements to his State have been a major 

advantage to Oregon. 

Mark Doctor, PE, Resource Center, Safety & 

Design Technical Services Team. This award 

recognizes Mark’s substantial contributions to 

safety nationally. Mark has played a major role in 

accelerating the application and use of innovative 

intersections and geometrics for intersection and 

interchange design and evaluation. He has been a 

considerable asset to agencies as they learn how 

to design and implement changes in business 

practices that help bring innovative solutions to 

fruition. Mark’s efforts have been critical to the 

promulgation of intersection control evaluation 

(ICE) policies throughout the country. These 

policies empower engineers and decision makers 

to improve design decisions and develop projects 

that save lives. Mark has also been instrumental in 

FHWA’s EDC efforts promoting Road Diets, 

Complete Streets, and context sensitive solutions. 

He is a recognized and sought-after leader who has 

helped to build FHWA’s strong reputation among 

public and private sector stakeholders. He has 

continually excelled in leadership roles and 

mentoring colleagues. Mark is the epitome of 

professionalism and elevates the standard of care 

through excellent communication and collaboration. 

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 our agency, the annual 

Howard Anderson Lifetime Achievement Award 

was established in 2014 to recognize an FHWA 

employee who exemplifies outstanding and

significant service to the safety discipline over his 

or her career. Nominees are evaluated for

continuous efforts to champion safety both 

internally and externally to FHWA. 

Dr. Raymond Krammes, Transportation Specialist, 

FHWA Office of Safety, is the recipient of this 

prestigious recognition. 

Ray Krammes recently retired from FHWA on 

December 8, 2017, after providing safety 

leadership in FHWA Safety R&D, the Office of 

Safety, and with many FHWA partner organizations 

for more than 20 years. Ray was most recently a 

leader in developing, managing, and evaluating 

programs to improve State and local agencies’ 

safety data systems and analysis capabilities. He

also led an agency-wide group that developed 

FHWA’s position on performance-based practical 

design and co-led the development and 

implementation of a roadmap for research, 

development, and technology transfer activities to 

improve safety data systems and analysis. Prior to 

joining FHWA, Ray served on the faculty of the 

Texas Transportation Institute. After joining the 

FHWA, he became a leader in incorporating safety 

into geometric design. He led research and 

deployment efforts that advanced the concepts and 

principles in the Highway Safety Manual and 

associated tools. He was on the original steering 

committee that developed the first ever 

Transportation Research Board (TRB) International 

Symposium on Geometric Design, which has now 

been held multiple times at locations around the 

world. He served as the Chairman of several TRB 

Committees and Task Forces and has been a vital 

Congratulations to Ray Krammes on being selected for 

the Howard Anderson Lifetime Achievement Award!

Photo courtesy of Beth Alicandri. 
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 21

contributor to many others at TRB and AASHTO. In 

recognition of his immense contributions to safety 

during his public service career, he has been 

recognized with numerous accolades and awards. 

Ray’s personal contributions to safety and design 

have laid a foundation of standards and practices 

that will have positive effects on the way the 

highway community works to save lives for many 

years to come.

It is for this dedication to a lifetime of work in 

highway safety that Raymond Krammes is the 

recipient of the 2017 Howard Anderson Lifetime 

Achievement Award.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FHWA and FRA Joint Webinar Series Continues in 2018!

By: Kelly Morton, FHWA Office of Safety

The FHWA and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) joint webinar series, designed to help practitioners 

apply the latest approaches for advancing safety at rail-highway crossings, continues to be a huge 

success! The FHWA-FRA joint webinar series discusses a variety of rail-highway grade crossing issues as 

well as tools and strategies to enhance safety. The webinars are open to all partners, including Federal, 

State, local and railroad agencies, and have been widely popular with hundreds of attendees. 

The most recent webinar was held Wednesday, April 25, 2018, and provided a demonstration of FRA’s 

GXDash! as well as an overview of MUTCD Chapter 8 and ENS signs. Previous joint webinars have 

focused on such interesting topics as State Action Plans, Grade Crossing Inventory, and the Section 130 

program. Recordings of the April webinar, as well as the previous webinars in the series, are posted on the 

FHWA Rail-Highway Crossings Program webpage under the Resources section. 

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2018 

International Conference on Transportation and 

Development, July 15-18, 2018, Pittsburgh, PA.

This annual conference is organized to facilitate 

exchange of information, knowledge, and best 

practices among transportation and development 

practitioners and researchers, public infrastructure 

owners, policy makers, government engineers and 

planners, operations managers and leading 

academics from around the world. Attendees will 

discover the latest innovations and learn more 

about major technologies and their impact on 

transportation and development; network with other 

professionals in the areas of infrastructure 

planning, design, operation, and management; and 

get up-to-date information about federal and state 

policies and initiatives that are shaping the civil 

engineering profession.

National Association of Counties 83rd Annual 

Conference & Exposition, July 13-16, 2018, 

Nashville, TN. This annual meeting draws a crosssection of elected officials and county staff from 

across the country. Attendees from rural and urban 

counties, with large and small budgets and staff, 

come together each year to this event to shape the 

association’s Federal policy agenda, learn, network 

and share successful practices all aimed to help 

improve residents’ lives and the efficiency of county 

government.

2018 National LTAP/TTAP Conference, July 23-26, 

New Orleans, LA. This year’s conference will feature 

presentations on safety innovations and breakout

sessions on a broad range of topics, including local 

road safety plans, finding trainers, innovative 

outreach, social media best practices, safety circuit 

rider programs, and overcoming barriers to 

innovation, among many others.

43rd Intl. Forum on Traffic Records & Highway 

Information Systems, August 12-15, 2018, 

Milwaukee, WI. This year's program will include an 

array of presentations dedicated to topics including 

drugged driving, interlocks, roadway data 

collection, roadway data integration, automated 

courts, court system integration, EMS and injury 

surveillance, dashboards, data quality, and hot 

topic subjects on technology. The forum will again 

provide sessions that include the latest safety data 

collection methods and best practices. Attendees 
Spring 2018: Volume 12 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 22

The Safety Compass Newsletter

is a publication of the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 

Federal Highway Administration.

The Federal Highway 

Administration 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 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.

will join data analysts, State and local law 

enforcement officials, engineers, motor vehicle 

officials, emergency medical services providers, 

judicial administrators, and highway safety 

professionals from across the United States and 

international communities.

Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) 2018 

Annual Meeting & Exhibit, August 20-23, 2018, 

Minneapolis, MN. Come to Minneapolis this fall to 

learn about the wide spectrum of topics that directly 

impact the transportation industry. Attendees will 

experience expert commentary, compelling 

presentations, and peer discussion on various 

aspects of the critical issues facing transportation 

professionals today, including, but not limited to: 

• Taking steps to eliminate fatalities and serious 

injuries. 

• Linking transportation strategies and health 

impacts. 

• Making communities smarter. 

• Deploying connected and automated vehicles. 

• Designing complete streets; moving people, not 

just cars.

Governor’s Highway Safety Association 2018 

Annual Meeting, August 25-29, 2018, Atlanta, GA.

The theme for this year’s annual meeting is

“Joining Forces to Get to Zero: Partnerships in 

Traffic Safety.” Achieving zero deaths on our 

roadways will require collaboration among a 

number of professional disciplines across the public 

and private sector. Attendees will also learn about 

advancements in autonomous vehicle technology 

and the impacts on safety. Attendees will include: 

• State Highway Safety Office directors and their 

staff.

• Federal highway safety professionals.

• Technology providers.

• Public health officials.

• Law enforcement professionals.

• Private sector highway safety partners.

• State Highway Safety Office sub-recipients.