Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 1

A Message from FHWA Associate

Administrator for Safety Beth Alicandri

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

I’ve been looking through previous issues of the Compass in 

preparation for my last “Message from the AA,” and I note 

with a smile that in our very first issue, in 2006, we included 

Strategic Highway Safety Plans and local and rural road

safety – two topics that remain very relevant today; in fact, 

this issue features an article on one rural county’s 

experience in developing Local Road Safety Plans on page 

19. I’ve wandered through the messages that I’ve penned 

and see additional themes: a focus on sharing what works, an emphasis on 

working across disciplines, and a desire to make good safety decisions using 

data-driven techniques.

Taken together, with a dash of improving safety culture and making innovation 

a safety driver, these are the areas where we need to continue to march 

ahead to achieve a nation where no one dies on our roadways—a vision 

increasingly embraced at the local level (p. 21). We need to take an 

interdisciplinary, strategic approach to safety – one where we consider the 

needs of all users and road types, use data to inform our decision making and 

share information with our colleagues. This issue supports that approach with 

articles on Virginia’s new Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (p. 15), the continued 

relevance of diagnosing safety issues correctly (p. 12), and Roadway Data 

Improvement Program technical assistance (p. 2). 

The task ahead of us is huge and daunting – and I will not be here with you 

when the final goal is achieved. But I am confident, given what we have 

learned, and what we are capable of as a community, that we will get there.

Let me close with Mary Oliver, because this is how we can all march ahead:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.

Thank you for letting me be a part of something that is so much bigger than 

any of us.

Beth Alicandri will be retiring on May 31 after 30+ years with FHWA. Beth has 

spent her entire professional career in highway safety—from her graduate 

fellowship to her tenure as the Associate Administrator for Safety. After retirement, 

Beth and her husband Mike plan to (buckle up! and) travel across the USA in their 

1977 Argosy RV. They plan to go everywhere, talk to everyone, and eat 

everything.

A Publication of the Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 2

In This Issue:

By the Numbers: Safety Data and Analysis

RDIP Technical Assistance Now Available! ....2

Arizona Turns Up the Heat on Data Analysis ..4

EDC Update

Maine to Mississippi: STEP Supports 

Pedestrian Safety through RSAs.....................5

Bringing Attention to the Rural Roadway 

Departure Challenge .......................................7

Systematically Implementing Leading 

Pedestrian Intervals...................................... 11

Learning Together

Diagnosing Safety Issues ............................. 12

New! Training and Videos Now Available for 

Safety Data and Analysis ............................. 14

Vulnerable Road Users

New Resource Guides Development of Safe, 

Connected Bikeways .................................... 14

Virginia Strides into the Future with New 

Pedestrian Safety Action Plan .......................15

Updates from States and Localities

Ground Penetrating Radar Helps Ensure Safe 

Travel on Alaska’s Ice Roads ........................17

Montgomery County Pilots Local Road Safety 

Plan ...............................................................19

Localities Embrace Vision Zero.....................21

Oklahoma Has Big Plans to Improve Safety 

Using HFST...................................................23

Awards News

2019 National Safety Awards Announced.... 24

New Golden Bolt Award Program Recognizes 

non-Safety Specialists .................................. 26

Recent Events

National Work Zone Safety Week: “Drive Like 

You Work Here”.............................................27

Office of Safety TRB Booth Gives Visitors 

Hands-On (and Feets-On!) Demos of Proven 

Safety Countermeasures...............................29

Announcements ..........................................30

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Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 2

BY THE NUMBERS: SAFETY DATA AND ANALYSIS

ROADWAY DATA IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FREE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE NOW 

AVAILABLE!

Technical Assistance for Collecting, Managing, Governing, and Using Roadway Data

By: Robert Pollack, FHWA Office of Safety, Tim Harmon and Catherine Chestnutt, VHB; Nancy Lefler, UNC 

HSRC

The FHWA Roadway Data Improvement Program 

(RDIP) offers assistance from national subject 

matter experts (SME) to States, local roadway 

owners, and Tribal data stakeholders. The RDIP 

can provide roadway data training, recommend 

opportunities for enhancing data and analysis 

systems, and improve interagency coordination and 

communication. The RDIP has assisted 15 State 

agencies to review and improve their roadway data 

programs since its introduction in 2013 (see map). 

States may request RDIP assistance from the 

FHWA Office of Safety at any time. 

Although the program has a roadway safety data 

focus, the RDIP often reviews data sets and 

procedures related to roadway and intersection 

inventories, crash data, traffic monitoring and 

operations data, construction project records, 

roadway and roadside asset data, data security and 

accessibility, and data quality management. 

Roadway Data Improvement Program 

Benefits

The RDIP helps agencies in the following key 

areas:

Roadway Data Collection:

• Highlight potential redundant data collection 

efforts.

• Identify potential data collection tools and 

techniques. 

• Suggest solutions to integrating roadway, crash, 

and traffic data. 

• Improve integration of State, Tribal, and local 

data.

• Help the State meet the Model Inventory of 

Roadway Elements (MIRE) fundamental data 

elements (FDE) requirement.

Past Roadway Data Improvement Program participants have come from these States.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 3

Data Analysis Tools and Uses: 

• Assist the State with expanding roadway 

inventories. 

• Establish a State-based safety countermeasures 

database. 

• Present analytic techniques to State DOT staff. 

Data Management and Governance:

• Develop data standards.

• Identify data needs.

• Help establish a quality assurance/quality control 

process.

• Establish better communication among data 

collectors/users.

• Develop performance measures. 

Data Sharing and Integration:

• Develop an enterprise system.

• Use linear referencing system/geographic 

information system programs more effectively. 

• Encourage better communications between 

State and local agency staff. 

Roadway Data Improvement Program 

Activities

Upon request, FHWA will host a meeting to 

introduce the technical assistance team, identify 

areas of interest to participating agencies, and 

request both background information about the 

State’s data systems as well as a roadway data 

sample. The technical assistance team reviews 

documentation and conducts an independent data 

quality assessment (see diagram below). The team 

also reviews the State’s progress toward adopting 

the MIRE FDEs to meet the Highway Safety 

Improvement Program Final Rule requirements. 

(Note that requirements include the use of MIRE 

FDEs to conduct performance-based safety 

analysis on all public roads by September 30, 

2026.)

After the initial pre-visit assessment, the SME team 

travels to the State for a week-long site visit. The 

first day consists of an interactive workshop 

including training and noteworthy practices for 

roadway data collection, use, management, and 

performance measurement. The site visit also 

includes two technical transfer sessions with 

stakeholders to discuss their policies, practices and 

procedures. The first session focuses on how the 

State DOT maintains its roadway inventory, and the 

second session addresses local agency and Tribal 

practices, including interaction and data sharing 

with the State. On the final day of the site visit, the 

SME team presents their findings and makes 

recommendations on how the State can improve its

roadway inventory system.

FHWA and the SME team will submit a post-visit 

final report to the State. The final report includes a 

list of recommendations with suggested priority, 

relative costs, and an estimated timeline the State 

can use to develop an Action Plan. The SME team 

also follows up about 6 months after the workshop 

to monitor progress and offer additional assistance 

if needed. The RDIP attendees have access to the 

SMEs throughout the process.

If you would like to learn more, visit the Roadway 

Safety Data Program page or visit the Technical 

Assistance Online application to request FREE 

RDIP technical assistance for your State. For more 

information on this program, contact Robert Pollack 

at robert.pollack@dot.gov. 

Roadway Data Improvement Program schedule.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 4

2019 National Roadway Safety Awards Call for Nominations

By: Norah Ocel, FHWA Office of Safety

This year, the FHWA is again working with the Roadway Safety 

Foundation to co-sponsor the 2019 National Roadway Safety Awards 

Program. This effort honors agencies and organizations in the 

transportation community that have made significant strides toward 

improving safety on our Nation's highways in two categories: 

• Infrastructure and operational improvements. 

• Program planning, development, and evaluation. 

Every 2 years, this prestigious awards program recognizes projects that 

are effective, innovative, and demonstrate efficient use of resources. For more than two decades, this 

program has shined a spotlight on the practitioners who are the unsung heroes of highway safety.

Selected projects are included in a noteworthy practices guide so they can be replicated nationwide. 

Award winners are also honored at a ceremony in the fall on Capitol Hill, and receive assistance 

generating media coverage in their home communities.

Know of a groundbreaking, innovative road safety project or program? 

Applications are being accepted through May 31, 2019, at https://www.roadwaysafety.org/awards.

Note that only public agencies may serve as lead applicants for an award; however, nonprofits or private 

entities may cosponsor a submission provided it is in partnership with a public agency. 

ARIZONA TURNS UP THE HEAT ON DATA ANALYSIS 

By: Jerry Roche, FHWA Office of Safety, Jeffrey King, FHWA Arizona Division, and Kerry Wilcoxon, Arizona 

State Traffic Safety Engineer

Over the 2-year period of the Every Day Counts 

Round 4 (EDC-4) initiative, the Arizona Data Driven 

Safety Analysis (DDSA) team, co-chaired by 

representatives from the Arizona Department of 

Transportation Traffic Safety Section and Maricopa 

Association of Governments (MAG), has made 

great progress improving DDSA capabilities in 

Arizona. Partnering with State, regional, and local 

planning and engineering departments—in addition 

to their State, local, and Tribal law enforcement 

counterparts—the Arizona DDSA team has made 

significant progress on three major projects related 

to improving both the quality of traffic crash data 

itself and the crash data analysis processes. These 

projects include: 

• Continuing to implement the 2017 Arizona 

Traffic Crash Form with support from the 

Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway 

Safety. 

• Implementing and integrating the new 

Arizona Crash Information System (ACIS). 

• Tailoring the AASHTOWare Safety Analyst 

(SA) predictive modeling tool for Arizona. 

Individually, MAG has also continued to advance 

DDSA-based infrastructure improvement projects 

by implementing its Systems Management and 

Operations Plan, road safety assessment program, 

systemic approach to mitigate intersection left-turn 

crashes, and its regionwide pedestrian and bicycle 

safety improvements. 

Arizona DOT (ADOT) has provided funding through 

its Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) to 

assist agencies with implementing the Arizona 

Traffic and Criminal Software (TraCS) crash 

reporting platform. ADOT has expanded this 

opportunity to include funding for equipment such 

as servers, in-car computers, and scanners on new 

implementation projects. The Navajo Nation was 

also awarded funding from the FHWA Tribal 

Transportation Safety Program to deploy TraCS 

among its law enforcement personnel, generating 

significant interest among the remaining 21 Tribal 

Nations within the State. ADOT expects that in the 
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 5

next year it will see additional progress among all 

law enforcement agencies moving towards the use 

of electronic crash reporting, which improves data 

quality, timeliness, and officer safety.

During EDC-4, the ACIS program was integrated 

into ADOT and used to conduct regional and 

statewide frequency-based network screening. 

ACIS continues to be improved and promoted, with 

access being granted to regional and local 

agencies upon request. 

The Arizona DDSA team has also helped the State 

make great progress in its efforts to deploy 

predictive modeling software to make better use of 

crash data. Members of the DDSA team, along with 

other State and tribal representatives, attended the 

National DDSA Peer Exchange in July 2018, where 

they gained additional knowledge and ideas related 

to a wide range of DDSA-related products and best 

practices. Arizona is proposing to move from 

frequency-based traffic safety analysis to predictive 

modeling for both State and local HSIP projects. 

Following the national peer exchange event, the 

Arizona DDSA Team—with support from the 

national DDSA Innovation team—hosted a 2-day 

local peer exchange. The purpose of this peer 

exchange was to explore what the transition from 

frequency to predictive modeling would look like, 

how it will take place, and what it will mean for 

traffic safety in Arizona. 

The local peer exchange brought together 29 

representatives from local and regional 

transportation agencies throughout the State to 

discuss the proposed switch with representatives of 

ADOT’s Traffic Safety Section, which conducts 

frequency analyses and manages the HSIP. 

Additionally, representatives from the Nevada and 

New Jersey State DOTs, ADOT, and FHWA 

contractors involved with AASHTOWare SA 

deployments participated to provide their 

experience and technical expertise. Attendees 

discussed what predictive modeling is and how it 

can be used to help improve safety analyses, what 

problems to watch for, and how to implement a 

statewide predictive modeling program. The peer 

exchange closed with a 4-hour introductory training 

session for the AASHTOWare SA program.

ADOT has continued updating and testing the 

AASHTOWare SA program. State roadway 

inventory data, including locally operated roads at 

or above the collector functional classification, have 

been uploaded into the program, as has crash data 

for the last 3 years. 

Once testing is complete, ADOT will begin rolling 

out the program results to local and regional 

partners, examining the results of the SA software 

with projects completed in the last few years. 

Assuming the SA tool enhances analysis of crash 

data and improves ADOT’s abilities to make good 

decisions about safety project funding, Arizona will 

proceed with its plans to switch from the current 

system of frequency-based project ranking to one 

based on predictive modeling. This work has 

already begun on some State projects but it is 

anticipated full-scale conversion will take place in 

the 2021-2022 timeframe.

For more information on the EDC-4 DDSA initiative, 

or to request technical assistance, please contact 

Jerry Roche at jerry.roche@dot.gov. For more 

information about the Arizona DDSA initiative, 

please contact Jeffrey King at jeffrey.king@dot.gov. 

EVERY DAY COUNTS (EDC) UPDATE

MAINE TO MISSISSIPPI: STEP SUPPORTS PEDESTRIAN SAFETY THROUGH ROAD 

SAFETY ASSESSMENTS

By: Becky Crowe, FHWA Office of Safety 

In late fall of 2018, FHWA conducted multiple road 

safety audits (RSAs) through the Safe 

Transportation for Every Pedestrian (STEP) 

program. STEP, an innovation of the Every Day 

Counts initiative, supported the RSAs, which 

focused on pedestrian and bicycle safety for 

various locations in Maine and in Gulfport, 

Mississippi. The RSA teams evaluated vastly 

different settings, but many of the pedestrian safety 

issues were common to roads studied in both 

States.

RSAs—including those conducted in Maine, 

Mississippi, and elsewhere—follow a standardized 

2-day process: Participants review the objectives of 

the RSA, discuss crash history in the study area, 

and conduct an extensive field review of existing 
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 6

conditions. The team observes traffic conditions 

and behaviors in daylight and low-light conditions. 

During the STEP RSA events, FHWA 

representatives introduce participants to a variety of 

countermeasures for pedestrian safety that they 

later consider as part of their preliminary 

recommendations. The RSA teams document their 

findings and recommendations for local or State 

officials to consider for improving pedestrian safety. 

Maine 

The RSA team, comprised of representatives from 

Federal, State, and local agencies, selected 

multiple sites to evaluate in or near Bangor, Maine, 

and Farmington, Maine. With several feet of snow 

of the ground, the RSA team visited sites where 

pedestrian crashes had occurred or where 

conditions could be improved for bicycle and 

pedestrian safety. The team identified area-wide 

issues that affect safe pedestrian and bicycle travel, 

such as: 

• Narrow or absent buffers between traffic and the 

walkway.

• Disconnected sidewalk networks, especially 

outside of urban areas. 

• General lack of crosswalks across higher volume 

roads.

The RSA team suggested improvements that can 

be deployed through policy adjustments, new 

education programs, and specific projects. These 

suggestions included:

• Conducting area-wide pedestrian safety 

education program, in partnership with major 

employers, to explain how devices such as the 

Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) 

best function to increase pedestrian visibility. 

• Extending sidewalks and wide shoulders along 

roads connecting to pedestrian destinations, 

such as schools and retail. 

• Adding or relocating midblock crosswalks to 

align with expected pedestrian travel and 

improve sight distances. 

Mississippi

Five miles north of the Gulf of Mexico in sunny 

Mississippi, the RSA team visited Seaway Road, 

which is a major east-west, four-lane divided 

roadway. The team selected the location based on 

an overall need to enhance conditions for 

pedestrians and bicyclists, and to review the future

Pedestrian Pathway, which is currently under 

construction. 

Despite enhancing pedestrian and bicycle safety 

and the area’s planned enhancements, locational 

factors continue to pose risks to these vulnerable 

user groups in Gulfport. Specifically, along Seaway 

Road the RSA team noticed there were minimal 

ADA-compliant facilities, and traffic speeds had 

increased after the road was widened from two to 

four lanes. 

To address these issues, the RSA team proposed 

that local and State officials review existing and 

proposed facilities to consider whether they meet 

the goals of the Mississippi DOT ADA transition 

plan and to ensure access to all roadway users. 

The team also suggested additional speed 

enforcement along the corridor, in conjunction with 

permanent or temporary speed feedback signs Bangor, ME: RSA team on location. (Source FHWA) 

Pedestrian on Seaway Road in Gulfport, MS. 

(Source FHWA)
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 7

positioned at multiple locations along Seaway 

Road, to encourage drivers to slow down. 

Similarities Despite Geographic 

Diversity 

Despite the distance and geographic diversities 

between Maine and Mississippi, both areas are 

working to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety 

and had made efforts to do so prior to the RSA. In 

2017 and 2018, the Bangor area hosted forums to 

identify locations and needed improvements for 

pedestrian safety. These events led to the 

implementation of accessible crossings, installation 

of countermeasures such as road diets and RRFB, 

and the development of multimodal plans for the 

region to provide opportunities to consider longterm bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements. 

The Gulfport Regional Planning Commission and 

the Mississippi DOT have been working to create 

more efficient travel by considering the needs of all 

modes. These efforts have led to the area

promoting safer pedestrian and bicycle fatalities in 

the region and funding transportation alternative 

programs. 

The RSAs in Maine and Mississippi show that, 

despite the differences in the two areas, States 

around the country are grappling with the same 

issues as they try to improve safety for pedestrians 

and bicyclists. These cities are examples of areas 

that—like many other cities and counties—have 

gaps in the sidewalk network and infrequent 

crosswalks in areas where pedestrians often travel, 

but they are “STEPping” forward to make 

improvements. 

STEP continues to support RSAs across the United 

States as part of EDC-5. For more information, visit 

the STEP Program Page or contact Becky Crowe 

at rebecca.crowe@dot.gov.

BRINGING ATTENTION TO THE RURAL ROADWAY DEPARTURE CHALLENGE 

By: Cate Satterfield, FHWA Office of Safety 

The Every Day Counts round 5 (EDC-5) Focus on 

Reducing Rural Roadway Departures (FoRRRwD) 

team has been working to spread the word about 

this new effort to reduce rural roadway departure 

crashes, which account for approximately one-third

of roadway fatalities across the Nation. The mission 

is to reduce the potential for serious and fatal 

roadway departure crashes on all public rural roads 

by increasing the systemic deployment of proven 

countermeasures. With “all public roads” being the 

focus, the team is refining its processes and honing 

its messages to reach more State, local, Federal 

and Tribal practitioners and encourage the 

systemic approach to these crashes. Taking the 

message on the road, in February, the Resource 

Center’s Dick Albin attended the ATSSA 

Convention and Traffic Expo in Tampa, FL, where 

he gave presentations to several committees as 

well as the general session on the topic of the 

FoRRRwD initiative. These presentations offered 

attendees an overview of the initiative and informed 

them about the ways that FHWA is working with 

transportation agencies to identify new 

countermeasures they can deploy to improve rural 

road safety.

The FoRRRwD booth at the ATSSA Expo also 

marks the introduction of a new display to an 

interested audience of roadway infrastructure 

safety professionals. The new display contains the 

tagline, “30 people will die today from rural roadway 

departures. Let’s save the people behind the 

numbers.” The team selected this message to 

communicate the importance and urgency in 

addressing this problem. “Every group we have 

spoken to includes survivors of a roadway 

departure, and we have encouraged them to tell 

Have You Visited the Safety Culture and the Zero Deaths Vision Web Page Lately?

The “Safety Culture and the Zero Deaths Vision” web page provides the transportation community up-to-date 

information on related efforts and access to external partners’ websites. The “Current Spotlights” on the page 

features highlights, noteworthy practices, and initiatives and is updated on a regular basis.

We encourage you to bookmark the Zero Deaths Web Page and visit often to learn about this topic. 
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 8

their stories. But we have to remember there are 

also those who didn’t survive, and we want to do 

everything we can to stop the roadway departures 

that happen today, tomorrow, and every day after 

from having deadly results,” said Albin.

This new display is available to FHWA staff from 

the report center upon request and may be 

displayed at local or regional safety conferences or 

events to encourage State and local agencies to 

explore the many countermeasures that can reduce 

rural roadway departures. A one-page handout 

specifically about this EDC-5 effort is also available, 

as are several existing resources discussing the 

systemic process and countermeasures that are 

appropriate to distribute. Where a smaller display is 

more appropriate, a roll-up banner featuring some 

of the countermeasures is also available. 

While at the event, Albin also answered questions 

about the FoRRRwD initiative and provided 

informational handouts, including baseball-style 

trading cards that offer a quick description of the 

use and effectiveness of a series of “All-Star 

Roadway Departure Countermeasures.” The 

trading cards were so well received, Albin was even 

asked to autograph one of them!

In addition to the new display, the team also 

introduced a new identifier for the initiative. This 

identifier will brand the initiative and improve user 

This spring, the EDC-5 FoRRRwd initiative introduced its 

new identifier.

recognition of the products and resources 

developed to promote countermeasures.

Advancing Implementation

Programmatically, the team is advancing progress 

through its implementation plan, which was 

finalized in February. The plan outlines a marketing 

strategy to help the States and other agencies meet 

the goals for their initiatives based on the current 

implementation stage and advancement goals of 

each State as reported to FHWA. 

The FoRRRwD initiative identifies five implementtation stages for participating States, and each 

agency must establish its own goals for 

advancement. Each stage of progression reflects 

increasing capability with regard to applying the 

systemic approach when selecting and installing 

RwD countermeasures as well as progress in 

developing guidance, policies, and processes to 

advance the use of rural RwD countermeasures. 

1. Not implementing – State and local agencies 

are not implementing a systemic approach to 

rural RwD that encompasses all rural roadways 

regardless of description.

2. Development – State and local agencies are 

collecting guidance and best practices on 

systemic analysis, building support with partners 

and stakeholders, and developing an 

implementation process to improve rural 

roadway safety regardless of ownership.

3. Demonstration – State, local, Federal, and 

Tribal agencies are piloting systemic analysis for 

deploying RwD countermeasures on rural 

roadways regardless of jurisdiction.

4. Assessment – State, local, Federal, and Tribal 

agencies are assessing the process for systemic 

application of RwD countermeasures and are 

developing guidance, policies, and processes to 

advance rural RwD countermeasures. 

5. Institutionalized – State, local, Federal, and 

Tribal agencies have adopted systemic analysis 

for deploying RwD countermeasures on rural 

roads as a standard practice and use

The FHWA Office of Safety's Joseph Cheung, 

seated, visits Dick Albin (right) at the FoRRRwD 

booth. 
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 9

them regularly on all public roads. Guidance, 

policies, and processes are established and in 

place to advance rural RwD countermeasures.

Of the 32 States with advancement goals, 5 have 

ambitiously opted to strive to advance 2 or more 

steps forward during the current EDC round. 

As the FoRRRwD team advances, the following 

plans are in the works, including:

• Producing a video.

• Developing training.

• Holding peer exchanges.

• Offering technical assistance for:

o Conducting analysis.

o Drafting local road safety plans.

o Designing and installing countermeasures. 

For more information, visit the Reducing Rural 

Roadway Departures website or, to get involved, 

please contact Cate Satterfield at 

cathy.satterfield@dot.gov or Dick Albin at 

dick.albin@dot.gov. 

IHSDM Mid-Year Update Now Available!

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

The Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM) - HSM Predictive Method 2018 Public Release Update 

(version 14.1.0) is now available for download free of charge. 

What’s new in the IHSDM 2018 Release Update?

• Crash Prediction Module (CPM) Evaluation Reports for Site-Based Data: “Crash Frequencies and 

Rates by Site” tables were expanded to include crash frequencies for Total, FI, and PDO crashes. "Crash 

Frequencies by Year” (for Total, FI, and PDO crashes) tables were added. For evaluations using the 

Empirical-Bayes (EB) process, Expected, Predicted, and (Expected – Predicted) Crash Frequencies were 

also provided for each site; a summary table comparing predicted and expected crashes for the 

evaluation period was also added. 

• CPM Evaluation Reports for Location-Based Data: Ramp Terminals are now included in Evaluations of 

cross-roads, similar to Intersections. 

• IHSDM Economic Analyses Tool (EA Tool): EA Tool capabilities were extended to allow the selection of 

Site Set Evaluations. Previously, only Evaluations of Location-Based Highways/Intersections/Ramp 

Terminals could be selected in the EA Tool.

• CPM: Added the capability to evaluate a Ramp without establishing Ramp Connections to a Freeway, C-D 

Road, or other Ramp.

• Details of all enhancements can be found in the Release Notes. 

How do I obtain the 2018 Release Update?

Registered IHSDM users: Visit the IHSDM website and use your IHSDM username and previously assigned 

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: Simply visit the “Download Registration” page and follow the instructions. 

Whom do I contact for IHSDM technical support?

Email the IHSDM Technical Support team or call the IHSDM Help Line at (202) 493-3407.

An IHSDM Resource List that provides a summary of all IHSDM-related resources is also available. The IHSDM 

website includes information related to the IHSDM User Group, case studies / user applications, past webinar 

materials, and frequently asked questions.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 10
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 11

SYSTEMATICALLY IMPLEMENTING LEADING PEDESTRIAN INTERVALS

By: Becky Crowe, FHWA Office of Safety

Have you ever wanted to be more visible when 

crossing the street? Or get a step ahead before 

vehicles can cross or turn? Well, you can with a 

proven safety countermeasure: the Leading 

Pedestrian Interval (LPI). 

Under the FHWA Safe Transportation for Every 

Pedestrian (STEP) program, a round 5 innovation 

of the Every Day Counts initiative (EDC-5), FHWA 

is working closely with State and local agencies to 

advance LPI across the Nation. LPI is a signal 

phase allowing pedestrians to begin walking—

usually 3 to 5 seconds—before vehicles receive a 

green signal to turn left or right. LPIs provide 

pedestrians with a WALK signal and exclusive use 

of the crosswalk at the beginning of the pedestrian 

phase before advancing to the green phase for 

conflicting vehicle movements. LPIs allow 

pedestrians to establish a presence and increase 

their visibility in the crosswalk before the signal 

change, leading to fewer pedestrian-vehicle 

conflicts and increased motorist yielding.

1 These 

treatments have resulted in reductions in vehicle 

collisions with people walking of up to 60 percent.2

Additionally, LPIs have a relatively low cost and 

cause only a slight addition in vehicle delay. 

Cities have implemented LPIs to support Vision 

Zero initiatives to eliminate traffic deaths and 

serious injuries. The District Department of 

Transportation (DDOT) began its first phases of LPI

implementation throughout Washington, DC in 

2006. Employing LPIs continued incrementally 

following the introduction of the Pedestrian Master

Plan 2009. DDOT introduced LPIs to more than 90 

intersections throughout Washington DC in 2018. 

“Reducing the chances of a serious injury is a high 

priority for Vision Zero and improves the livability of 

a city,” says George Branyan, the Active 

Transportation Branch Manager for DDOT Planning 

and Sustainability Division. Washington, DC now 

has LPIs installed in 312 out of the city’s 

approximately 1,650 signalized intersections as of 

February 2019. Deployment of LPIs at more 

intersections throughout the city is set to continue 

as the District pushes for zero traffic fatalities by 

2024.

DDOT developed detailed criteria for evaluating 

LPIs at signalized intersections based on guidelines

An LPI allows a pedestrian to establish presence in the 

crosswalk before vehicles are given a green indication. 

Source: FHWA.

used in other jurisdictions, including the cities of 

Toronto, San Francisco, Portland, and Los 

Angeles, as well as the State of Florida. DDOT 

uses the criteria to prioritize LPI implementation

and capture the magnitude and severity of 

pedestrian-vehicle interactions at signalized 

intersections. The criteria also help the agency to 

identify locations where physical characteristics of 

the intersection could make those interactions more 

dangerous, such as areas with:

3

• Protected pedestrian movements.

• School zones.

• Pedestrian crash history.

• Cross-product of vehicle and pedestrian 

volumes.

• Major pedestrian generators.

• Crosswalks parallel to t-intersection or one-way

streets.

• Distances between parallel curb lines and 

crosswalks.

• Sight line obstructions.

• Existing intersection level of service.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 12

• Minor street splits governed by pedestrian 

minimums.

• Other considerations.

“Set criteria and the prioritization guideline allow for 

a proactive, optimized, and citywide signal 

deployment,” says Wasim Raja, P.E., Associate 

Director of DDOT Traffic Engineering and Signals 

Division. Along with the guidelines, the DDOT 

created the LPI Selection Guidelines Form to assist 

staff in evaluating an intersection and to facilitate 

quick and intuitive data entry. An LPI is 

recommended if at least seven of the criteria are 

satisfied. Further analysis is required when the 

intersection falls between four and six satisfied 

criteria, and an LPI is not recommended with three 

or fewer satisfied criteria.4 With updated traffic 

controller hardware, the streamlined evaluation 

process allows for a traffic signal change in 30 to 

60 minutes following an LPI implementation 

decision.

LPIs have become a tremendous safety benefit to 

intersections throughout Washington, DC, and their 

value has been proven through before-and-after 

evaluations. 

“Observational studies are strong evidence. 

Changes can be seen right away from pedestrian 

behavior,” says Branyan. Raja agrees, noting that 

“LPIs are a bonus, even if you are not aware they 

are present. You can jump start your walking 

journey ahead of the vehicle journey.” 

DDOT plans to evaluate intersections with LPIs 

through an annual network-wide pedestrian crash 

history analysis to track their effectiveness. As LPI 

expansion within the District is set to continue, 

DDOT is hopeful that the countermeasure will 

reduce tension between modes and help eliminate 

traffic fatalities and serious injuries. 

For additional information about LPIs, or to learn 

more about how STEP can help improve pedestrian 

safety in your jurisdiction, please contact Becky

Crowe at rebecca.crowe@dot.gov. 

__________

1 “Trial Implementation of a Leading Pedestrian Interval: 

Lessons Learned” ITE Journal, Institute of Transportation 

Engineers, Washington, DC.

2 Fayish, A.C., Gross, F., “Safety effectiveness of leading 

pedestrian intervals evaluated by a before–after study with 

comparison groups,” Transportation Research Record No. 

2198 (2010): 15–22. 3 “DDOT Guidelines on Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) 

Implementation,” District Department of Transportation 

(2018).

4 “DDOT Guidelines on Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) 

Implementation,” District Department of Transportation 

(2018).

LEARNING TOGETHER

DIAGNOSING SAFETY ISSUES 

New Training Helps Agencies Use Data to Find the Right Solution

By: Karen Scurry, FHWA Office of Safety, and Joseph Jones, Leidos

Roadway safety is not a one-size-fits-all

proposition. Because each location along a 

highway brings with it a set of variables unique to 

that area, effective solutions in one setting may not 

necessarily work at another similar location. For 

example, while speed management 

countermeasures may be appropriate at one 

horizontal curve experiencing high rates of roadway 

departure, installing high friction surface treatment 

may be the better choice at a curve experiencing 

similar crash rates and types. Only through properly 

gathering, reviewing, and analyzing crash and field 

data specific to a location can practitioners properly 

select cost-effective countermeasures and be 

confident in the solutions.

However, upon identifying locations for potential 

safety improvement through network screening, 

agencies often jump directly to countermeasure 

selection without really understanding the root 

cause of the problem, skipping over an important 

step in the six-step road safety management 

process outlined in the Highway Safety Manual 

(see diagram). There are a number of reasons for 

this, but chief among them is the tendency to rely 

upon certain low-cost countermeasures that have 

proven their worth over time. There can be a 

natural tendency to jump straight to these solutions 

without looking more deeply into cause. 

The improper use of countermeasures not only fails 

to solve the problem, but also minimizes the 
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 13

Outlined in the Highway Safety Manual, the six-step 

cyclical roadway safety management process is the 

foundation of the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

effectiveness of limited funding. Only after safety 

practitioners have performed crash data analysis,

reviewed supporting documentation, and assessed 

actual field conditions to identify contributing factors 

can they truly understand a location’s particular 

safety issue well enough to arrive at an appropriate 

solution.

To help agencies fully understand and embrace the 

crash diagnostic process, FHWA has developed a 

new course entitled “Crash Diagnosis: Understanding Contributing Factors that Lead to Effective 

Safety Project Development.” This 6-hour, inperson training course will help State, local, and 

consultant practitioners who develop safety projects 

accurately diagnose safety problems, select 

appropriate countermeasures, and develop good 

safety projects. 

Through a series of eight modules, students will 

learn how to use each component of diagnosis to 

better plan and develop effective safety projects. 

Students will learn about:

• Conducting a safety data review.

• Assessing supporting documentation.

• Assessing field conditions.

• Identifying contributing factors.

• Selecting countermeasures.

The final module of the course includes a hands-on 

exercise in which the participants apply their newlyacquired diagnostic knowledge to a real-world 

situation and propose countermeasures based on 

their findings. 

A detailed participant workbook contains interactive 

exercises in which participants experience each 

step of the process from the perspective of an 

agency that solved the actual problem that is 

featured. The workbook also contains thoughtful 

questions for consideration to help participants 

prepare for group discussions and exercises and 

additional resources for practitioners who wish to 

delve more deeply into specific aspects of the 

diagnostic process. 

Upon completion of the course, students will be 

able to:

• Define the role of safety diagnosis in the 

roadway safety management process.

• Describe the importance of proper safety 

diagnosis.

• Understand common challenges in safety 

diagnosis and techniques to overcome them.

• Plan and conduct a field assessment.

• Analyze safety data using summary statistics, 

collision diagrams, and condition diagrams.

• Explore various 

forms of supporting 

documentation.

• Identify contributing 

factors based on 

the results of 

diagnosis.

• Select appropriate 

countermeasures to

address 

contributing factors.

The course is 

available for FREE 

delivery upon request, and the materials can be 

made available to State DOTs or LTAP centers for 

delivery to interested agency staff. If you are 

interested in learning more about this course, or to 

request training, please contact Karen Scurry at 

karen.scurry@dot.gov. 

Network 

Screening

Diagnosis

Countermeasure 

Selection

Economic 

Appraisal

Project 

Prioritization

Safety 

Effectiveness 

Evaluation
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 14

NEW! TRAINING AND VIDEOS NOW AVAILABLE FOR SAFETY DATA AND ANALYSIS

By: Esther Strawder, FHWA Office of Safety

The Roadway Safety Data Program (RSDP) kicked 

off in 2012 in response to the need among State 

and local agencies for support and guidance in 

advancing their safety data and analysis and to 

help fulfill the FHWA strategic goal of reducing 

fatalities and serious injury crashes. The Fixing 

America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act 

reinforces the data-driven approach to safety by 

encouraging States to develop safety data systems 

sufficient to guide the Highway Safety Improvement 

Program (HSIP) and Strategic Highway Safety Plan 

(SHSP) processes, including conducting analyses 

and evaluations. 

To support the goal of advancing agency practices, 

FHWA has developed several National Highway 

Institute (NHI) courses to address the more 

advanced scientific techniques and methodologies 

introduced in the Highway Safety Manual (HSM). 

These courses cover a range of areas such as 

network screening, diagnosis, countermeasure 

selection, evaluation, and predictive tool usage on 

two-lane rural roads, intersections, multi-lane 

highways, and freeways in an instructor-led delivery 

format. 

One of the most important 

precursors to successfully 

analyzing safety data is 

collecting and managing it. 

FHWA has developed 

several training courses 

available online to assist with doing just that. The 

Fundamental Safety Data and Analysis web-based 

training course is available free of charge at NHI 

(380122 a-d).

Instructional videos also provide an easily 

accessible, on-demand format to train State and

local personnel in planning, design, and safety 

analysis with a greater focus on integrating safety 

data and using alternative analysis methods in 

project development. 

FHWA recently posted two new safety data and 

analysis instructional videos to its YouTube 

channel. These videos, “Safety Data and Analysis: 

The Predictive Method” video and the “Safety Data 

and Analysis: Observed, Predicted and Expected 

Crashes” focus on the predictive method and the 

difference between observed, predicted, and 

expected crashes. These two videos are part of a 

series that will give viewers a detailed look at some 

of the more challenging aspects of safety analysis. 

View both videos to learn more about these 

fundamental aspects of data-driven safety analysis. 

For more information about the RSDP initiative or 

to access additional resources, please visit the 

DDSA web page or contact Esther Strawder at 

esther.strawder@dot.gov.

SAFETY FOCUS AREA: VULNERABLE ROAD USERS

NEW RESOURCE GUIDES DEVELOPMENT OF SAFE, CONNECTED BIKEWAYS 

By: Tamara Redmon, FHWA Office of Safety

FHWA Office of Safety’s Bikeway Selection Guide

is now available! The guide helps practitioners 

make informed decisions in the selection of 

bikeway types, building upon FHWA’s support for 

design flexibility and connected, safe, and 

comfortable bicycle networks. Referencing existing 

national resources, the bikeway selection process 

balances trade-offs by identifying the desired 

bikeway type, assessing and refining potential 

The new “Safety Data and Analysis: The Predictive 

Method” video gives an in-depth overview of 

predicting crashes on locations that demonstrate 

potential for safety improvements.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 15

options, and evaluating feasibility. This process 

aims to deliver high-quality multimodal projects that 

improve safety for everyone and meet the 

transportation needs of people, regardless of age 

and ability.

Bikeway selection is a context-sensitive decision 

that involves a planning- and engineering-based 

analytical process. The guide discusses factors 

considered in the process, including motor vehicle 

speed and volume, road and land-use context, 

intersections, parking, and user types.

FHWA is currently offering training and free 

ongoing technical assistance from now through 

2021. 

For more information on the Bikeway Selection 

Guide, please contact Tamara Redmon at 

Tamara.Redmon@dot.gov. 

VIRGINIA STRIDES INTO THE FUTURE WITH NEW PEDESTRIAN SAFETY ACTION PLAN 

By: Becky Crowe, FHWA Office of Safety

In the spring of 2018, the Virginia Department of 

Transportation (VDOT) released its first statewide 

Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (PSAP), which 

focuses on sites where the safety countermeasures 

promoted through the Every Day Counts round 5

(EDC-5) Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian

(STEP) initiative should be considered to improve

pedestrian safety. FHWA supported VDOT’s efforts 

with training and technical assistance, and VDOT 

advanced quickly to begin executing the PSAP 

when it identified funding in fall 2018 for 

implementation of STEP countermeasures and 

other pedestrian safety improvements. 

The target design user influences the safety, comfort, connectivity, and cohesion of the bicycle network. Highcomfort/low-stress networks serve the most people while low-comfort/high-stress networks serve the least.

Note: the percentages shown reflect only adults who have stated an interest in bicycling.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 16

VDOT Assistant State Traffic Engineer Mark Cole

said “Pedestrian crashes and fatalities have 

increased over the past several years across 

Virginia. VDOT is taking action by applying training, 

FHWA guidance, and data analysis to select 

locations for pedestrian safety improvements 

statewide.”

As part of the process for developing its PSAP, 

VDOT evaluated both corridors according to the 

potential for pedestrian crashes and sites with a 

history of reported pedestrian crashes. During a 

series of workshops across the Commonwealth 

during the summer of 2018, VDOT staff and 

contractors walked participants through the 

elements of the PSAP and introduced them to 

priority pedestrian corridors and crash clusters in 

their area. Following the workshops, VDOT 

announced a new call for PSAP projects that could 

be ready for funding and construction in 2019 due 

to the availability of funds transferred under Section 

154 (see box at right). VDOT also holds an annual 

call for local agencies to submit safety projects to 

be funded through the Highway Safety 

Improvement Program (HSIP), including 

improvements for pedestrians, but Section 154 

funds were a unique opportunity to kick start the 

implementation of the PSAP.

More than 90 percent of pedestrian deaths in 

Virginia occur when the pedestrian is crossing a 

road. Due to this overarching safety concern 

combined with a tight schedule for obligating the 

Section 154 funds, VDOT and the local agencies 

that submitted projects for PSAP funding focused 

on low-cost, high-benefit pedestrian crossing 

projects, such as installing marked crosswalks, 

warning signs, pedestrian refuge islands, flashing 

beacons, and other improvements that do not 

typically require additional right-of-way or extensive 

roadway design. VDOT stipulated that eligible 

projects should be located along a priority 

pedestrian corridor or in a crash cluster as 

identified by the PSAP. VDOT Traffic Engineering 

staff encouraged local agencies to consult with 

VDOT District offices to ensure that the funded 

projects could be delivered within several months 

upon announcement of award. Selected projects 

were also consistent with the State’s Strategic 

Highway Safety Plan and eligible under the 

Highway Safety Improvement Program.

VDOT received 59 candidate PSAP project 

submittals valued at more $43 million within weeks 

of the funding announcement. VDOT staff 

evaluated the candidate projects and, in November 

2018, announced the award of $8 million in Section 

154 funding to PSAP projects, with a total of 25 

projects selected for installation in 8 of VDOT’s 9 

Districts. Funding requested ranged between 

$40,000 and $1.5 million per project. Source: FHWA

By the Book – Using Funds Transferred 

under Section 154

States such as Virginia that do not enact or 

enforce federally compliant open container 

laws are required to shift a percentage of their 

Federal funding apportionment and use the 

shifted funds for highway safety. These funds 

are transferred under 23 U.S.C Section 154. 

Once the amount of funding to be transferred 

under Section 154 is determined each year, the 

funds are split between behavioral and 

infrastructure safety programs, including the 

Highway Safety Improvement Program.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 17

VDOT posted the PSAP online so the public can 

view and download it, which will help spread the 

word about the PSAP Priority Corridor and Crash 

Cluster sites as well as the locations of the funded 

projects. The plan includes schematics for each 

priority site with detailed information and the 

recommended improvements planned for each site. 

For more information about the VDOT PSAP or the 

2018-2019 Virginia PSAP Funding program, 

contact VDOT Assistant State Traffic Engineer 

Mark Cole, P.E., at mark.cole@vdot.virginia.gov or 

(804) 786-4196. For more information about the 

FHWA STEP program, contact Becky Crowe at 

rebecca.crowe@dot.gov.

STATE OF THE PRACTICE: UPDATES FROM STATES AND LOCALITIES

GROUND PENETRATING RADAR HELPS ENSURE SAFE TRAVEL ON ALASKA’S 

ICE ROADS 

By: Adam Larsen, FHWA Office of Federal Lands 

Highway 

On the southwest coast of Alaska, the YukonKuskokwim region is home to around 25,000 

people and growing. The region depends on a 

unique transportation network that includes very 

few roads. The transportation, services, supplies, 

and administrative hub for over 50 villages is

Bethel, the eighth-largest city in Alaska. Bethel is 

located about 50 miles upriver from where the 

Kuskokwim River empties into the Bering Sea, and 

is accessible by river and air only.

Air travel and shipping is available in many villages, 

but is costly, so most residents must use alternative 

transportation options. In the summer, this means 

marine transport on the rivers and using ATV trails

to haul goods. Winter travel, however, is often more 

perilous. 

Each year when the rivers freeze over, crews from 

nine villages along the Kuskokwim and Johnson 

Rivers work tirelessly to keep the local ice roads 

clear and safe. An ice road is a winter road, or part 

thereof, that runs on a naturally frozen water 

surface such as a river or an expanse of sea ice. 

Ice roads provide a temporary means of 

transportation in isolated areas with no permanent 

road access. Local crews must continuously 

monitor ice thickness and quality and clear blown 

snow to ensure that those who travel over the 

frozen waterways via snowmobile or other vehicle 

type can do so safely. In addition to citizens and 

commercial delivery services, a wide array of 

government services use the ice road, including 

U.S. mail contractors, Alaska State Troopers, 

medical transports, school systems, and search 

and rescue emergency services (see photos at 

right). 

Orutsararmiut Native Council Search and 

Rescue member Charles Guest helps monitor 

ice roads near Bethel. 

U.S. mail contractors travel by ice road to 

deliver letters and packages. 
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 18

Alaska’s ice roads are an important means of 

transportation during the winter, making it possible

for residents to receive deliveries of fuel, firewood, 

and supplies. One project taking place this past 

March was delivery of fuel to a village that was 

operating on emergency rations. Because the ice 

did not become thick enough during the winter to 

support delivery of fuel by tanker truck, the fuel 

delivery company arranged for a fleet of smaller 

fuel trucks to deliver the fuel by following a path 

scouted by ice road experts from the Native Village 

of Napaimute.

Utilizing a grant from the Tribal Transportation 

Program Safety Fund, the ice roads crew from the 

Native Village of Napaimute acquired new 

technology that is now being used in combination 

with traditional knowledge to help monitor ice 

thickness. The device uses ground penetrating 

radar (GPR) and GPS technology to constantly 

measure and record ice thickness (see photo at 

right). As the device is towed on a sleigh, the 

measurements are wirelessly transmitted to an incab computer, which generates nearly 

instantaneous reports from the data. After about a 

mile of monitoring, the radar device requires 

calibration, which is performed by drilling a hole in 

the ice just large enough to measure ice thickness 

with a tape measure. The depth of the hole is then 

recorded in a computer, which adjusts the depth 

reported in further readings. 

This past winter saw unprecedented warm weather, 

resulting in unusually thin, weak ice. In addition, 

open holes, usually smaller than 20 inches in 

diameter, are appearing in the ice. These holes, 

whose cause is unknown, are unlike anything 

previously seen by those with decades of 

experience on the ice roads. Mark Leary, Director 

of Development & Operations at the Native Village

of Napaimute, theorized that these holes could be 

the results of pockets of methane gas being 

trapped as permafrost melts. 

The use of this new GPR technology has made it 

possible for maintenance crews to warn travelers of 

the locations of thin ice, holes, or other areas where 

travel should be avoided. While similar devices 

have been used in Canada, where ice roads with 

limited river crossings are more common, the 

Kuskokwim ice road is different in that it runs over 

120 miles of river rather than simply crossing water 

over short distances.

Demonstration of the process to calibrate the ground penetrating radar device. Adam Larsen, of the FHWA Office of Tribal 

Transportation within Federal Lands Highway, operates the drill and measures ice thickness while Mark Leary, from the 

Native Village of Napaimute, records the results.

Ground penetrating radar sled used to monitor 

ice road thickness.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 19

The GPR is especially important when heavy loads 

are being moved, enabling consistent monitoring of 

the ice road thickness over 1-mile segments. Prior 

to obtaining the GPR device, maintenance crews 

could only drill intermittently to estimate ice

thickness, and thin areas could only be identified if

the crew was lucky enough to drill in that spot. GPR

also provides good data, helping local maintenance 

crews determine when it’s safe to start using the ice 

road as well as when ice road travel should stop.

Adapting to changing climate means adapting the 

operation of the ice roads and continuing to learn 

and innovate in order to ensure safe winter travel in 

one of the world’s harshest environments. 

Advances in research and constantly evolving 

technology may be able to help increase the safety, 

frequency, and accuracy of the processes used to 

monitor ice quality and thickness. 

“By combining our traditional knowledge with new 

technology we are able to manage safe travel 

despite a changing climate that produces less ice,”

said Leary. 

Despite the many advances made in recent years, 

gaps in both technology and our understanding of 

the mechanical properties of ice roads exist, and 

research is needed to ensure that the use of ice 

roads can remain as safe as possible. For example, 

there is a need for methods to test the strength of 

ice samples and calculate the load that can be 

carried by ice of varying thickness. Exploring the 

use of drone photography, drone thermal imagery, 

sonar, radar, or other technology to screen ice 

roads for hazardous conditions such as thin ice, 

open water, and open water covered by snow will 

also help save lives by ensuring safe transportation 

in a difficult climate during severe winter conditions. 

For more information about the Tribal 

Transportation Program that funded this 

technology, please contact Adam Larsen at 

adam.larsen@dot.gov.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY PILOTS LOCAL ROAD SAFETY PLAN

By: Mike Griffith, FHWA Office of Safety

In 2017, the Every Day Counts 4 (EDC-4) DataDriven Safety Analysis (DDSA) initiative added a 

local focus to its efforts to improve the quality of 

safety data and analysis across the country. 

Partnering with the National Association of County 

Engineers (NACE) and the Local Technical 

Assistance Program (LTAP), the team developed a 

plan to deliver a pilot program designed to help 

selected counties develop local road safety plans 

(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. As 

part of this process, agencies will partner with 

stakeholders, analyze local data to establish 

emphasis areas, determine risk factors, identify 

countermeasures, and prioritize safety 

improvements and strategies.

The FHWA-NACE LRSP Pilot Team is working with 

42 counties to develop LRSPs. The pilot provides a 

blended training and technical assistance program 

to guide the counties and their State partners 

(including the State DOT and the LTAP) through 

the six steps for developing a LRSP (illustrated at 

right).

One of the five participating counties in Indiana is 

Montgomery County, a rural agricultural county in 

the western part of the State with an area of about 

505 square miles and 845 total miles of county 

roads. The county did not have an engineer in 

residence from 2001 up to early 2018. Enter the 

new Montgomery County Engineer James Peck, 

P.E. “Shortly after I came onboard, I received a 

crash data summary and a heat map from Purdue 

University, which is part of the LTAP program. It 

The six steps for developing a local road safety plan. 

Source: FHWA.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 20

became very apparent where the problems are, so I 

had already been thinking about the safety of our 

roads. When this opportunity to participate in the 

pilot came up, I jumped at it,” said Peck, explaining 

that he had learned about the pilot from other

county engineers in the State who were active in 

NACE.

Peck participated in the webinar and a December 

workshop that kicked off the effort in 2018, and 

since then has been conducting data analysis and

site reviewing locations with severe crashes. 

Roadway departure crashes are a particular 

challenge for the county, accounting for 57 percent 

of all crashes.

“What we’re doing is taking bits and pieces out of 

what we’re hearing in the pilot and through the 

technical assistance and applying it to our county. 

Some counties have substantial right of way where 

they can do a lot of improvements. We’re trying to 

see what we can do within our existing right of 

way,” he added, noting that roads in the county 

typically have only 5.5 to 6 feet for drainage, 

shoulders, and signing. “Obviously we need more 

delineation on the edge and center line, and we 

need to reduce speeds,” he added, noting that 

these issues will be addressed in the plan. 

Montgomery County’s participation in the LRSP 

pilot has dovetailed into an already-underway effort 

by Peck to renew the county’s thoroughfare plan, 

which had been generated by the State several 

years prior and was due for an update. Thoroughfare plans are typically concerned with the 

connectivity of county roads. They identify corridors 

for improvement to help promote commerce and 

coordinate improvements with surrounding county 

road networks. As a result of efforts to develop an 

updated version, and with the data provided by 

Purdue, Peck already had some ideas about areas 

and issues that would need be addressed within

the county system, so the comprehensive crash 

data he received from the Indiana LTAP as part of 

the LRSP pilot was not surprising.

“The LTAP has been a huge asset to our process, 

providing us a lot of crash information, crash tree 

diagrams, and other information that has really 

helped us break down the data. I can take this 

information and go drive the roads and see the 

issues,” he said, pointing to a roadway that he 

reviewed that had an unusually high number of 

roadway departure crashes. 

“I drove the road, and I thought, ‘This road is in 

really good condition.’ I couldn’t figure out why 

there were so many crashes.” Taking a deeper dive 

into the data provided through the LTAP and 

looking at the time of day and other local area 

characteristics, he was able to connect the dots. 

“The crashes were clustered during the 

period shortly after classes ended at a 

nearby high school. The kids were getting 

out of school, driving too fast, and going 

off the road.”

Speed is one of the more common safety 

challenges on rural roadways, and 

Montgomery County is no exception. “We 

will be looking at a county-wide speed 

ordnance reducing the speeds. In typical counties, 

if the road isn’t posted, it’s assumed the speed is 

55 mph. If we can post a more realistic speed, that 

will help increase driver reaction time.” 

Once the current data analysis phase is complete, 

Peck noted, the work will shift to establishing a 

group of stakeholders to participate in creating a 

LRSP.

“Those stakeholders will likely include our sheriff's 

office, fire department, emergency medical 

services, school corporations, [the] highway 

department, and perhaps more groups,” said 

Montgomery County Commissioner John Frey in a 

recent op-ed to publicize the effort to county 

residents. Frey, who has enthusiastically supported 

the county’s involvement with the pilot also noted 

that “Once chosen, Peck and his team will begin to 

determine measures to mitigate the problem or 

problems and seek lowest cost options to 

implement solutions.” 

“Our goal is coming up with a good plan that will 

improve safety and that we can all agree to,” Peck 

added. FHWA intends to continue working with 

NACE, the National Local Technical Assistance 

Program Association, and other State and county 

agencies on the development of LRSPs. The pilot 

program has proven to be successful for numerous 

“The LTAP has been a huge asset to our process, providing us a lot 

of crash information, crash tree diagrams, and other information 

that has really helped us break down the data. I can take this 

information and go drive the roads and see the issues.”

— James Peck, P.E., Montgomery County Engineer 
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 21

counties across nine states. This effort has 

informed local staffs about enhancing partnerships

and leveraging funding for improving local road 

safety.

If you are interested in learning more about 

FHWA/NACE LRSP Pilot, please contact Jerry 

Roche at jerry.roche@dot.gov or Hillary Isebrands 

at hillary.isebrands@dot.gov.

LOCALITIES EMBRACE VISION ZERO

By: Chimai Ngo, FHWA Office of Safety, Kara Chisholm, Volpe, and Susan Smichenko, Volpe

The FHWA Office of Safety sponsored a peer 

exchange in Seattle, Washington on September 5 

and 6, 2018, to share information on approaches

and practices that will help participants achieve the 

vision of zero traffic deaths in their localities. The 

participants included representatives from seven 

Vision Zero cities: Seattle, Washington; Anchorage, 

Alaska; Portland, Oregon; Minneapolis, Minnesota; 

Richmond, Virginia; Durham, North Carolina; and 

Bellevue, Washington. The purpose was to share 

successful practices for and approaches to 

improving roadway safety among the cities. 

Training, Partnerships, and Outreach

Establishing and maintaining strong stakeholder 

partnerships is a key component of a successful 

Vision Zero program. Vision Zero representatives 

from Durham, Richmond, and Seattle shared 

highlights of their approaches to training, internal 

and external partnerships, and strategies for 

outreach to communities.

The City of Durham has established an innovative 

process to ensure that Vision Zero remains a focus 

across city departments and city administrations: 

incorporating Vision Zero training into new 

employee orientation. This practice creates 

continuity across city leadership and departments 

and demonstrates the level of importance Vision 

Zero has in Durham. 

The City of Richmond’s Vision Zero Task Force 

provides a forum for multiple city departments to 

discuss Vision Zero prioritization efforts in support 

of traffic safety. The city’s Vision Zero coordinator 

helps to navigate differences among city 

departments and engages community, non-profit, 

private, regional, State, and Federal resources. 

Richmond frames Vision Zero as a public health 

problem. It works with State and regional entities in 

the public health field to establish a shared 

approach and terminology for Vision Zero. 

Transportation and public health organizations 

share data in order to better direct resources to 

areas with the greatest need. This health and 

transportation partnership also allows the city to 

leverage and engage more partners and obtain 

additional funding for Vision Zero implementation.

The City of Seattle’s Vision Zero program is a 

notable example of how communities can make 

connections with diverse stakeholders in order to 

broadly communicate the goals of Vision Zero. 

Seattle developed a two-minute video called “Vision 

Zero People on the Street” that will be translated 

into multiple languages to help engage and build 

trust among different communities. The city also 

developed a toolkit that guides staff in the 

development, implementation, and evaluation of 

policies, initiatives, and programs so that they have 

equal impact on the diverse communities in Seattle. 

New! Federal Aid Essentials Video for Section 130 Program

By: Kelly Morton, FHWA Office of Safety

A new Federal Aid Essentials video is now available that describes the Section 130 – Rail Highway Crossings 

Program, including an overview of requirements that State DOTs and local agencies must follow when utilizing 

Section 130 funds. The audience for this resource is anyone with a State DOT, local agency, or others who are 

interested in how to use Section 130 funds.

More information on the FHWA Rail-Highway Crossings Program (RHCP) can be found on the FHWA Office of 

Safety RHCP Web page. 

Additional videos on the Federal-Aid Highway Program and a variety of project requirements can be found at 

the FHWA Federal Aid Essentials Video Library. Feel free to share!
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 22

This helps counteract the 

greater level of influence that 

some communities have compared to others simply 

because they more actively 

participate in city government 

or are more vocal in 

expressing their perspectives. 

In addition, the city developed 

the Seattle Streets Illustrated 

Map tool to help communicate 

to the public the function of 

each road segment in the city 

and how the city treats the 

road as a result. The map 

identifies whether a road is a

low-stress route where 

bicycling is prioritized, a 

primary transit corridor, a major 

freight route, etc.

Data 

The City of Seattle harnesses technology and data 

to strategically improve roadway safety. Seattle has 

created an Open Data Web Mapping Platform that 

includes information about roadway geometry, 

traffic volumes, utility locations, land use, 

landscaping features, and crash records (see 

image at right). This platform serves as a way to 

control the quality of data and associated data 

analyses. Based on these data, Seattle developed 

a predictive model to identify locations for likely 

crashes of different types. This analysis helps the 

city proactively and systematically implement 

countermeasures as indicated by the likely crash 

type and counteract the underreporting of crashes. 

Speed Management

The City of Portland developed a campaign titled 

“Struck” that focuses on the human toll of high 

speeds. The campaign uses billboards, posters on 

buses, online media, television, and advertisements 

in movie theaters to communicate the message. 

Key to the campaign’s success has been its 

consistency in branding across media: campaign 

materials use the same colors, fonts, and logo. The 

city hired a marketing and production firm to create 

what became one of the most impactful elements of 

the campaign: a video entitled “Struck: Save Two 

Lives.” Portland’s research showed that almost 60 

percent of viewers reported that the video had an 

impact on their driving behavior. 

In addition to the Struck campaign, the city has 

produced materials with the slogan “20 is Plenty” to 

promote adherence to the city’s 20 mph speed 

limit. The city created “20 is Plenty” lawn signs and 

flyers with educational notes about safety and the 

victims of traffic crashes. Portland’s goal is to 

educate drivers about the potential consequences 

of their actions by focusing on the human toll of 

high speeds and encouraging citizens to drive 

within the speed limit. 

Seattle has also implemented physical road design 

changes to help achieve Vision Zero. As noted 

above, it has reduced the speed limit on residential 

streets to 20 mph and added traffic calming 

measures to many roads—including chicanes, 

roundabouts, speed humps, and raised crossings—

that create a comfortable driving speed of just 15 

mph. In addition, Seattle is implementing 

Neighborhood Greenways to provide continuous, 

low-stress routes throughout the city.

Future Actions

Representatives of the Vision Zero cities present at 

the peer exchange indicated that hearing from a 

diverse group of cities, learning communications 

strategies, and hearing how cities overcome a 

variety of challenges helped to inform them about 

approaches and practices that can lead to zero 

traffic deaths in their cities. Many left the peer

exchange ready to take steps toward building 

stronger partnerships with community members, 

using data to tell a story, and exploring ways other 

Seattle Streets Illustrated is a mapping tool that identifies the typology of each road 

segment in the city. (Source: https://streetsillustrated.seattle.gov/map/).
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 23

than traffic modeling to make road design 

decisions. 

For more information on FHWA’s Vision Zero 

initiatives, please contact Chimai Ngo at 

chimai.ngo@dot.gov. 

OKLAHOMA HAS BIG PLANS TO IMPROVE SAFETY USING HIGH FRICTION SURFACE 

TREATMENT

By: Joseph Cheung, P.E. FHWA Office of Safety; Karla Sisco, Tribal Tech Initiative Program Manager at Oklahoma State 

University; and Lisa Bedsole, Leidos

In 2013, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), in conjunction with the Federal 

Highway Administration (FHWA), saw an opportunity to address a particularly challenging stretch 

of SH-20 in Mayes County in northeast Oklahoma 

by using Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID)

grant funding to apply High Friction Surface 

Treatment (HFST). ODOT had done everything it 

could at these curves to improve safety, including 

adding rumble strips and oversized chevron signs.

“Before high friction surface treatment was applied, 

we were seeing a high rate of crashes occurring on 

SH-20 in Mayes County, especially in wet 

conditions,” noted ODOT Division Eight 

Maintenance Engineer Trapper Parks. 

After applying HFST to three curves in Mayes 

County, and observing the preliminary crash 

reduction at these locations, ODOT applied for and 

received AID Demonstration funds through the 

Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative to install HFST 

on four curves at three locations in the Oklahoma 

City metropolitan area in 2015. The previous 

applications of HFST in Oklahoma had occurred on 

rural two-lane highways with low average daily 

traffic. This project was chosen to evaluate the 

durability of HFST under extreme traffic volumes. 

ODOT Traffic Safety Engineer Matt Warren 

analyzed and provided crash data at locations 

before and after HFST was applied for the project 

team. At the treated sites in Mayes County, 26 

crashes and 4 severe injuries were observed in the 

5 years before HFST was added. Three years after 

the treatment, two crashes and zero severe injuries 

were recorded at the same locations. Projections 

by Warren estimate HFST will provide a 79 percent 

reduction in crashes and 75 percent reduction 

severe injuries and fatalities at these locations.

In the Oklahoma City metro area, 159 crashes and 

8 severe injuries occurred at HFST-treated 

locations over the 5-year period before HFST was 

applied. In the 1.5 years after application of HFST, 

11 crashes with no severe injuries have occurred at 

the treated locations. Warren noted a projected 

benefit of 77 percent reduction in crashes and 69 

percent reduction in severe injuries at the treated 

locations in Oklahoma City.

The Key to a Successful HFST Program

A key component to successful innovation 

deployment programs such as EDC are the Statebased approach and the State Transportation 

Innovation Council (STIC) concept, which 

encourages deployment of innovative, underutilized 

countermeasures that shorten project delivery, 

enhance roadway safety, reduce traffic congestion 

and improve environmental sustainability. 

High Friction Surface Treatment is made of 

an epoxy-resin that binds a layer of the 

aggregate calcined bauxite to the roadway 

surface. It improves skid resistance on 

roadways where extra friction is needed, 

such as steep grades, sharp curves, or places 

that see heavy braking. HFST creates a 

durable surface that retains its grip and skidresistant properties for up to 10 years.

Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration grants are available for any project eligible 

for assistance under Title 23, United States Code. Projects eligible for funding include proven innovative 

practices or technologies such as those included in the EDC initiative. Innovations may include infrastructure 

and non-infrastructure strategies or activities that represent a significant improvement from conventional 

practices. New applications for the AID Demonstration program are now being accepted through Grants.gov

(search for Opportunity Number FHWA-2016-21063).
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 24

"Oklahoma's innovation council is a unique 

opportunity for representatives from transportation 

agencies, industry, and academia to collaborate 

and pursue innovations that will help deliver a 

modern and efficient transportation system in our 

State," said ODOT Director of Capital Programs 

and STIC Chair Dawn Sullivan. 

To better share its HFST successes with 

transportation professionals and the public, in 2018 

ODOT and the STIC applied for and received State 

Transportation Innovation Council Incentive funds 

for the Accelerating Innovation Deployment in 

Oklahoma – Phase 2 – EDC outreach toolkit for 

HFST. The funding has been used to create a 

communications strategy that is helping the State 

tell the story of its success in preventing crashes 

and decreasing roadway fatalities by deploying 

HFST. While still early, this funding has so far 

resulted in development of an interactive 

informational booklet and news release promoting 

the benefits of HFST and highlighting the ODOT 

experience.

The Multi-county Systemic Curve 

Treatment Safety Improvement Plan

Using a $1.24 million multi-county Systemic Curve 

Treatment Safety Improvement Plan as its guide, in 

2018 ODOT renewed its efforts to reduce the 

number of run-off-the-road collisions on curves in 

eight counties, four ODOT divisions, and 11 

locations. Two of the original three treatment sites 

on SH-20 in Mayes County are also slated for 

scheduled re-application in the new curve safety 

plan. 

"We have lots of curvy roads and places where 

using a treatment like HFST can make a 

difference," said Anthony Echelle, an ODOT 

Engineer for Division Two, which includes planned 

treatment locations in LeFlore County, where 

curve-related crashes are over-represented. The 

ODOT curve treatment plan will fund installation of 

curve advisory signs, LED blinking lights, loweredspeed limit signs, guard rails and, of course, HFST. 

“With guardrail and cable barrier, you only mitigate 

the injury after the crash happens," said ODOT 

Traffic Safety Manager David Glabas. "When you 

can’t change the geometry of the road, HFST 

becomes a very economical solution to prevent 

crashes.”

For more information about HFST, please visit the 

High Friction Surface Treatment information page 

or contact Joseph Cheung at 

joseph.cheung@dot.gov. 

AWARDS NEWS

2019 NATIONAL SAFETY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

By: Adam Larsen, FHWA Office of Federal Lands 

Highway

On an annual basis, the FHWA Safety Discipline 

seeks to identify and recognize individuals who 

exemplify outstanding leadership, dedication, and 

accomplishments through two awards. The first is 

the Field Safety Leadership Peer Award, and the 

second is the Howard Anderson Safety Lifetime 

Achievement Award.

Field Safety Leadership Peer Awards

For this award, nominations are solicited annually 

and reviewed by a committee with representation 

from all parts of the safety discipline: division 

offices, Resource Center Safety and Design 

Teams, Federal Lands Highways, Turner-Fairbanks 

Highway Research Center, and the Office of Safety 

Headquarters in Washington, DC. The committee 

considers recent accomplishments, demonstration 

of leadership skills in safety, and other proven 

leadership capabilities in the selection process. 

Last year, nominations resulted in Field Safety 

Leadership Peer Awards for three individuals: Ken 

Kochevar, Emmett McDevitt, and Dick Albin. 

Kenneth Kochevar, P.E., California Division 

Office. This award recognizes Ken’s contributions 

and accomplishments in advancing highway safety 

in California and throughout the Nation. Ken has 

demonstrated his passion for highway safety in the 

many activities that he is involved in both statewide 

and nationally. Some of Ken’s activities include 

hosting roadway departure workshops, promoting 

the proven safety countermeasures, and providing 

technical expertise to national efforts such as the 

Handbook for Designing Roadways for the Aging 

Population. Ken’s leadership has resulted in HSIP 

funding for systemic deployment of safety 
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 25

countermeasures, a Tribal set-aside of HSIP funds, 

institutionalization of High Friction Surface 

Treatment by Caltrans, and establishment of safety 

performance targets for California. Ken has helped 

California get on track for a reduction in roadway 

departures and, ultimately, a trend toward zero 

crash-related fatalities.

Emmett McDevitt, New York Division. This award 

recognizes Emmett’s tireless work in improving 

safety for the residents of New York and for the 

nation as a whole. Emmett was responsible for 

leading a collaborative effort with State and local 

agencies to develop three Safety Action Plans (NY 

State Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, NYC 

Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, and NY Intersection 

Safety Action Plan) that will further the application 

of systemic safety improvements throughout the 

State. One of his recognized strengths is his ability 

to bring people together to improve the safety 

program; for example, during an effort to install 400

roadside signs throughout the State, Emmett 

assessed the signs as they were being installed 

and identified several issues with both the signs 

and how they were being installed. He immediately 

brought the agencies involved together to discuss 

the situation and to find a way forward that resulted 

in the approval of an experimental plan that 

reduced the number of signs on the interstate and 

brought the signs themselves into compliance with 

MUTCD standards. In addition, with Emmett’s 

guidance, the State of New York was able to 

develop a method for making crash data available 

to local public agencies to support their data 

analysis and project implementation efforts, further 

demonstrating his exemplary leadership, technical 

knowledge, and ability to collaborate with diverse 

partners to advance highway safety. 

Dick Albin, P.E., Resource Center. This award 

recognizes Dick’s dedication to reducing roadway 

departure crashes by deploying technology, training 

practitioners, and promoting the systemic 

approach. Dick has led deployment, training, and 

technical assistance in support of the Focused 

Approach to Safety for Roadway Departure

(FoRRRwD). He has led or contributed to many 

plans to address roadway departure crashes and 

deploy systemic countermeasures across the 

country. Through Dick’s efforts, every State has 

participated in a Roadway Departure Peer 

Exchange, and many have been influenced to 

enhance their safety toolbox by implementing 

proven safety countermeasures. Dick is a strong 

champion for reducing rural roadway departure 

crashes, using his strong leadership, 

professionalism, and technical knowledge to 

effectively train others on how to accomplish this 

important goal.

Ken Kochevar, 2019 Field Safety 

Leadership Peer Award winner. 

Emmett McDevitt, 2019 Field Safety 

Leadership Peer Award winner. 

Dick Albin, 2019 Field Safety Leadership Peer 

Award winner. 
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 26

Howard L. Anderson Lifetime 

Achievement Award

Named after the first FHWA Associate 

Administrator for Safety, the Howard L. Anderson 

Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 

2014 to recognize a current or retired FHWA 

employee who exemplifies outstanding and 

significant service to the safety discipline over his 

or her career. Nominees are evaluated by an 

executive committee for continuous efforts to 

champion safety both internally and externally to 

FHWA. The 2019 Howard L. Anderson Lifetime 

Achievement Award has been awarded to

Craig Allred of the FHWA Resource Center Safety 

and Design Team.

This award recognizes a lifetime of dedication to 

reducing highway fatalities through leadership, 

innovation, and mentoring. For more than 50 years 

Craig has demonstrated a real passion for highway 

safety in leadership roles at the Utah Department of 

Public Safety, NHTSA, and the FHWA. Craig’s 

dedication has resulted in many innovative 

accomplishments including the “AMBER alert” 

program and integration of Road Safety Audits into 

the toolbox of many government agencies. Craig 

also led NHTSA’s “Operation Buckle Down” to 

promote compliance with safety belt and child 

passenger safety laws. Having instructed many 

courses on highway safety, Craig was recognized 

as a National Highway Institute-designated

Instructor of Excellence over multiple years and 

serves as an NHI Master Trainer. Although a law 

enforcement officer by training, since joining 

FHWA, Craig has both learned and taught others 

about many safety engineering concepts, going to 

great lengths to personally connect with and 

develop others interested in the crusade to save 

lives on our Nation’s roads. Many within and 

outside of FHWA have been influenced by Craig, 

and some have even had the privilege of being

mentored by him. It is for these accomplishments 

and his deep commitment to improving highway 

safety that Craig Allred is receiving the Howard 

Anderson Lifetime Achievement Award.

NEW GOLDEN BOLT AWARD PROGRAM RECOGNIZES NON-SAFETY SPECIALISTS FOR 

EFFORTS TO SAVE LIVES

By Greg Schertz, FHWA Federal Lands Highways

The Safety Team in the Federal Lands Highway 

Division (FLHD) has created a new program to 

recognize non-safety specialists for 

their special efforts to save lives. 

The Golden Bolt award is made 

from a gold-painted guardrail splice 

bolt and includes a thank you card 

signed by FLHD leadership. The 

idea behind the award program is to continue to 

build the internal safety culture. Anyone in FLH who

is not a safety specialist is eligible, regardless of 

their position or office.

The first awards were given at the Central Federal 

Lands Highway Division annual all-employee 

meeting (see photo below). The second group of 

recipients received their awards at the recent FLHD 

Construction and Project Management Discipline 

Seminar. 

This awards program is unique in that recipients 

are not nominated. Instead, the Division Safety 

Specialists identify outstanding efforts in the area of 

safety by non-safety staff and take on the 

responsibility for getting a recognition card signed 

by FLH Leadership. The awards are given on a 

rolling basis, ideally in front of peers during allemployee meetings or discipline conferences. The 

Golden Bolts remind FLH staff that saving lives is 

very important, and people who go “above and 

beyond” to make our transportation system safer 

deserve recognition.

The Golden Bolt award will be an on-going program 

administered by the FLH Safety Team. 

Craig Allred, the Howard L. Anderson 

Lifetime Achievement Awardee for 2019.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 27

Left to right: Curtis Scott, recipient Karl Eikermann, recipient Kathy Mulder, recipient Dana Christensen, Tim Hess, Judy 

Salomonson, recipient Anita Gebbie-Deisch, recipient Marilyn Dodson, and recipient Leslie Karsten. Curtis, Tim, and Judy 

helped to give out the awards.

RECENT EVENTS

NATIONAL WORK ZONE SAFETYWEEK: “DRIVE LIKE YOU WORK HERE”

By: Martha C. Kapitanov, FHWA Office of Operations

Did you know that work zone fatalities have been 

rising for the past 5 years? Is your State working 

toward zero deaths and including work zone 

strategies in its Strategic Highway Safety Plan?

In 2017,1 the most recent year for which we have 

data, 799 traffic-related fatalities occurred in work 

zones. According to data from the Fatality Analysis 

Reporting System (FARS), that number represents 

an increase of 2 percent from 2016, when the 

Nation experienced 782 work zone fatalities. The 

total number of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in 

work zones also increased, up by 9 percent. Speed 

was a contributing factor in almost 30 percent of 

2017 fatal work zone crashes. (For information on 

work zone fatalities by year and state, visit:

https://www.workzonesafety.org/crashinformation/work-zone-fatal-crashesfatalities/#national.)

BETH ALICANDRI RECEIVES FHWA’S 2018 HEARTLAND AWARD

In November 2018, Beth Alicandri received FHWA’s Heartland Award. This award honors the memory of 

the 11 FHWA employees who were lost in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building in 

Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It also recognizes the dedication of the survivors who worked diligently to 

reestablish their office, despite all they had been through. 

This award is granted to individuals who have provided exceptional service to the traveling public. Their 

achievements are of marked national significance and reflect the high level of dedication and determination 

exemplified by the Oklahoma Division employees.

Beth received the 2018 award for being a tireless champion for building and enhancing strong 

coalitions and partnerships with Federal, State, and local agencies; the transportation industry; national 

stakeholders; and safety advocacy organizations in order to identify and resolve complex and politically 

sensitive transportation challenges. 

Beth was also recognized for providing expert leadership and technical guidance. She has played a vital role 

in assisting Headquarters, field offices, and transportation partners in bringing a high level of visibility to 

safety concerns, offering solutions to address challenges related to highway road users’ safety, and 

championing the mission of the Road to Zero Coalition. 

The Heartland Award recognizes Beth’s three decades of passionate, dedicated leadership in roadway 

safety.
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 28

Table 1. Work Zone Fatality Statistics, 2016-2017

Statistic 2016 Value 2017 Value 2016-2017 Change

Total work zone fatalities(1) 782 799 +2%

Drivers and passengers 652 658 +1%

Pedestrians and bicyclists 125 136 +9%

Others 5 5 0%

(1) NHTSA. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2016 Final and 2017 Annual Report File. 

Note: FARS data shown here are from the 50 States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Furthermore, 221 (31 percent) of fatal work zone 

crashes involved large trucks or buses and resulted 

in 274 fatalities (97 percent involved large trucks 

and 3 percent involved buses) in 2017.1 The 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 

(FMCSA) program entitled “Our Roads, Our Safety” 

developed Tips for Traveling Safely in Work Zones

to help drivers travel more safely through active 

work zone areas. FHWA is partnering with FMCSA, 

the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA), State DOTs, trucking associations, and 

other safety stakeholders to find solutions to

improve commercial motor vehicle2 safety in work 

zones. For more resources and tools, visit the 

Large Trucks in Work Zones webpage.

FHWA joined the American Traffic Safety Services 

Association, FMCSA, NHTSA, the Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration, the American 

Association of State and Highway Transportation 

Officials, the American Road & Transportation 

Builders Association, Associated General 

Contractors, the Virginia Department of 

Transportation, the Maryland State Highway 

Administration, and other stakeholders to raise 

work zone safety awareness during the kick-off 

event for National Work Zone Safety Awareness 

Week (NWZAW). As part of this effort, the District 

Department of Transportation and the NWZAW 

Executive Committee developed a downloadable 

NWZAW poster, and FHWA developed a factsheet

for widespread distribution among its work zone 

safety partners and stakeholders.

The 2019 theme “Drive Like You Work Here”

reminds us to pay full attention to changing road 

conditions while approaching, driving through, and 

exiting a work zone. Based on the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, 132 worker3 4 fatalities in road 

construction occurred in 2017, about an 8 percent 

decrease from 2016.

The FHWA Work Zone Safety Program supports 

the zero deaths initiatives by providing training and 

developing guidelines to enhance work zone safety. 

For more information on work zone management 

training, regulations, resources and tools visit the

FHWA Work Zone Management website at and the 

National Work Zone Safety Information 

Clearinghouse website.

______________________________ 

1 NHTSA. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). 2016 

Final and 2017 Annual Report File. Note: FARS data are from 

the 50 States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

2 ”Commercial motor vehicle” is defined as a vehicle with a 

Gross Vehicle Weight greater than 10,001 pounds. 3 2016 and 2017 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.

4 The source for 799 traffic-related work zone fatalities is FARS 

and the source for 132 worker fatalities is Occupational Injury 

and Illness Classification System maintained by BLS. Both 

agencies use different criteria. FARS does not have accurate 

data for worker fatalities.

0

670

712

781 799

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Total Work Zone Fatalities

Year

Total Work Zone fatalities by year, 2013-2017

Source: National Work Zone Safety Information 

Clearinghouse, “2017 National Work Zone Fatal Crashes & 

Fatalities,” available at:

https://www.workzonesafety.org/crash-information/workzone-fatal-crashes-fatalities/#national

593
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 29

OFFICE OF SAFETY TRB BOOTH GIVES VISITORS HANDS-ON (AND FEETS-ON!)

DEMONSTRATIONS OF PROVEN SAFETY COUNTERMEASURES

By: Tara McLoughlin, FHWA Office of Safety

Visitors to the Office of Safety booth at this year’s 

Transportation Research Board (TRB) meeting got 

a multi-dimensional look at the 20 Proven Safety 

Countermeasures (PSCs) that were featured at this 

year’s exhibit. These PSCs are the engineering 

innovations that FHWA promotes to reduce crashes 

that cause fatalities and serious injuries on our 

roads. Visitors to the booth could “drive” toy cars 

through alternative intersection designs (like 

displaced left-turn intersections) to see how these 

designs reduce conflicts, touch samples of High 

Friction Surface Treatments in the “Countermeasures Petting Zoo,” plug values into the online

USLIMITS2 tool to see what the appropriate speed 

should be for a particular stretch of road, and walk 

through a 10-ft by 10-ft mockup of a multi-lane 

roundabout. 

These interactive features constantly drew crowds 

to the booth—the Office of Safety welcomed a 

record 724 visitors this year (a rate of 43 visitors 

per hour!). The roundabouts decal was particularly 

popular with visitors and was large enough for 

several people to walk through it simultaneously 

and get a “feets-on” refresher course on how to 

drive a multi-lane roundabout. A good number of 

visitors described themselves as “roundabouts 

champions” and noted that after seeing the decal, 

they’d like to get something similar produced for 

outreach events like public meetings. A highlight of 

the meeting was when FHWA’s very own 

roundabouts champion Deputy Administrator 

Brandye Hendrickson visited the booth and 

navigated the roundabout like a champ!

Once visitors were “hooked” by the hands-on 

demos, Office of Safety staff shared information 

with them on the many other items on display. The 

Office of Safety featured more than 50 offerings—

guides, reports, FAQs, and other materials–from its 

diverse program areas. Visitors picked up over 

1,000 pieces of material from the Office of Safety 

booth over the course of the show.

In addition, the live demonstrations by safety 

experts drew many visitors to the booth, allowing 

the office to prominently feature its expert staff, 

promote new offerings, and answer visitors’

questions in real time. The booth featured informal

demos/presentations on a variety of key safety

topics ranging from estimates of lives saved by

Crash Modification Factors, to the USLIMITS2

online speed-setting tool, to roadway departure 

safety resources, and zero deaths initiatives and 

partnerships.

Visitors to the booth were incredibly diverse, 

representing local, Tribal, State, and Federal

agencies; academia; private companies; 

international institutions; and non-profit 

organizations.

10x10 roundabout floor decal Tabletop demo of dedicated leftand right-turn lanesSafety Selfie Station
Spring 2019: Volume 13 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 30

Finally, the Office of Safety debuted its “Safety 

Selfie Station” at this year’s booth, where visitors 

could declare in a photo that they “...make roads 

safer, one countermeasure at a time” with the 

option of dressing up in safety gear for the selfie. 

Visitors could then post their picture to their 

Facebook and/or Twitter feeds, using the 

#safetycountermeasures hashtag. 

For more information about the Office of Safety 

booth or if you want to borrow the booth for your 

outreach, contact Tara McLoughlin at 

tara.mcloughlin@dot.gov.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ITS America 28th Annual Meeting. June 4-7, 2019, 

Washington, DC. With its theme of “Intelligent 

Mobility: Safer. Greener. Smarter,” ITS America’s 

2019 annual conference will highlight seamless 

mobility around the movement of people, data, and 

freight. Sessions will address topics including 

workforce development, AI/automation, security, 

technology and liability, accessibility and equity, 

innovation and research, smart communities, 

infrastructure funding, and many more. 

National Association of Counties Annual 

Conference and Exposition. July 12-15, 2019, Clark 

County (Las Vegas, NV). The NACo annual 

conference is the largest meeting of county elected 

and appointed officials from across the country. 

Participants from counties of all sizes come 

together to shape NACo's Federal policy agenda, 

share proven practices, and strengthen knowledge 

networks to help improve residents’ lives and the 

efficiency of county government. 

National Rural ITS Conference at the ITE Annual 

Meeting and Exhibit. July 21-24, Austin, TX. This 

year’s theme is “Transportation Transformed.”

Topics will address a range of issues affecting rural 

and small communities including effective 

pedestrian and bicycle networks, benefits of 

transportation technology investments, Complete 

Streets, and designing for connected and 

automated vehicles, among many others. 

National Local Technical Assistance Program 

(LTAP)/Tribal Technical Assistance Program

(TTAP) & National Transportation Training 

Directors (NTTD) Conference. August 12-15 2019, 

Stowe, VT. The theme for this year’s annual 

meeting is “Rising to New Heights.” Topics relevant 

to safety professionals include implementing the 

national zero deaths strategy on highway safety at 

the local level, an introduction to the EDC-5 Safe 

Transportation for Every Pedestrian 2.0 initiative, 

an EDC-5 showcase, the latest human factors 

guide for local agencies, the importance of safety 

fairs/safety days/safety conferences, combating 

roadway departures, and much more.

2019 National Highway - Rail Grade Crossing 

Safety Conference. August 19 - 22, 2019, 

Pittsburgh, PA. This year’s event includes a broad 

spectrum of topics and information for railroad and 

highway safety professionals, including HighwayRail Grade Crossing State Action Plans, Section 

130 Funding, resilience and disaster recovery,

updates from Operation Lifesaver, Inc., an update 

on quiet zones, research and development with a 

focus on innovative technologies, MUTCD updates, 

and much more.

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.