Fall 2011: Volume 5 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 1 

A Message from FHWA Associate 

Administrator for Safety, Tony Furst 

In the time I’ve been with the Office of Safety, 

what strikes me, as it has in many of the other 

jobs I’ve held in government service, is the 

daunting complexity of interests and partners 

that need to be engaged and aligned to fulfill our 

mission – making our transportation network 

safer. Each of these interests and partners have 

their own agenda and come at the issue of 

safety from their own perspective. What works 

for one doesn’t necessarily work for another, 

which means we need to find common ground in 

order to move forward. It is here that Safety has a distinct 

advantage – reconciling differences is easier when all the interests 

are working toward a common objective. We also have the 

advantage of a common metric – reducing lives lost and 

preventing serious injuries. This unifying mission, this common 

sense of purpose, is critical. While the dynamics of aligning each 

party’s interests is something that will always be in play, it is far 

easier to find a path forward when the complex array of interests 

and partners have a common objective and agree on how it will be 

measured. 

At US DOT, the Safety Council aligns Departmental activities in 

support of our safety mission. This Council is chaired by the 

Deputy Secretary and covers the full breadth of Departmental 

resources and some of our key governmental partners outside US 

DOT. Routinely assessing how Departmental assets can best 

mesh together and tackling common problems collectively 

ensures we are providing the best value to the taxpayer and most 

effectively utilizing the vast array of Departmental resources. 

Along those same lines, the Office of Safety and our partners at 

Turner-Fairbank and the Resource Center are pursuing a 

thorough review and assessment of our strategic goals and 

objectives, programs, and activities to better align and focus 

A Publication of the Federal Highway Administration Safety Program Fall 2011: Volume 5 Issue 2 

IN THIS ISSUE: 

Focused Approach 

to Safety ............................. 2 

Resources and Tools for 

the Focused Approach ....... 2 

Have You Scheduled Your 

Assessment Yet? ................ 3 

Safety Data Contest Looks 

at Creative Answers to 

Difficult Questions ............... 3 

Highway Safety Improvement 

Program Self Assessment 

Tool *Now Available* ......... 5 

Suite of HSM Support Tools 

Set to be Released ............. 5 

FHWA Issues Guidance on 

Minimum Roadway Safety 

Data Collection ................... 6 

FWHA Core Values ............ 7 

Anthony T. Furst 

Acting Associate 

Administrator, 

Office of Safety 
Fall 2011: Volume 5 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 2 

(continued from A Message from FHWA Associate 

Administrator for Safety, Tony Furst)

FHWA safety resources. This effort will ensure we 

are taking maximum advantage of all our talents 

and are in the best position to work collaboratively 

with our partners, leveraging their assets and ours. 

As I have found to be the case across all of FHWA, 

the level of talent and dedication this organization 

can bring to bear is impressive and makes me very 

comfortable that this effort will serve the Safety 

Discipline and the Safety community extremely well 

for years to come. 

It has been an especially rewarding, challenging, 

and, yes, enjoyable 4 months being the Acting 

Associate Administrator for the Office of Safety. I 

want to take this opportunity to again thank the 

Office for the exceptional and professional support 

you have so generously and reliably provided to me 

and for your dedication to the mission of the Office 

– you are making a difference. 

Focused Approach To Safety 

What is the Focused Approach to Safety? 

The Focused Approach to Safety provides 

additional resources such as technical expertise, 

tools and training to eligible high-priority States to 

help them address the Nation’s most critical safety 

challenges. Each eligible State participating in the 

Focused Approach will be assisted in addressing 

fatality reductions in any one or all of three critical 

focus areas. Infrastructure-oriented improvements 

to reduce roadway departure, intersection, and 

pedestrian crashes have been identified as 

providing the greatest potential to reduce highway 

fatalities. 

Can my State participate in the Focused 

Approach? 

Although the Focused Approach targets its 

resources to eligible Focus States, all States can 

benefit from the tools and resources identified in 

the Focused Approach. 

What assistance can eligible focus States 

receive? 

Eligible focus States participating in the Focused 

Approach will have access to assistance in several 

different formats. States can receive technical 

assistance for activities such as data analysis and 

action plan development assistance from initiation 

to implementation of infrastructure improvement 

plans. In addition, training is available in several 

formats, including classroom-based workshops, 

online webinars, and hard-copy training materials. 

Support is also available for a wide range of 

analysis tools and countermeasure implementation 

activities. 

Where can I find more information about the 

Focused Approach to Safety? 

You can find more information about implementing 

the Focused Approach to Safety and available tools 

and resources by visiting the Focused Approach to 

Safety website at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/fas/ or 

contacting Melonie Barrington, P.E., 

Melonie.Barrington@dot.gov or (202) 366-8029. 

Resources and Tools for the Focused 

Approach 

A guidebook, fact sheet, and talking points for 

outreach are available to provide additional 

information and to assist States in implementing the 

Focused Approach to Safety. These tools are 

available to both focus States and non-focus States 

to support them in meeting their targeted safety 

goals and their Strategic Highway Safety Plan 

(SHSP) fatality reduction goals. 

Links to Focused Approach 

Resources and Tools: 

Fact Sheet - Summarizes 

the overall program concept 

and key features for all 

stakeholders. 

Talking Points for Outreach

- Provides talking points to 

assist in the Focused 

Approach to Safety discussion with stakeholders. 

Toolkit - Provides a list of support tools by focus 

area. 
Fall 2011: Volume 5 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 3 

(continued from Links to Focused Approach Resources 

and Tools)

Guidebook - Concise resource containing the 

program purpose, benefits, history, focus State 

eligibility criteria, steps for success, initial 

deployment checklist, and highlights. 

Contacts for the Focused Approach 

Program Coordinator:

Melonie Barrington 

Melonie.Barrington@dot.gov

(202) 366-8029 

Roadway Departure:

John Dewar

john.dewar2@dot.gov

(202) 366-2218 

Intersections:

Jeff Shaw 

jeffrey.shaw@dot.gov

(708) 283-3524 

Pedestrians:

Tamara Redmon 

tamara.redmon@dot.gov

(202) 366-4077 

Have You Scheduled Your 

Assessment Yet? 

Helping States benchmark and improve State 

roadway safety data capabilities 

High-quality data are the foundation for effective 

decisions on highway safety. The Roadway Safety 

Data Partnership (RSDP), a collaboration between 

States and the Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA), aims to improve the collection, analysis, 

management, and expandability of roadway data 

for use in safety programs and decision making. 

The State roadway safety data capability 

assessment is key to helping each State 

understand its existing capabilities and the steps to 

reach its self-identified goals. The process will help 

States identify actions to overcome gaps and 

integrate improvements into their safety plans. 

For more information, visit 

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp. To schedule 

your State’s assessment, contact Heather 

Rothenberg at 202-366-2193 

or heather.rothenberg2@dot.gov. 

Safety Data Contest Looks at 

Creative Answers To Difficult 

Questions 

Is possession of a passport an indicator of your 

level of highway safety? Are HSIP obligation rates 

meaningful indicators of highway safety? These are 

the types of unusual findings that FHWA safety 

data contest participants found earlier this summer 

when they entered the Safety Discipline data 

contest. The contest was coordinated by the 

Analysis and Evaluation Team as a way to highlight 

the value of different kinds of data analyses and 

presentation for highway safety programs. 

Ryan Brumfield, a PDP in the Office of Safety, 

found that States with a higher percentage of the 

population who own passports have lower crash 

rates. He discovered this as he combined data from 

the state safety data sheets with data from other 

sources including the Census Bureau, Centers for 

Disease Control, and others. His analysis 

considered the potential relationship between 

highway fatality rates and individual characteristics 

such as health, education, income, and a few 

others. Ryan offered the following thoughts about 

his analysis, “Theoretically, attitudes and beliefs are 

predictors of behavior, including the likelihood of 
Fall 2011: Volume 5 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 4 

(continued from Safety Data Contest Looks at Creative 

Answers To Difficult Questions)

citizens to partake in risky behavior when driving... 

The link between these variables and road safety is 

certainly not direct, but by looking at the analysis 

from a 5000 foot view, we can hypothesize why 

these strong correlations exist.” 

Rick Drumm wondered whether safety 

professionals are considering the best measures 

for performance reporting. Given the increased 

importance placed on performance-based 

programs, this is a difficult question with no obvious 

answer. One of the areas Rick examined is the 

relationship between Highway Safety Improvement 

Program obligation rates and highway fatality rate 

changes. As is often the case with good analysis, 

Rick’s results raised more questions, including 

whether the lag time between obligation and results 

makes it difficult to draw correlations between 

spending and fatality rate reduction. It might take 5 

to 7 years from the time funds are obligated 

through the completion of a project to the point 

where an adequate amount of time post-completion 

has passed to measure potential improvements. 

Rick raised additional questions in his submission, 

“In these days of metrics...safety engineers are 

continually being asked to move the numbers. At 

the same time, we are being measured by various 

criteria which may or may not have an influence on 

the numbers...What actions could we take that will 

move that numbers? Also, how should we analyze 

the data?” 

Ryan and Rick were the winners of the Office of 

Safety’s first data contest. The contest encouraged 

FHWA staff at headquarters, the divisions, and the 

Resource Center to “be a safety data superstar” by 

conducting creative analysis of data from the 

DFS/State Safety Data Sheets released in March 

2011. The data sheets include information in tables 

for all States and the US as well as State 

snapshots that include all of the data for each State 

in a one-page printable format: 

 Fatalities (overall and by specific areas of 

interest) and fatality rates; 

 Obligation rates for programs such as the 

Highway Safety Improvement Program, High 

Risk Rural Roads, Railroad Grade Crossing, 

and Safe Routes to School; 

 Seat belt usage rate; 

 Safety countermeasure implementation index; 

and 

 Focus State program participation. 

Four honorable mentions were also awarded. 

Winners: 

 Relationship between Cultural Indicators and 

Roadway Safety, Ryan Brumfield, Arkansas 

Division on temporary assignment to the Office 

of Safety 

 Data Analysis: Influencing Highway Fatalities, 

Rick Drumm, Indiana Division 

Honorable mentions: 

 Comparison of State Fatality Rates to 

Population Density, Hamilton Duncan, West 

Virginia Division 

 Heat Map of 2009 Roadway Departure Fatal 

Crashes in Western DFS States, Nick Fortey, 

Oregon Division 

 Examination of Horizontal Curve Crashes in 

Wyoming Using Roadway Departure Data, 

FARS, and State Data, Adam Larsen, Tribal 

Coordinator 

 State Safety Fact Sheet Data for Problem 

Identification and Prioritization Matrix, 

Greg Piland, Illinois Division 

John Paul Kohler, Illinois Division 

Alan Ho, Illinois Division 

For more information about the State Safety Data 

Sheets or to learn more about the contest entries, 

please contact Heather Rothenberg at 

heather.rothenberg2@dot.gov. 
Fall 2011: Volume 5 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 5 

Highway Safety Improvement 

Program Self Assessment Tool 

*Now Available* 

The FHWA Office of Safety 

recently published the 

Highway Safety 

Improvement Program 

(HSIP) Self Assessment 

Tool as a companion 

document to the previously 

released HSIP Assessment 

Toolbox. The HSIP Self 

Assessment Tool describes 

an approach to self 

assessment that allows users to evaluate specific 

aspects of the HSIP process. The tool consists of a 

number of questions designed to provide those with 

HSIP management responsibilities information to 

assess their programs, policies, and procedures 

against many of the recommended HSIP practices 

in use today. The HSIP Self Assessment Tool is 

available in electronic format only at 

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/resources/fhwasa10

017. 

The HSIP resources website

(http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/resources/#pubs) 

also includes a supplemental score sheet in MS 

Excel and responses to frequently asked questions. 

For technical support in preparing for or conducting 

an HSIP self assessment, please contact Karen 

Yunk in the Office of Safety at 609-637-4207 or 

karen.yunk@dot.gov. 

Suite of HSM Support Tools Set 

To Be Released 

The 2010 Highway Safety 

Manual (HSM) provides 

highway agencies with the 

information and tools 

needed to facilitate 

quantitative safety 

consideration in roadway 

planning, design, 

operations, and 

maintenance. As more 

States begin to accept and 

implement the HSM, FHWA continues to identify 

and address their needs as they work to improve 

the safety of our Nation’s roadways. We have been 

working very closely with the American Association 

of State Highway and Transportation Officials 

(AASHTO), the Transportation Research Board 

(TRB), and researchers across the Nation to 

develop training, guidance, and other tools that will 

assist States with the many facets of 

implementation. Over the next few months, we will 

be releasing a series of important publications that 

will meet various needs for the States. 

The HSM Training Guide is a resource document 

for State departments of transportation (DOT) that 

are developing HSM training plans. The guide 

focuses on HSM training currently available to 

State and local agencies that are considering 

implementing the HSM and identifies additional 

courses under development. Several training 

opportunities exist in the areas of highway safety 

and safety analysis, but the guide focuses only on 

courses directly applicable to content in the HSM 

and provides information only on those courses 

given by National Highway Institute (NHI), FHWA 

and Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE). 

Training Guide is currently available electronically 

at 

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsm/training/hsmguide.pdf. 

The HSM Implementation Guide for Managers is 

written for managers within DOTs charged with 

leading and managing various programs related to 

the project development process and safety 

programs. It outlines what the HSM is (and is not), 

how it “fits” with other core technical documents 

and policies, and what the potential benefits of its 

use can be. In addition, HSM Implementation 

Strategies for Managers offers guidance to senior 

agency management in identifying and overcoming 

both internal and external barriers to 

implementation and integration of the HSM. 

Managers Guide is currently available electronically 

at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsm/hsm_mgrsguide/

hsm_mngrguide.pdf. 

Focusing on practitioners, the HSM Applications 

Guidebook is a planning-level tool for State and 

local agency staff seeking to implement and 

institutionalize the HSM. The Guidebook is 

intended to help practitioners understand how the 

HSM adds value and includes specific guidance for 

integrating the HSM into identified processes and 

programs within select disciplines such as Safety, 

Planning and Environment, Design, and Operations. 
Fall 2011: Volume 5 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 6 

(continued from Suite of HSM Support Tools Set To Be Released)

In addition, the Guidebook includes examples of how the HSM is currently being applied. The Guidebook will 

be available electronically in the near future. 

FHWA has developed several HSM case studies that describe how the HSM methodologies have been 

applied in Idaho, Ohio, and Florida. Idaho used predictive methods to perform a transportation study on an 11-

mile corridor. Ohio is implementing a new roadway safety management process using SafetyAnalyst software 

tools, which support Part B of the HSM. Florida used the HSM’s crash prediction methodologies to select an 

alternative on a four-lane divided highway. We will develop more case studies and add them to this collection 

as we identify additional notable applications of HSM methodologies. Case Studies are currently available 

electronically at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsm/#cstd. 

These four resources together are intended to support HSM deployment and help ensure successful 

implementation by providing tailored guidance to the appropriate stakeholders at all levels of government. 

FHWA Issues Guidance on Minimum Roadway Safety Data Collection 

While many states are pursuing improvement in 

highway safety data analysis and the usage of 

analytical tools, many are asking what types of 

roadway data they should be collecting. The 

Government Accountability Office asked FHWA 

a similar question in 2009, when they issued a 

report on the effectiveness of the HSIP program 

(GAO-09-35). FHWA’s Office of Safety, and an 

assembled expert working group, ended a year 

and a half of analysis and deliberation on this 

issue when they issued guidance on August 1, 

2011, that describe a minimum level of roadway 

data elements that States should be collecting 

for their HSIP program analysis. 

This new guidance (found online at 

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/tools/data_tools/dcag.

cfm) outlines the 38 data elements that are a 

priority for State and local agencies to collect on 

their roadways in order to conduct substantive 

enhanced safety analyses. These data 

elements overlap with existing Highway 

Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data 

elements and can be integrated with the crash 

data traditionally collected to provide a basis for 

better safety investment decisions. The 

guidance also identifies prerequisite conditions 

for using the elements and a recommended 

roadway prioritization methodology in addition 

to a listing of the elements (see table above). 

The list of elements was determined through an 

extensive research process outlined in a newly 

released background report (FHWA-SA-11-39) and is based on the Model Inventory of Roadway Elements 

(MIRE). Another aspect of the new guidance is that it acknowledges that additional resources will be needed to 

accomplish collection of this data. FHWA also developed a market analysis report (FHWA-SA-11-40), which 

The listing of fundamental data elements for HSIP is as follows:

Roadway Segment Intersection Ramp/Interchange 

Segment ID* Intersection ID RampID*

Route Name* Location Date Opened to 

Traffic 

Alternate Route 

Name* Intersection Type Start Location

Route Type* Date Opened to 

Traffic Ramp Type

Area Type* Traffic Control Type Ramp/Interchange 

Configuration

Date Opened to 

Traffic Major Road AADT Ramp Length 

Start Location* Major Road AADT 

Year Ramp AADT* 

End Location* Minor Road AADT Ramp AADT Year* 

Segment Length* Minor Road AADT 

Year

Segment Direction Intersection Leg ID 

Roadway Class* Leg Type 

Median Type Leg Segment ID 

Access Control* 

Two-Way vs. OneWay Operation* 

Number of Through 

Lanes* 

Interchange Influence 

Area on Mainline 

Freeway

 

AADT* 

AADT Year 

*Highway Performance Monitoring System full extent elements.
Fall 2011: Volume 5 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 7 

estimates the unit costs for the collection of this data. The report is intended to assist States in developing 

better estimates of their own potential costs to implement the guidance. 

FHWA Core Values 

Values do not define what an organization does (as the mission does), or what an organization aspires to (as 

the vision does), but rather how the organization carries out its responsibilities. Our values define the 

importance we place on our customers, stakeholders, employees and on FHWA itself as a place to work. 

FHWA Core Values, shown below, are based on what the members of our organization believe to be important 

and should be modeled by all employees, at all levels of the organization. 

How do you exhibit the FHWA Core Values?

Collaboration:

“I always get better results from my projects when I include 

people from other teams and offices on my project working 

groups. When we have disagreements within the team, I 

work hard to understand everyone’s point of view rather than 

trying to convince everyone to take my point of view.” 

 

Personal Development:

“I have learned more in my technical area, professionally 

and personally since I turned 35 than in all the years before 

that. We never stop growing professionally or personally.” 

Integrity:

“...it was one of those things that happen on the fly and you 

don’t expect it. We were at a conference, the consultant 

offered to pay for everyone’s dinner and I was the only fed in 

the group. I quietly asked the waiter to put me on a separate 

check because I knew it would not be appropriate.” 

 

Public Service:

“I saw the woman who had lost her family in the crash and 

her tears reminded me of why we do our job. We serve the 

country, and we work so that people like her don’t lose the 

ones they love.” 

Safety Compass Newsletter 

A publication of the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 

Federal Highway Administration 

The Safety Compass newsletter is 

published for Internet distribution 

three times a year by the: 

FHWA Office of Safety 

1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, 

Room E71-105 

Washington, DC 20590 

The Safety Compass can also be viewed at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov. 

Editor-in-Chief 

Karen Timpone 

karen.timpone@dot.gov

Your comments and highway safety related articles are welcomed. This 

newsletter is intended to increase highway safety awareness and information and 

to provide resources to help save lives. 

You are encouraged 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 Karen Timpone, karen.timpone@dot.gov.