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Considering Safety in the Transportation Planning Process

Chapter 5: Partners in Safety Planning

In this chapter, the discussion of additional safety efforts and programs relating to this guidebook does not cover all national programs, but summarizes many of the most relevant ones. Substantial coordination occurs between many of the agencies on federal, state, and local levels, and many projects are a joint effort between one or more of these agencies, as discussed in the Safety Partnerships section.

Federal Agencies

Federal Highway Administration

The goal of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is to create the best transportation system in the world through proactive leadership, innovation, and excellence in service. FHWA also provides expertise, resources, and information to continually improve the quality of our nation's highway system and its intermodal connections. FHWA is a part of U.S. DOT and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with field offices across the United States. FHWA conducts and manages a comprehensive research, development, and technology program and provides technical expertise to its partners and customers in various areas, one of which is safety.

FHWA is organized by a matrix of core business units (CBUs) and service business units (SBUs), including the Safety CBU and the Planning and Environment CBU. The Safety CBU was created to provide national leadership and advocacy in the development and implementation of strategies and programs to reduce the number and severity of highway crashes on the nation's highways, streets, facilities, and intermodal connections.

The Safety CBU acts as a voice and liaison for highway safety within FHWA, U.S. DOT, and external organizations. It coordinates with other offices in FHWA to integrate safety improvements, goals, and activities in all FHWA business functions including planning, environment, design, engineering, management systems, and operations. It also coordinates FHWA safety strategies and initiatives with other U.S. DOT agencies 1 and the Office of Secretary. The Safety CBU works closely with FHWA partners, such as the states, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives (NAGHSR), the Local Technical Assistance Program, and with other external safety advocacy groups. The key functions of the Safety CBU include:

The Planning and Environment CBU provides policy and direction in three major areas including statewide and metropolitan transportation planning, human and natural environment, and real estate services. The planning offices within this CBU support MPOs in meeting planning requirements and in collaborating effectively with their partners to maximize the success of the transportation planning process.

FHWA is also the administering agency for the Surface Transportation Program (STP), Safety Set Aside. STP provides flexible funding that may be used by states and localities for projects on any federal-aid highway, including NHS, bridge projects on any public road, transit capital projects, and intracity and intercity bus terminals and facilities. STP retains 10 percent set aside for safety improvement projects including railway/highway crossings and the Hazard Elimination Program. STP safety set-aside eligibilities are as follows:

Reference: www.fhwa.dot.gov

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), under the US DOT, was established by the Highway Safety Act of 1970, to carry out safety programs under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and the Highway Safety Act of 1966. NHTSA's primary responsibility is to reduce deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. This is accomplished by setting and enforcing safety performance standards for motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, and through grants to state and local governments to enable them to conduct effective local highway safety programs.

NHTSA also investigates safety defects in motor vehicles, sets and enforces fuel economy standards, helps states and local communities reduce the threat of drunk drivers, promotes the use of safety belts, child safety seats and air bags, investigates odometer fraud, establishes and enforces vehicle anti-theft regulations and provides consumer information on motor vehicle safety topics. Additionally, NHTSA conducts research on driver behavior and traffic safety to develop the most efficient and effective means of bringing about safety improvements as well as collecting and maintaining valuable information about general public safety interests, such as air bags, child passenger safety, crash tests, recalls, school bus safety, and disability information.

NHTSA is the administering agency for highway safety grant programs (totaling approximately $2.3 billion from FY 1998-2003) and two transfer programs, authorized by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). These programs are discussed below.

State and Community Grants

The Section 402 formula grant program provides funds to all States, territories, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Indian Nations for performance-based highway safety programs. The grants support planning to identify highway safety problems, set goals and performance measures for highway safety improvements, provide start-up money for new programs, give new direction and support to existing safety programs, and fund analyses to determine progress in improving safety. At least 40 percent of these funds are to be used by States and communities to address local traffic safety problems.

Seat Belt and Occupant Protection Programs

Seat belt incentive grants. Section 157 incentive grants are designed to encourage States to increase seat belt use rates. A State may qualify for a grant (1) if its seat belt use rate exceeds the national average for the previous two calendar years; or (2) if the State does not meet the first criterion, if its seat belt use rate for the previous calendar year exceeds its highest seat belt use rate since 1996. The amount of funds States receive will be based on calculations by the Secretary of the annual savings to the Federal Government in medical costs, which result from the State's improvement its seat belt use rate. A State may use these awards for highway safety and highway construction programs.

Seat belt use innovative grants. Section 157 funds not allocated to incentive grants in a fiscal year are allocated to the States to carry out innovative projects to promote increased seat belt use rates. NHTSA must establish criteria for the selection of State plans to receive allocations, ensuring, to the maximum extent practicable, demographic and geographic diversity and a diversity of seat belt use rates among the States selected for allocations. Subject to the availability of funds, TEA-21 provides that the minimum grant amount for each State plan is $100,000.

Occupant protection incentive grants. The Section 405 occupant protection incentive grant program encourages States to implement specific laws and programs that will help increase seat belt and child safety seat use. Under this program, grants are awarded to States that adopt or demonstrate specific programs, such as primary safety belt use laws and special traffic enforcement programs. Grant funds may be used only to implement and enforce occupant protection programs.

Child passenger protection education grants. The Section 2003(b) grant program provides funding to States to implement child passenger protection programs designed to prevent deaths and injuries to children, educate the public concerning the proper installation of child restraints, and train child passenger safety personnel concerning child restraint use.

Alcohol Programs

Incentives to prevent operation of motor vehicles by intoxicated persons. The Section 163 program provides incentive grants to States that have enacted and are enforcing a law providing that any person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater while operating a motor vehicle in the State shall be deemed to have committed a per se offense of driving while intoxicated. These Section 163 grants may be used for highway safety and highway construction programs.

Alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures. The Section 410 alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures incentive grant program rewards States that adopt and demonstrate specific programs, such as prompt suspension of the driver's license of alcohol-impaired drivers or graduated licensing systems for new drivers (Programmatic Basic Grant); or meet performance criteria showing reductions in fatalities among impaired drivers (Performance Basic Grant). States receiving basic grants may qualify for up to six supplemental grants. Grant funds may be used only to implement and enforce impaired driving programs.

Open containers and repeat offenders. The Section 154 and 164 transfer programs provide penalties for States that fail to enact laws that prohibits open alcoholic beverage containers in the passenger area of a motor vehicle and that establish minimum penalties for repeat drunk-driving offenders. Failure to enact each of the required laws results in the transfer of a portion of the State's Federal highway construction funds to its highway safety program beginning in October 2000. The funds transferred may be used for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures or for hazard elimination programs.

State Highway Safety Data Improvement Incentive Grants

The Section 411 State highway safety data improvement incentive grant program encourages States to take effective actions to improve the timeliness, accuracy, completeness, uniformity, and accessibility of their highway safety data. Section 411 grant funds may be used only to implement data improvement programs.

NHTSA Training Programs

NHTSA provides intensive training programs through the Transportation Safety Institute in order to enable highway safety professionals to maximize the impact of their efforts to reduce motor vehicle crashes and the results of these crashes. NHTSA's training courses enable Federal, state, and local highway safety professionals to perform at state-of-the-art levels in the enforcement of drunk driving laws; the design and management of highway safety programs; the delivery of emergency medical services; encouraging the use of safety belts, child safety seats, motorcycle and bicycle helmets and other safety systems; and to assist in training of other highway safety professionals to these levels of capability.

The purpose of NHTSA's training programs is to: transfer important knowledge, skills, and expertise to police, prosecutors, judges, EMS professionals, and others; provide highway safety professionals with essential information and tools; promote the enforcement of occupant protection, impaired driving, and other traffic safety laws; facilitate communication and cooperation among diverse interests; support community efforts to make our streets and highways safer and; improve the quality and financial integrity of highway safety programs and projects.

Reference: www.nhtsa.dot.gov

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), formerly a part of FHWA, has a primary mission to prevent commercial motor-vehicle-related fatalities and injuries. FMCSA activities contribute to improving highway safety through strong enforcement of motor carrier safety regulations, targeting high-risk carriers and commercial motor vehicle drivers; improving safety information systems and commercial motor vehicle technologies; strengthening commercial motor vehicle equipment and operating standards; and increasing safety awareness. To accomplish these activities, FMCSA works with other federal agencies, state and local enforcement agencies, the motor carrier industry, labor safety interest groups, and others.

FMCSA manages several relevant programs. The first is the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, a federal grant program that provides states with financial assistance for driver and vehicle roadside inspections and other commercial motor vehicle safety programs. It promotes detection and correction of commercial motor vehicle safety defects, commercial motor vehicle driver deficiencies, and unsafe motor carrier practices before they become contributing factors to crashes and hazardous material incidents. The program also promotes the adoption and uniform enforcement by the states of safety rules, regulations, and standards compatible with the federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Hazardous Materials Regulations.

Another key section of FMCSA is the Enforcement Program. The Administration's compliance reviews of motor carriers and enforcement activities and the states' roadside inspection activities involving vehicles and drivers are the principal means of ensuring that the federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Hazardous Materials Regulations are enforced. Compliance and enforcement efforts are enhanced through the Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM) program, a federal and state partnership to improve safety performance or remove high-risk carriers from the nation's highways. The PRISM program ties state motor carrier vehicle registration to carrier safety performance. Habitually unsafe carriers can be denied the privilege of registering their vehicles.

In addition, FMCSA develops, issues, and evaluates standards for testing and licensing commercial motor vehicle drivers. These standards require states to issue commercial driver's licenses only after drivers pass knowledge and skill tests that pertain to the type of vehicle operated. States are audited every 3 years to monitor compliance with federal standards; noncompliance could result in loss of federal highway construction and/or safety grant funding.

FMCSA collects and disseminates safety data concerning motor carriers. Federal safety investigators and state partners collect carrier data from roadside inspections, crashes, compliance reviews, and enforcement activities. An algorithm assesses all this information and separates carriers by their safety performance. FMCSA focuses its enforcement resources on those carriers that pose the greatest safety risk. This information provides a national perspective on carrier performance and assists in determining FMCSA and state enforcement activities and priorities. Combined with information from other sources (including NHTSA), the data is extensively analyzed to determine trends in performance by carrier and other factors such as cargo, driver demographics, location, time, and type of incident. On the basis of identified trends, FMCSA directs resources in the most efficient and effective manner to improve motor carrier safety.

Finally, FMCSA identifies, coordinates, and administers research and technology development to enhance the safety of motor carrier operations, commercial motor vehicles, and commercial motor vehicle drivers. The Administration promotes the use of information systems and advanced technologies to improve commercial vehicle safety, simplify government administrative systems, and provide savings to states and the motor carrier industry.

Reference: www.fmcsa.dot.gov

Federal Transit Administration

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) comprises nine offices, including the Office of Safety and Security and the Office of Planning. The Office of Safety and Security addresses issues for all modes of mass transit. The goal of the Office is to achieve the highest level of safety and security for all mass transit riders and employees. The Office of Safety and Security initiates these efforts by encouraging transit systems to develop and implement a system safety program plan. The Office has developed guidelines and best practices, in association with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), to aid transit agency staff in developing the plans. In addition, FTA provides training and system safety analyses and reviews to ensure proper implementation. The Office of Safety and Security targets its efforts by dividing them between safety and security and by dividing the safety efforts by transit mode. FTA has initiated efforts to help transit agencies better equip themselves by planning for safety. In conjunction with APTA, FTA has recently published a variety of training tools and manuals for the use of transit agencies, including Development of a Model Transit Bus Safety Program, Transit Security Handbook, and Safety Action Plan. FTA works very closely with APTA to understand the needs of the changing industry needs with respect to safety, and provide the necessary materials to assist transit agencies.

FTA's Safety Action Plan was developed in 1999 after the FTA administrator determined the need to examine the federal role in transit safety. The plan defines six major areas to be addressed and set specific action plans. The six areas include:

The FTA Safety Action Plan can be viewed at http://transitsafety.volpe.dot.gov/publications/ default.asp#Safety.

FTA is implementing changes to the safety and security information collected through the National Transit Database. The changes include monthly major incident reporting and significantly more detailed reports on fatalities, incidents, and injuries as well as major security information. FTA intends to use this new information to track and understand national trends, and for future planning purposes.

The National Transit Database is available at www.NTDprogram.com.

Additionally, FTA provides, through an interagency agreement with the Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) in Oklahoma City, training in transit safety and security. Transit professionals from around the country can be trained on subjects that include system safety, accident prevention and investigation, system security, emergency management, industrial safety, alternative fuels, bus operator safety, and fatigue awareness.

The FTA web site describes the Office of Planning as follows:

The Office of Planning administers a national program of planning assistance as the basis for capital and operating assistance grants. The office manages the financial and technical resources of the planning program and directs program implementation through the regional offices. The office provides expert support on the transportation planning process (transportation plans and program development) to regional offices, grantees, and the transit community. Areas supported include: safety, financial planning, public involvement, environmental impacts, air quality, new start criteria, and innovative planning methods through research, technical assistance, training and information dissemination.

FTA also funds grants through the Rutger's University's National Transit Institute (NTI). NTI provides transit training based on identified industry needs. NTI's mission, as described on its web site, is to provide training, education, and clearinghouse services in support of public transportation and quality of life in the United States. NTI has specialized classes in a variety of both safety and planning-related areas relevant to transit agencies.

Reference: www.fta.dot.gov

State and Local Agencies

State Police

The responsibilities and organization of state police vary widely from state to state. Most state police maintain a separate highway patrol department, although in some cases highway patrols fall within a state department of public safety. In either case, it is the state agency responsible for enforcing traffic laws and investigating accidents on state and interstate highways. However, state police are also frequently called upon to assist other law enforcement agencies and to respond to emergencies. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol lists the responsibilities of the patrol as follows:

  1. Encourage and promote the safe operation of vehicles on Mississippi's state and federal highways.
  2. Enforce traffic laws and other applicable laws in a fair, impartial and courteous manner.
  3. Function as guardians of public safety in a professional capacity.
  4. Assist in law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.
  5. Enhance the public esteem for law enforcement by precept and example of each member of the department.

This list can be viewed at www.dps.state.ms.us/dps.nsf.

Mississippi's departmental goals are not unique. State troopers are responsible for law enforcement and safety education, as well as for upholding a strong public image. In some states, the scope of state trooper or highway patrol responsibilities is expanded to include issuing driver's licenses and vehicle titles, conducting bus inspections, investigating auto thefts, rendering first aid to injured motorists, and administering forfeitures in DUI and drug cases.

Another key responsibility of state police, city police, or highway patrols, is responding to accidents and conducting investigations. As previously discussed, police on the scene of an accident are the primary source for providing state DOTs and regional planners with useful, accurate crash data.

Communication between state police and planners is crucial because their relationship mutually benefits the goals of both parties. The information that the police departments provide to planning agencies, highway engineers, and state highway safety organizations allows these organizations to allocate funding and make the reasonable adjustments to reduce incidents. Without good information flow between police agencies, state DOTs, state highway safety agencies, and MPOs, these organizations cannot make informed resources allocation decisions. Enforcement resources cannot be effectively deployed unless the organizations understand where, when, how, and why crashes occur.

Transit Agencies

Like MPOs and state DOTs, the safety programs of transit agencies vary dramatically. As discussed earlier in the guidebook, transit agencies address safety in almost every aspect of their daily operations, but typically lack a systematic approach to incorporating safety in their long- and short-term planning. When planning for any new project, the element of safety will be considered at all levels, although projects are usually not selected with any weight placed on safety. The only exception to this occurs when transit agencies design a project as a countermeasure to an identified safety hazard.

Transit agencies typically conduct business with safety on the forefront of their operations. Larger agencies often have a dedicated safety officer, while smaller agencies have at least one employee whose responsibilities include safety. Agencies usually have created safety plans, addressing items such as accident review, response, and reporting; maintenance facility safety; driver training; and emergency management procedures. Agencies also conduct periodic drills to ensure that their procedures are in place. Transit agencies can review the FTA and APTA web sites for example safety plans and toolkits.

National Transportation/Safety Organizations

Transportation Research Board

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is a nonprofit organization under the National Research Council. TRB's mission, as described on its web site, is to "promote innovation and progress in transportation by stimulating and conducting research, facilitating the dissemination of information, and encouraging the implementation of research results." TRB fulfills this mission through the work of its standing technical committees and task forces addressing all modes and aspects of transportation; publication and dissemination of reports and peer-reviewed technical papers on research findings; administration of two contract research programs; conduct of special studies on transportation policy issues at the request of the U.S. Congress and government agencies; operation of an online computerized file of transportation research information; and hosting of an annual meeting that typically attracts 8,000 transportation professionals from throughout the United States and abroad.

Most notable to safety is the efforts and resources TRB has dedicated within the contract research programs. One significant research program, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), has designated 25 special project areas, one of which is safety. Within the safety realm, NCHRP has sponsored countless safety projects including:

Another significant research program is the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). Similar to NCHRP, TCRP designates research projects based on relevant issues facing transit agencies, including safety and security issues. A few of their recent studies include: Guidelines for Collecting, Analyzing and Reporting Transit Crime Data, Light Rail Safety: Pedestrian and Vehicular Safety, and a Transit Manager Tool Kit for Rural and Small Urban Transportation Systems.

TRB is also the joint sponsor of FHWA/TRB safety and planning forums. The forums seek to bring together safety professionals from different agencies within a state to meet, discuss their various safety initiatives, and brainstorm possibilities for collaboration. The forums are specifically designed to address the safety and planning requirements of TEA-21. The purpose of the forums is to initially bring together these professionals to establish an ongoing dialogue and to develop action plans for safety conscious planning implementation in a proactive, multi-modal, mutli-countermeasure manner. FHWA and TRB are continuing to hold forums around the country.

Reference: www.nationalacademies.org

American Public Transportation Association

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a private non-profit trade association serving the needs and interests of the public transportation industry. The APTA membership includes over 1400 member organizations representing transit agencies, suppliers and manufacturers, consulting and management companies, academic institutions, state associations and public departments of transportation.

APTA is engaged in numerous safety activities to enhance the safety of transit operations. Among these activities, APTA has established international standards for system safety and safety auditing through its Rail Safety Audit Program, Commuter Rail Safety Management Program and Bus Safety Management Program. APTA also maintains standing safety committees for bus and rail operations to provide an on-going forum for the exchange and development of industry safety best practices and further advances these activities through sessions at its modal conferences. Included within these initiatives is a close working relationship with the administrations of the DOT, the NTSB and other transportation associations such as ASSHTO.

Reference: www.apta.com

Roadway Safety Foundation

The Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF), as described on its web site, is committed to "reducing highway deaths and injuries by improving the physical characteristics of America's roadway-design and engineering, operating conditions, removal of roadside hazards, and the effective use of safety features."

RSF is a membership-based non-profit organization created as a forum for public and private sector members to promote roadway improvements. Private sector members are from industries such as insurance, salt, automakers, and trucking, while public sector members are from agencies such as FHWA, NHTSA, TRB, AASHTO, NAGHSR, and several state DOTs.

RSF's mission, also described on its web site, is to "build public awareness and support actions to assure that national, state, and local safety agendas recognize the role of the roadway in reducing the frequency and severity of traffic crashes." The Foundation's major goals include educating the public on the importance of roadway safety improvements, supporting efforts to improve the quality of roadway safety data, and promoting roadway safety research and technology transfer.

Most notably, RSF has published a Roadway Safety Guide to provide local leaders with a hands-on, step-by-step approach to improving roadway safety. This guide highlights common practices for addressing roadway hazards in cost-effective ways. This guide is available at the RSF web site at www.roadwaysafety.org.

Reference: www.roadwaysafety.org

Association of Metropolitan Planning Organization

The Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) is a membership-based non-profit organization created to identify the needs and interests of MPOs. AMPO provides services through several means including offering technical assistance, training, conferences and workshops, ongoing communications, and a forum for research and transportation policy development. AMPO has also created a list of MPO best practices by matching relevant issues with specific MPO efforts and related studies. This, combined with a directory of MPO contacts, fosters communication among MPO staffs and allows MPOs to benefit from the efforts of one another. The AMPO best-practices directory covers a wide variety of relevant MPO issues, including spotlighting MPO safety efforts. It also includes best-practice-type articles on issues related to public participation, project selection, state/MPO relations, management practices, flexible funds, and others.

Reference: www.AMPO.org

Institute for Transportation Engineers

The Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE) is a professional association of transportation engineers, planners, and other interested professionals in the United States and abroad who are responsible for meeting the mobility and safety needs of society. The Institute facilitates the application of technology and scientific principles to research, planning, functional design, implementation, operation, policy development, and management for any mode of transportation. This is accomplished by promoting professional development of members, supporting and encouraging education, stimulating research, developing public awareness, and exchanging professional information. It provides support for its members in the form of professional publications, training courses, meetings, and seminars.

Specifically for transportation planners, ITE publishes the Transportation Planning Handbook. The handbook provides practicing professionals with guidelines and a source of reference on proven techniques. The fifth edition of the handbook was published in 1999. It identifies safety as a paramount issue in transportation planning. Another ITE publication, The Traffic Safety Toolbox: A Primer on Traffic Safety, provides guidance for transportation planners on improving safety. Some of the principles set forth in the publication are discussed elsewhere in this guidebook.

ITE has also published a paper on safety conscious planning entitled Safety Conscious Planning, The Development of the Safer Transportation Network Planning Process. This paper was written to stimulate discussion on the issue of road safety within transportation planning, and its relation to the overall transportation network including land use, bicycle, pedestrian, and transit.

Reference: www.ite.org

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a non-profit organization established to represent highway and transportation departments in the United States. AASHTO spans all modes; its primary goal, as described on its web site, is "to foster the development, operation and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system." The Association accomplishes its goal through a wide variety of programs, projects, conferences, and committees. AASHTO has historically dedicated resources to safety issues.

In 1996, AASHTO assembled a group of safety efforts from FHWA, NHTSA, and TRB to develop a strategic plan for highway safety with the primary goal to reduce vehicle-related death and injury. The document identifies cost-effective safety strategies based on programs already in existence. A few of the most relevant safety strategies include increasing driver safety awareness, making walking and street crossing easier, ensuring safer bicycle travel, making truck travel safer, reducing vehicle-train crashes, improving the design and operations of highway intersections, and improving information and decision support systems. Other AASHTO publications include a Highway Safety Design and Operations Guide, and a Guide for Enhancement of Highway Safety Directed to Agencies, Programs, and Standards, which aims to help transportation administrators in budgeting resources to meet safety objectives. These documents can be ordered through AASHTO.

Reference:www.aashto.org

National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives

The National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives (NAGHSR) represents the states on highway safety and administers the NHTSA Section 402 State and Community Safety Grant Program. NAGHSR is a non-profit association that promotes the varied highway safety programs of states and territories, focusing on the human behavioral aspects of highway safety. NAGHSR's mission, as described on its web site, "is to provide leadership in the development of national policy to ensure the effective highway safety programs."

NAGHSR addresses a wide variety of issues, including occupant protection; impaired driving and speed enforcement; and motor carrier, school bus, pedestrian, and bicycle safety. Membership in NAGHSR is open to highway safety program managers, appointed by the governors of the 50 states; the government of the District of Columbia; the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and Northern Mariana Islands; and the territories of the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Indian Nation. These members are responsible for developing and implementing their states' or territories' highway safety programs, maintaining fiscal oversight of the programs, and evaluating the programs' impacts on highway safety problems. Annual dues are based on a proportional formula which considers state size. Associate membership is also available to organizations, associations, and businesses whose interests are compatible with NAGHSR.

Reference: www.naghsr.org

American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety

The American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAAFTS) mission statement as presented on its web site reads:

Our mission is to research why motor vehicle crashes happen and educate the public about how to avoid problems on the road. We offer useful information to everyone who uses the road-pedestrians, cyclists, children, drivers young and old, school bus passengers, school safety patrols, and more.

The Foundation is funded through contributions from motor clubs associated with AAA and the Canadian Automobile Association, individual AAA club members, insurance companies, and other individuals or groups. It searches for research problems that are not only obvious safety problems, but also have more underlying causes. Recent AAAFTS research has investigated drowsy driving, road rage, and novice driver education, accident characteristics of large trucks on highway ramps, and driver aging.

Reference: www.aaa.com

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) helps to prevent motor vehicle crashes from occurring and to reduce the severity of the crashes that do occur. Research from the Institute covers three areas:

Institute research also addresses possible interventions that can occur before, during, and after crashes to reduce losses. IIHS also has a Vehicle Research Center, which includes a state-of-the-art crash test facility. The Institute is closely affiliated with the Highway Loss Data Institute, which gathers, processes, and publishes data on the way in which insurance losses vary among different kinds of vehicles.

Reference: www.hwysafety.org

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) mission statement as presented on its web site reads:

To achieve uniformity and reciprocity of commercial vehicle inspections and enforcement activities throughout North America through effective motor carrier, driver, vehicle, and cargo safety standards, compliance, education and enforcement.

CVSA is a non-profit organization comprised of Federal, state, and local government agencies, in addition to private sector representatives throughout North America. CVSA acts as a forum to public and private officials within the commercial vehicle industry in order to address the following goals as described on their web site:

Reference: www.cvsa.org

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) is a non-profit educational organization representing state and local government officials in the United States and Canada who are responsible for the administration and enforcement of motor vehicle licensing and registration laws. The Association's goal is to develop industry-leading programs in the areas of motor vehicle administration, police traffic services, and highway safety.

Reference: www.aamva.org

Safety Partnerships

A number of different types of safety partnerships have been formed among states, MPOs, and other types of organizations. Some are formal, mandated by law or government regulations, while others are voluntary and depend on voluntary cooperation among its members. Some involve only public sector agencies and others include non-profit and for-profit organizations. The following sections describe safety partnerships and present examples.

Formal State Agency Partnerships

In some states, formal partnerships involve several agencies where participation is required by law. For example, in Oregon, the Safety Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) maintains an ongoing partnership with law enforcement through their cooperative policing agreement. The agreement allows the agencies to jointly sponsor relevant projects, such as a the "Gap Analysis" conducted by the Oregon State Police. In the Gap Analysis project, a study was organized in which local groups identified what level of police service the community felt should be provided. In recent years, this process identified the need for 100 new police officers in various jurisdictions throughout the state, although subsequent funding was not available.

Metropolitan and Local Partnerships

Local partnerships are critical to safety planning. As demonstrated, many different agencies within a region work with the common goal of reducing incidents on the transportation network. However, the areas of expertise vary between agencies, and alliances can allow jurisdictions with a common goal to draw upon the strengths of agencies to reach that goal. In addition, solid partnerships can reduce overlap between agencies with similar plans. Michigan and Oregon provide some examples of ongoing safety partnerships at the metropolitan and local levels.

In Oregon, Metro Regional Services of Portland is the MPO but is also a regional government for the greater Portland area. Metro participates in several partnerships relevant to its safety activities, notably the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Program, an advisory committee for the region's ITS projects. Metro participated in the Safety Management System (SMS) until 1995 when it was no longer required by FHWA. In addition, Metro lobbied the legislature for additional officers for the state police.

The City of Portland works closely with the ODOT regional office because ODOT provides funding for many of the city's safety projects. The city is also working to maintain a more consistent relationship with the city police department, particularly to improve crash information.

A unique example of an effective safety partnership is that of the Traffic Improvement Association (TIA) of Oakland County, Michigan. TIA is a public-private non-profit organization that helps broker safety projects within the county. The organization receives funding from multiple sources: about 30 percent from the private sector; 30 percent from county government and the Road Commission of Oakland County; 30 percent from local governments (cities, villages, and townships); and 10 percent from federal and state grants. The initial thrust of TIA was to compile traffic crash data and provide engineering assistance. The organization receives sanitized crash data on all crashes in Oakland County from the Michigan State Police. It uses the crash data for safety planning and acts as an "information broker" to cities within Oakland County. TIA provides preliminary engineering assistance, site analysis for jurisdictions (actual drawings), and suggested remedies. It helps in enforcement grants and provides supplementary information for grants. TIA also helps organize community-related concerns, such as alcohol enforcement, safety belt usage, and mature driver issues.

Federal Partnerships

States, MPOs, transit agencies, and state police also form close partnerships with federal agencies on a wide variety of programs. Not only are federal agencies often the greatest source of funding, they also provide ongoing support through smaller studies and programs. Through understanding the goals of the federal agencies and keeping up to date with the projects they sponsor, states and MPOs can become involved in projects and can benefit from the studies and reports. For example, FHWA, in coordination with TRB, is sponsoring state forums to encourage state agencies involved in safety and transportation planning to meet and discuss their current initiatives and identify ways in which they can work together. The forums are attended not only by the state agencies, but also by FHWA and TRB staff to administer and provide assistance.

Federal agencies are also available to provide technical assistance through their expertise on a wide variety of related subjects.

Safety Forums

Safety forums can act as beneficial vehicles to create partnerships on all levels. The goal of a safety forum is to provide agencies information on safety planning activities and to enable agencies to articulate their policy goals and programs. This provides a setting for areas to identify where cooperation is possible. By bringing together policy and decision-makers from different agencies, states can identify where goals overlap and how agencies can collaborate more effectively.

Training and Education

Safety training is an essential part of safety planning. A state, MPO, or local agency has a number of safety training needs. First, these organizations must train their staffs to fully understand safety planning (see Chapter 2). Second, MPOs often provide elected officials, judges, heads of government agencies, and police officers with training in various aspects of safety planning, such as crash record systems, hazard identification, targeting funds for safety improvements, bicycle safety, pedestrian safety, or alcohol enforcement. Third, information needs to be provided to the public to raise awareness of safety issues as well as solicit support for increased enforcement and funding support to make safety improvements.

In the greater Detroit region, SEMCOG has established a variety of training courses on safety. It has held several courses for local planners, law enforcement personnel, and engineers on its Traffic Safety Manual and associated Comprehensive Analysis Safety Tool (CAST) software. SEMCOG sees this training role as essential in getting its members to integrate safety into their policies and plans. More generally, SEMCOG tries to educate elected officials, engineers, planners, law enforcement personnel, private companies, and citizens about traffic safety and its importance to the overall community.

Another example is in Portland, Oregon, where Metro runs bicycle training courses with safety as a central topic. Metro works with the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (an advocacy group) on a school program for bicycle safety and provides the safety training. Metro has also produced a bicycle map showing congestion levels on roads.

Federal safety agencies offer significant highway safety training to state and local law enforcement and other safety professionals. For example, the FMCSA Training Center provides at least $1 million in annual training to state and local enforcement agencies.

Endnotes
  1. NHTSA, FTA, and FMCSA back to text for chapter 5, endnote 1.