About Us

Mission of the Office of Safety
Goals & Strategies
How is the Office of Safety Organized?

Mission of the Office of Safety

Together with our customers, stakeholders, partners, and other Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies, the Office of Safety works to reduce the number of crashes on U.S. roadways and the severity of crash impacts.

Within the broad highway safety mission, the Office of Safety's principal focus is on highway engineering. We support the development, testing and implementation of technologies and procedures to improve the physical safety of the Nation's roadway infrastructure.

But engineering is by no means all we do. Our safety awareness and education programs focus on teaching users how to gain maximum benefit from the safety features of their roadway infrastructure. We work with highway safety advocacy groups, State and local highway agencies, and other partners and stakeholders to identify safety needs, and to deliver highway user safety awareness and education programs that will make a difference.

In 2009, 33,808 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death of young Americans ages 4-33. Improving roadway safety and mobility is a top priority at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

As the lead safety champions within the FHWA, we advocate the integration of safety into the entire life cycle of a roadway—planning, design, engineering, environmental management, construction, and operations and maintenance. We coordinate with other DOT agencies (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [FMCSA], and the Federal Railroad Administration [FRA]) to develop and implement multi-faceted, intermodal safety programs.

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Goals & Strategies

The Office of Safety currently emphasizes Six Lifesaving Strategies:

Strategic Safety Planning: Safety consciousness should be a routine part of roadway project planning, development and operations. We encourage roadway safety planning programs at State, local, and regional levels.
Reduce Road Departure Fatalities, which cause 59% of all fatalities: Strategies to prevent road departure crashes include increasing sign and pavement marking visibility; installing rumble strips / stripes, specifying skid-resistant pavements, and paving shoulders to eliminate edge drop-offs.
Reduce Road Departure Crash Severity: Strategies to minimize the consequences of road departures include maintaining clear roadsides; improving the crashworthiness of roadside hardware and barriers; improving roadway and roadside safety design; and providing training on Roadside Safety Design.
Reduce Intersection Crashes, which account for 21% of all fatalities, by conducting comprehensive intersection safety analyses: We encourage transportation agencies to conduct comprehensive intersection analyses to pinpoint safety problems and develop cost-effective solutions.
Reduce Roadway-Related Pedestrian Deaths, which account for 12% of all roadway fatalities and a disproportionate number of the deaths of youthful and elderly crash victims: We encourage a systematic approach to community safety, including comprehensive programs to increase awareness of pedestrian safety issues; to provide pedestrian safety training; to improve roadway designs to more safely accommodate pedestrian needs; and to emphasize the need for pedestrian safety planning by MPOs and other planning organizations.
Increase seat belt use. Wearing three-point seat belts reduces the likelihood of dying from crash injuries by 45% in passenger car crashes and 60% in light truck crashes. The FHWA Office of Safety joins our safety partners in encouraging campaigns to increase seat belt usage.

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How is the Office of Safety Organized?

The Office of Safety staff at the FHWA Headquarters in Washington DC is organized into three program area units. All programs are linked directly from the Website Homepage or individual program Webpages.

Office of Safety Design focuses on highway engineering and construction issues related to safety. Program Areas include Intersections, Geometric Design, Road Safety Audits, Roadside Hardware, Road Departure (including Rumble Strips / Stripes), Highway-Railroad Crossings, and Visibility / Retroflectivity. Each Office of Safety Design program Webpage features life-saving Technical Assistance / Tools resources to help road agencies improve roadway infrastructure safety.
Office of Safety Programs houses cross-cutting programs that address roadway user behavior, including Pedestrian/Bicyclists, Human Factors, Speed Management, and Older Drivers. The Office of Safety Programs staff can also assist customer assistance for Local Programs; and support for State Programs, including Policy and Guidelines assistance. The Office of Safety Programs produces a wide range of Tools and Technology and Community Resources for improving roadway user safety.
Office of Program Integration and Delivery provides many services to support our customers' program management, training, communications, and outreach needs. Services include safety Training & Education; Data / Statistics; Outreach and Communication Tools; and other safety Technical Assistance / Tools. The Office of Program Integration and Delivery also has staff that supports the FHWA's safety performance measurement, strategic planning, and safety legislation programs, and coordinates with the FHWA Joint Program Office (JPO) in promoting safety applications of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). We support the Safety Research program at the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, and coordinate with the FHWA Resource Centers to transfer research results to our customers.
Office of Safety Staff Contact Information