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Strategic Highway Safety Plans (SHSP) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

The Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) is a data-driven, four to five year comprehensive plan that integrates the 4Es of highway safety:

Engineering,
Education,
Enforcement and
Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

Highway safety professionals have long utilized engineering, education, and enforcement approaches. But the 4th E – EMS - is less familiar and less often engaged in the SHSP process and in funding projects under the Highway Safety Improvement (HSIP) program. Why is EMS important to highway safety, why engage EMS and how to fund EMS projects?

Each of the 4Es is equally important to preventing death and disability from crashes. The first three Es play a role in preventing or minimizing injury. But when injury happens, EMS provides the last opportunity to improve health outcomes - from motor vehicle crashes and other medical emergencies. EMS is provided by a highly organized system that ensures prompt notification of the location and severity of the crash, timely dispatch of trained providers of emergency care, use of evidence-based treatment protocols, and triage to an appropriate health care facility.

Many States also have trauma systems dedicated to providing emergency care to people with all forms of injury. According to one CDC-sponsored study, the overall risk of death was 25 percent lower when care was provided at a “Level I trauma center” than when it was provided at a non-trauma center. Counties with coordinated systems for trauma care have been shown to have crash fatality rates as much as 50% lower than counties without trauma systems. Supporting a well functioning EMS system and engaging the State EMS Office in the SHSP process are key strategies for reducing highway fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads.

The HSIP supports the SHSP by funding roadway safety improvements. It emphasizes a data-driven, strategic approach to improving highway safety that focuses on results and allows flexibility in funding projects such as EMS initiatives.