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LET'S WORK TOGETHER TO SAVE LIVES |
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Life-Saving Strategies for America's Highways |
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brochure.
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Safe highways are an essential element of American quality of life and economic vitality. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is strongly committed to continuous improvements in highway safety. Even as our Nation’s mobility has increased, safer vehicles and improved roadway design and operations have contributed to a 21% decline in the traffic fatality rate between 1991 and 2003 (from 1.9 per 100 million highway vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to 1.5).
Despite these improvements, someone is killed every 12 minutes on American highways. In 2003 alone, more than 43,000 people died in highway crashes. The economic loss is staggering—more than $230 billion per year—a cost of $819 to every American. Highway crashes destroy promising lives and shatter families.
| FHWA's
Safety Objectives |
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1 |
Reduce fatalities involving roadway departure crashes (run-off-road and head-ons) by 10% by 2007. |  |
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2 |
Reduce intersection fatalities by 10% by 2007 | 
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3 |
Reduce pedestrian fatalities by 10% by 2007 |  |
The FHWA calls on the highway community to join together to make our highways safer. We can significantly reduce the annual highway death toll by focusing on three types of crashes:
We focus on these three objectives through implementing six highway safety improvement strategies. State and local transportation agencies can join in the nationwide effort to stem the highway death toll by focusing on their problem areas and implementing similar strategies.
1 |
Encourage strategic safety programs at State, local and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) levels, so that safety consciousness is a routine part of project planning, development and operations. |
2 |
Protect vehicle occupants through Federal, State and local campaigns to increase seat belt usage. A NHTSA study found that three-point seat belts reduce fatalities by 45% in passenger car crashes and 60% in light-truck crashes. |
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4 |
Minimize the consequences of roadway departures by implementing programs to create and maintain clear roadsides; to improve the crashworthiness of roadside hardware and barriers; to improve roadway and roadside safety design; and to provide training in Roadside Safety Design. |
5 |
Conduct comprehensive intersection analyses to pinpoint safety problems and develop cost-effective solutions. Evaluate a targeted set of intersections, and budget for improvements such as signalization, signing,pavement marking, and channelization or turn lanes. |
6 |
Develop a comprehensive approach to pedestrian 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. |
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BUCKLE UP" Seat belts are absolutely our most effective safety device", asserts U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. "If everyone buckled up, thousands of lives could be saved annually." |
State and local governments may request the FHWA to assist them in developing highway safety programs that meet their specific needs. Best practice and case study information is available for each of the six action strategies discussed in this brochure. We encourage you to let us know about your innovative approaches to highway safety, and we pledge to help spread the word about new ways to save lives.
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Safety
Phone (202) 366-2288; Fax (202) 366-3222
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov
or
Resource Center Safety & Highway Design Team
Phone (708) 283-3595; Fax (708) 283-3501
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/index.htm
or
FHWA Division Office
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/field.html#fieldsites
Pub. No. FHWA-SA-04-001
Prevent
roadway departure crashes through programs to identify and correct
deficiencies in sign and pavement marking visibility; to install shoulder
and centerline rumble strips; to promote skid resistant pavements; and
to pave shoulders and eliminate edge drop-offs.