Safety Programs Newsletter - September/October 2004
ONGOING SAFETY PROGRAMS
Variable Speed Limits (VSL) in Work Zones Demonstration Project Underway: Deployment on the Maryland VSL in Work Zones demonstration and evaluation will begin soon. VSL Systems use input regarding speed of traffic and other variables to determine and post an appropriate speed limit that changes in real time. The Maryland demonstration project includes extensive before and after evaluations, including speed profiles and driver performance analyses. Similar projects are underway in Michigan and Virginia. Contact Davey Warren, 202-366-4668.
Cooperative Agreements on Speed Setting and Enforcement Underway: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor's Highway Safety Bureau and the South Central Planning and Development commission in Louisiana have been selected to participate in the joint FHWA/NHTSA field operational tests on speed setting and enforcement. These cooperative agreements will evaluate the effectiveness of a "three E's" (engineering, enforcement, education) approach to address the problem of speeding. The jurisdictions will re-evaluate posted speed limits through rigorous engineering studies, strictly enforce revised speed limits, and educate the community and the judiciary on the whys and hows of the program. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the program is a critical element of the agreements. These two projects join ongoing projects in Mississippi and Connecticut with more projects anticipated in FY 03. Contact Davey Warren, 202-366-4668.
Restoring Credibility to Speed Setting: Engineering, Enforcement & Educational Issues is now available on the FHWA Speed Management Safety Website http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speed_manage/index.htm. The report summarizes the findings of workshops that brought together critical engineering, enforcement, and judiciary personnel to discuss the multi-disciplinary aspects of managing speed. A "planning guide" for others who want to sponsor multi-disciplinary speed management workshops is under development.
Contact Davey Warren, 202-366-4668.
Pedestrian Safety Campaign
The Pedestrian Safety Campaign is a FREE ready-made toolkit of outreach materials that States and communities can customize and use locally. The threefold purpose of the campaign is to (1) sensitize drivers to the fact that pedestrians are legitimate road users and should always be expected on or near the roadway, (2) educate pedestrians about minimizing risks to their safety, and (3) develop program materials to explain or enhance the operation of pedestrian facilities, such as crosswalks and pedestrian signals.
The Pedestrian Safety Campaign toolkit includes materials designed for use in television, radio, cinema, and print advertising. Some of the materials included are in Spanish. States and local communities would be responsible for implementing the campaign through local television and radio stations and print media. FHWA has selected Missoula, MT, Oceanside, CA, and Washington, DC for evaluation of the Pedestrian Safety Campaign materials. These locations were chosen because they each had a well-planned pedestrian campaign with the necessary elements. FHWA plans to provide technical assistance to these communities for conducting a base-line evaluation and a follow-up evaluation.
For more information contact Aida Berkovitz at 415-744-2614 or Frank Julian at 404-562-3689. To view the Campaign materials go to: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/ped/index.htm and click on "Pedestrian Campaign."
FHWA, with its partners, has finalized a comprehensive national intersection safety agenda: The agenda was developed at the national intersection safety workshop held at Milwaukee, WI on November 14 - 16, 2001. Also, as a part of the overall effort to enhance intersection safety awareness, FHWA developed a video, Red Light Green Light. The purpose of the video is to take a closer look at intersection safety and emphasize the importance of individual responsibility when it comes to making intersections safer.
FHWA held a national intersection safety steering committee meeting in October and the proceedings have been posted on the intersection website. Contact Louisa Ward at 202-366-2218 or louisa.ward@fhwa.dot.gov, for more information or visit the intersection safety web site at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersections/index.htm
Road Safety Audits and Road Safety Audit Reviews: The National Highway Institute, the training arm of the Federal Highway Administration, has updated the Road Safety Audit course. Participants in this training will learn how to improve transportation safety by applying a new, proactive approach to reduce accidents and their severity: Road Safety Audits (RSA) and Road Safety Audit Reviews (RSAR). This technique provides an examination of a roadway by an independent, qualified audit team. The RSA is a way for an agency to improve safety and to communicate to the public how they are working toward accident reductions. This course includes "hands-on" application of the training materials, including topics such as: RSA definition and history, stages and how to conduct a RSA, and legal considerations.
Students will receive a copy of the Road Safety Audits and Road Safety Audit Reviews Reference Manual along with a Participant's Workbook. An Instructor's Guide is available on request. The course is available to federal, state, and local transportation personnel, as well as consultants involved in highway safety issues.
If you would like to convince your State to sign up for this course, a speaker can travel to give an overview presentation of the benefits a RSA program can provide them, as well as an overview of the RSA and RSAR course. For information on scheduling a speaker, contact Louisa Ward at 202-366-2218 or Louisa.Ward@fhwa.dot.gov. For information on scheduling the NHI course, contact Danielle Mathis-Lee at 703-235-0534 or Danielle.mathis-lee@fhwa.dot.gov.
Operation Lifesavers: http://www.oli.org Contact Dee Chappell, 202-366-5892.
Crashworthiness of Roadside Safety Hardware: Since October 1, 1998, virtually all roadside hardware installed on the National Highway System must meet the crash evaluation criteria identified in NCHRP Report 350. The compliance date for transitions to bridge railings and for precast concrete barriers was extended to October 1, 2002. See http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_dept/road_hardware/index.htm. This site provides information on accepted devices and related FHWA policies. Contact Richard Powers, 202-366-1320: Permanent and Temporary Barriers, Terminals, Bridge Railings/Transitions, and Crash Cushions. Contact Nicholas Artimovich, 202-366-1331: Work Zone Devices, Sign Supports, and Poles.
Seat Belt Safety: The FHWA supports the Buckle Up America campaign to increase seat belt use nationwide. This campaign focuses on building public-private partnerships, enacting strong legislation, maintaining active, high-visibility law enforcement, and conducting effective public education.
Contact John Balser, 202-366-9212. http://www.buckleupamerica.org
Transportation Safety Information Management Systems (TSIMS): The FHWA, FMCSA, and NHTSA are working with AASHTO to develop a software package for safety information management systems. The system will take advantage of existing analysis and data capture systems and will facilitate safety analysis data by linking different safety-related data. ASSHTO and a consultant are developing a solicitation for partners to fund Phase 2, building the software package. Contact the Office of Safety Design, 202-366-9198.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS): The FHWA, Office of Safety, is involved in many aspects of ITS development, including Field Operational Tests. Major Safety efforts currently include Variable Speed Limits, Pedestrian ITS, ITS Archived Data User Service (ADUS), Highway-Rail Crossing ITS, Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) cooperative, and independent infrastructure ITS, and ITS Safety Program Assessments and Resources. Contact Larry J. Brown, 202-366-2214 or Morris Oliver, 202-366-2251.
Iowa National Model: Iowa and FHWA have collaborated with NHTSA and FMCSA to develop a model public safety information system for data collection and management. One of the principal products is a software package (TraCS) that facilitates conversion of forms from paper to electronic, and development of new electronic forms. TraCS has been distributed for free use in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. TraCS is in use in about 200 local enforcement agencies in Iowa. Several additional states have the free software for evaluation purposes. http://www.dot.state.ia.us/natmodel
Contact the Office of Safety Design, 202-366-9198.
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Clearinghouse: The clearinghouse provides agency managers with information on automation projects to help them make more informed decisions on what technology to purchase and use for the collection and distribution of traffic crash data. http://www.iacptechnology.org Contact David Smith, 202-366-6614.
National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse: The Clearinghouse provides a single contact for information and technical assistance concerning the safe and effective operation of work zones. Clearinghouse: 888-447-5556, Fax: 979-845-0568, http://wzsafety.tamu.edu. Contact Timothy Barkley, 202-366-6836.
Work Zone Safety: Transportation agencies have identified their best practices/policies for minimizing delay and enhancing safety during construction and maintenance operations. See Report at http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/wz/index.asp.
National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 4 - 10, 2004 was commemorated with a press event in Springfield, Virginia. FHWA Administrator Mary E. Peters participated in the event by speaking from an outdoor desk located next to Interstate 95. Ms. Peters asked motorists to understand that the roadway is the workplace for hundreds of employees who toil, at great risk, to improve and expand the transportation network.
For more information contact Timothy Barkley.
