Home > National Roadway Safety Awards Call for Nominations

2013 National Roadway Safety Awards Call for Nominations

Jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation

FHWA-SA-12-032

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Set of three cover photos depicting the Road Safety award plaques grouped on a table, a photo of the previous year's recipients, and an aerial photo of a cloverleaf interchange.

Purpose

The National Roadway Safety Awards is a biennial competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) to recognize roadway safety achievements that move the United States towards zero deaths and serious injuries on the Nation's roadways. The competition highlights exemplary roadway safety efforts and publicizes best practices. Awards are given for infrastructure, operational, and programrelated improvements and programs that address safety needs.

The FHWA and the RSF stress the importance of strategic, data-driven approaches to improving safety on our Nation's roadways. Applicants are encouraged to nominate projects or programs that exemplify innovative and effective safety activities and maximize the cost effectiveness of Federal, State, local, and/or private sector funds.

Why Apply for an Award?

In addition to the personal and organizational rewards associated with saving lives and improving safety on our Nation's roadways, the tangible benefits of this program are numerous and far-reaching. Winning project designees will receive:

An invitation and funded travel to attend a national-level awards ceremony in Washington, DC.
Meeting opportunities with legislators and key transportation officials in Washington, DC.
National media coverage and additional local media support, identifying your organization as a leading safety improvement resource.
Appearance in the 2013 National Roadway Safety Awards Noteworthy Practices Guide, Public Roads magazine, the Roadway Safety Reporter, as well as other publications of national safety and transportation organizations.
Recognition via several websites operated by FHWA, RSF, and other safety partners.

Award Criteria

Paramount to the decisionmaking process for the judging panel is demonstrated evidence of data-supported results. Each entry will be judged among other nominations in its category. Including documentation supporting the project's or program's success through proven results is vital for advancing through the judging process. Nominees will be judged on the following criteria.

Effectiveness – Projects or programs that:

Result in significant reductions in fatalities and injuries.
Create a proven case for greater emphasis on roadway safety in transportation programming and project delivery.
Support safety improvements through greater public awareness that yields a positive change in safety culture.

Innovation – Projects or programs that use innovative concepts at a national, state, or local level including:

Creative approaches to address highway safety concerns.
Innovative management approaches to overcoming hurdles.
Inventive solutions to a particular crash problem.
Proactive involvement of the public or stakeholders.

Efficient Use of Resources – Projects or programs that:

Are implemented cost-efficiently.
Use planning and engineering resources efficiently and/or employ cost-sharing through multi-agency partnerships, task forces, or coalitions.

Award Categories

Infrastructure Improvements

This category is defined as "physical improvements to the roadway or roadside that improve safety." Examples include safety devices; engineered design improvements; obstacle removal, relocation, or physical upgrades; intersection improvements; and signage and pavement markings.

Examples of winning projects include using micro surfacing to reduce wet weather crash rates, cable median barriers, implementation of the Safety EdgeTM with a Portland cement concrete pavement overlay, infrastructure improvements for motorcycle safety, intersection collision avoidance warning systems, bike lane/shoulder initiatives, roundabout safety improvements, median barrier installations, rumble strips, and pedestrian crosswalk enhancers.

Operational Improvements

This category includes improvements to traffic safety operations such as innovative channelization; weather safety operations; ITS-based safety programs; multidisciplinary activities such as road safety audits; and road design and striping efforts aimed at reducing or minimizing the severity of crashes caused by speeding, distractions, and other offenses.

Examples of winning projects include evaluation of moveable barriers in construction work zones; safety patrol sponsorpartnership; intersection enforcement lights, temporary traffic control for wildland fire incident activities, work zone crash analysis, senior zones, interim physical barriers as a safety solution, school safety programs, and speed management programs.

Program Planning, Development, and Evaluation

This category is defined as "programs that identify and address State and local needs by making effective use of safety data and evaluations." This includes public involvement in safety audits and planning; crash data analysis and integration; crash location identification and analysis for crash countermeasure development; development and implementation of excellent Strategic Highway Safety Plans; and use of data evaluations to produce targeted policies, processes, and practices that improve safety.

Examples of winning projects in this category include an HSIP application and evaluation tool for local roadways, a smart roadside inspection program, highway safety GIS, comprehensive highway safety plans and programs, task forces to address concerns such as run-off-road crashes, intelligent transportation systems, crash data management systems, weather safety audits and intersection safety improvement programs.

The nomination application is available at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov or http://www.roadwaysafety.org

National Roadway Safety Awards

The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

FHWA, in partnership with the highway and transportation community, is developing a "Toward Zero Deaths" strategy to end the tragic loss of lives on American roads. We seek to keep the world's preeminent highway system as safe and efficient as possible – to reduce crashes, delays, and congestion; to ease the movement of freight; to safely accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists; to protect ecosystems and air quality; to ensure maximum mobility; and to quickly and cost-effectively restore transportation services after disasters and emergencies.

FHWA logo
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov

Karen Timpone
202.366.2327

The Roadway Safety Foundation

RSF is the only national organization solely dedicated to reducing deaths by improving the physical characteristics of America's roadways – design and engineering, operating conditions, removal of roadside hazards, and the effective use of safety features. RSF works to attain its goals by building awareness through media campaigns and outreach activities, developing educational materials, and forming roadway safety partnerships between the private and public sectors. It is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization chartered by the American Highway Users Alliance.

Roadway Safety Foundation logo.
Roadway Safety Foundation
1101 14th Street NW, Suite 750
Washington, DC 20005
http://www.roadwaysafety.org

Greg Cohen
202.857.1228

2011 National Roadway Safety Awards Nomination Application

Jointly sponsored by U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration and Roadway Safety Foundation

Project Name:

Submitted by (name of agency or organization):

Agency/Organization Point of Contact:

Email and Phone Number:

Mailing Address:

Parent Organization(s)/Project Owner(s)(if different from submitting agency):

Program Categories (check as applicable)
__ Infrastructure Improvements
__ Operational Improvements
__ Program Planning, Development, and Evaluation

Type of Funds Used (check as applicable)
__ State and/or Local
__ Federal-Aid Highway
__ Federal Highway Safety Program (Section 402)
__ Private Sector
__ Other (please specify):

Has this project been initiated within the last five years? __ Yes __ No

Entry Documentation Required

__Completed application

__Project description – no more than 15 pages

The description should include the following:

Summary of the overall problem(s) and safety problem(s) addressed – no more than two pages.

Comment on project's applicability to award criteria and program category (provide a brief statement explaining how your project meets the criteria of effectiveness, innovation, and efficient use of resources) – no more than three pages.

Supporting documentation (e.g., data-supported results/reports, safety statistics and outcomes, evaluations and/or evaluation plans) – no more than 10 pages of text, not including graphics, photos, or videos.

__Photos – include at least one, but no more than three photos, not to exceed 5" x 7";
if sending electronically, photo files should not exceed 3.0 MB per image. The 2013 National Roadway Safety Awards Noteworthy Practices Guide will include an image for each award recipient.

__Press releases and media coverage, if applicable

Multiple entries must be submitted separately.

Electronic submissions are encouraged.

Applications and corresponding required documentation may be submitted electronically to awards@roadwaysafety.org or via U.S. Mail or express shipping company as follows:

2013 National Roadway Safety Awards
c/o Ms. Heather Rigdon
800 Corporate Drive
Suite 401
Stafford, VA 22554

All nominations must be received by May 31, 2013 to be considered.

The program is available to U.S. nominees only, including U.S. territories and funded operations such as District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Mariana Islands.

FHWA and Road Safety Foundation logos