2013 National Roadway Safety Awards

MOBILE COUNTY, AL ROADS PROJECT RECEIVES NATIONAL HONORS

Simple, Low-Cost Safety Enhancement Saves Lives

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 6, 2013 CONTACT: Cathy Gillen desk (202) 857-1203 cell (443) 463-4449 cathygillen@roadwaysafety.org

(Washington, DC) — at an awards ceremony on Capitol Hill, the Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today recognized the Mobile County (AL) Public Works Engineering Department for its efforts to decrease "run-off-the-road" crashes on 10 roadways with high rates of these types of crashes.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) selected the State of Alabama to take part in a focus group to determine what types of crashes were most frequent in the state, leading Mobile County to challenge itself to reduce the high number of "run-off-the-road" crashes on its roadways. On 68 miles of rural local roadways, there had been 224 "run-off-the-road" type crashes between 2005-2008, resulting in 7 fatalities and 152 injuries.

A simple, low-cost solution would prove to save lives in Mobile County. Traffic Manager James Foster with the Mobile County Engineer's Office implemented a plan to install one-directional white raised pavement markers (RPMs) adjacent to the white edge-line stripe, vastly improving sight recognition and guidance along the risky stretches of roadway. Based on 2009-2012 crash data, this led the same 10 roadways from 224 crashes to 33, from 7 fatalities to 0, and from 152 injuries to 10. The average crash reduction for all 10 roadways was lowered by 85.3%.

"The Mobile County Public Works Engineering Department proved it does not need to cost a fortune to save lives," said Gregory M. Cohen, P.E., Executive Director of the Roadway Safety Foundation. "Raised pavement marker materials are relatively low cost and require far less manpower and machinery to install than other crash countermeasures such as rumble strips. Other jurisdictions will surely want to replicate this cost effective, life-saving solution to their own risky stretches of roadway."

According to County Engineer Joe Ruffer, PE, "We have a duty to operate and manage our roadways as safe as possible for users. Users that sometimes have limited abilities, engage in risky behaviors, and operate vehicles with numerous deficiencies. We are like "pre" first-responders, implementing features and giving guidance to reduce crashes before they occur. What James has implemented will give us an additional tool to help all drivers and make our roadways even safer."

National Roadway Safety Award recipients were evaluated on three criteria – innovation, effectiveness, and efficient use of resources. Program categories included infrastructure improvements, operational improvements, and program planning, development, and evaluation.

Blue Ribbon Panel Judges included: Philip J. Caruso, Deputy Executive Director for Technical Programs, Institute of Transportation Engineers; Gregory M. Cohen, P.E., Executive Director, Roadway Safety Foundation; William A. Crank, Senior Community Relations Manager, Michelin North America; Anthony Giancola, P.E., Consultant, formerly of the National Association of County Engineers; Michael Griffith, Director, FHWA Office of Safety Technologies; Tony Kane, Consultant, formerly of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and Richard Pain, Transportation Safety Coordinator, Transportation Research Board.

Roadway safety programs are a critical part of the nation's solutions to saving lives and preventing injuries on our nation's highways. There were 32,367 people killed in traffic crashes on U.S. roads in 2011.

The Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation present the biennial National Roadway Safety Awards to programs and projects across the nation exhibiting excellence in roadway design, operations and planning. The RSF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable and educational organization solely dedicated to reducing the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes by improving the safety of America's roadways.

For additional information on RSF, please visit www.roadwaysafety.org; on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/roadwaysafetyfoundation; and on Twitter at @roadway_safety, #RoadwaySafetyAwards.

For additional information on FHWA safety programs, please visit http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov; on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/pages/Federal-Highway-Administration; and on Twitter at @USDOTFHWA, #RoadwaySafetyAwards.

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ATTENTION EDITORS – Digital photographs of the award winners at the luncheon in Washington, DC will be available. Detailed information on the award winning programs can be found at www.roadwaysafety.org.