U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
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Prior to this first edition of the HSM, there were no widely accepted tools for engineers to use to quantify the potential for reductions in crash frequency and severity when making transportation facility design and operations decisions. As a result, safety considerations often carried little weight in the project development process, limiting the ability of transportation professionals to discuss and act upon safety-related recommendations during project development. An effective resource was urgently needed to quantify and predict the expected crash frequency of elements considered in road planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance.
The HSM begins to fill this gap, providing transportation professionals with knowledge, techniques, and methodologies to quantify the safety-related effects of transportation decisions – similar to the way operational impacts are quantified in the Highway Capacity Manual and environmental impacts are calculated through the NEPA process. The HSM provides the best factual information and tools in a useful form to facilitate roadway decisions based on the explicit consideration of their effects on potential future crash frequency and severity.
Benefits include an improved decision-making process for applying safety treatments, resulting in potential cost savings to highway agencies. Time spent justifying a safety decision can be reduced by conducting a definitive, science-based analysis; and safety elements can be integrated in the most cost-effective manner in the project development process. In the end, the HSM provides tools to support improved traffic safety management and a reduction in the frequency and severity of traffic crashes.
Identify needs and program projects
HSM Application - Part B
Identify alternatives and choose the preferred solution
HSM Application - Part B
Develop design plans and build projects
HSM Application - Part C
Modify existing conditions to maintain and improve safe and efficient operation
HSM Application - Part B and C
Part A - Introduction, Human Factors, and Fundamentals
Chapter 1 – Introduction and Overview
Chapter 2 – Human Factors
Chapter 3 - Fundamentals
Part B - Roadway Safety Management Process
Chapter 4 – Network Screening
Chapter 5 – Diagnosis
Chapter 6 – Select Countermeasures
Chapter 7 – Economic Appraisal
Chapter 8 – Prioritize Projects
Chapter 9 – Safety Effectiveness Evaluation
Part C - Predictive Method
Chapter 10 – Rural Two-Lane Roads
Chapter 11 – Rural Multilane Highways
Chapter 12 – Urban and Suburban Arterials
Chapter 18 & Chapter 19 – Freeways
Part D - Crash Modifi cation Factors
Chapter 13 – Roadway Segments
Chapter 14 – Intersections
Chapter 15 – Interchanges
Chapter 16 – Special Facilities
Chapter 17 – Road Networks
For more information, visit the Highway Safety Manual website at www.highwaysafetymanual.org