Peer-to-Peer SUCCESS! - Local and Rural Roads Safety Peer-to-Peer Assistance

Local and Rural Roads Safety Peer-to-Peer Assistance

Peer-to-Peer SUCCESS!

HELPERS Poised for Local Safety Challenge

To enhance their local road safety program, the Indiana LTAP Center hired a HELPERS (Hazard Elimination Program for Existing Roads and Streets) Project Manager. While the Project Manager is well versed in local and rural road safety, certain aspects of the LTAP environment were new. Discussions between the Indiana FHWA Division Office, Indiana DOT and the Indiana LTAP Center led to contacting the Local and Rural Roads Safety Peer-to-Peer (LRR P2P) Program for training assistance. It was decided that the training would take the form of shadowing local and rural road safety practitioners from other State LTAP Centers.

The LRR P2P Coordinator worked with the Project Manager to identify appropriate LTAP Centers and coordinated with Iowa and Louisiana to set up visits. All necessary travel arrangements were made by the LRR P2P Coordinator who also facilitated pre-visit discussions.

The Indiana HELPERS Project Manager shadowed two Iowa LTAP Center staff over two days. To help address the challenges associated with improving safety on low-volume, low-crash roadways, Peers at the Iowa LTAP Center shared information on the following topics:

• Connecting with local agencies.
• Identifying possible high hazard areas.
• Conducting road safety audits (RSAs).
• Implementing the Safety Edge_SM.

The HELPERS Project Manager also toured the Louisiana LTAP and observed successful strategies in areas such as:

• Systematic improvements, national resources, and program development.
• Project development, relationships, and communications.
• Low-cost, data-driven methods.
• Development of a long-term strategic plan.
• Creating advisory groups to discuss ideas for the future of the HELPERS program.

Outcome

Armed with the knowledge from two LTAP site visits, the HELPERS Project Manager returned to the Indiana LTAP to share this information with her coworkers and apply it to the day-to-day activities of the Center. Plans include increased efforts to reach out to local agencies, law enforcement, and communities to educate and actively involve these organizations in local and rural road safety. Other specific actions that the Project Manager will take as a result of the visits include establishing a systemic approach to increasing roadway safety by addressing intersections and curves with standard packages of improvements, promoting use of the Safety Edge_SM to local agencies in Indiana, and keeping track of best practices for inclusion on the Indiana LTAP website.

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration

For more information on the Program, or to submit a request for assistance, visit http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/p2p/