U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
FHWA's RSPCB Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Program supports and sponsors peer exchanges and workshops hosted by agencies.
Date
March 18-19, 2012
Location
Warwick, Rhode Island
Host
Rhode Island Department of Transportation
Key Participants
Rhode Island Attorney General
Rhode Island Department of Administration, Statewide Planning Program
Rhode Island Department of Health
Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles
Rhode Island Office of Highway Safety
Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association
Rhode Island State Police
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Region 1
Georgia Department of Transportation
Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety
Maine Department of Transportation
FHWA Rhode Island Division Office
FHWA Office of Safety
U.S. DOT Volpe Center
FHWA's Office of Safety sponsors P2P events.
Learn more
1. Introduction and Background
2. Preparing for Rhode Island's Peer Event
4. Key Findings and Lessons Learned
In January 2012, Rhode Island kicked off its Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) update with a leadership committee meeting where key safety stakeholders presented an overview of Rhode Island's accomplishments since initial SHSP approval in 2007. Meeting participants also discussed the SHSP update process and approaches for tracking the Plan's progress. Additionally, the leadership committee adopted the "Toward Zero Deaths" (TZD) initiative. In February 2012, Rhode Island's SHSP steering committee met to discuss next steps on the SHSP update. Committee members described data deficiencies in Rhode Island and the need to track fatalities and serious injury crashes with greater accuracy. The steering committee also agreed with the decision to adopt the TZD initiative. The next step in the SHSP update process was hosting a peer exchange.
This report summarizes the peer exchange sponsored by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) that focused on Rhode Island's SHSP update.
Rhode Island's goals for the peer exchange included learning from other States' experiences and incorporating success factors into its SHSP update. RIDOT applied to the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Roadway Safety Professional Capacity Building (RSPCB) Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Program seeking technical assistance to learn from others' experiences on the following topics:
The event focused on sharing information and best practices for addressing the issues outlined above. In selecting peers, RIDOT sought States with strong data collection and analysis capabilities, experience with aligning safety plans' goals and tracking SHSP effectiveness, as well as success in sustaining and implementing the SHSP. Peers at the event included the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Georgia's Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), and the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT).
Following the peer presentations, Rhode Island's safety stakeholders analyzed the State's current SHSP, highlighting its strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. Working in small groups they developed goals, strategies, and objectives for the emphasis areas. Stakeholders then reconvened as a large group to gain consensus on the goals, strategies, and objectives.
Rhode Island's peer event was a joint effort of RIDOT and the FHWA Rhode Island Division Office, as well as the FHWA Office of Safety. Key staff from these offices formed the planning team who spent two months preparing for the peer exchange. Their planning and preparation process included the following steps:
The purpose of the peer exchange was to continue Rhode Island's SHSP update and sustain momentum for the safety stakeholders. Workshop participants included 40 professionals representing 27 organizations and the four "E's" (see Appendix A for the complete participant list).
The peer exchange opened with welcoming remarks from RIDOT's leadership and the FHWA Rhode Island Division Office Administrator (see Appendix B for the agenda).
RIDOT's director welcomed participants to Rhode Island's SHSP Peer Exchange. He emphasized the importance of improving safety and noted RIDOT's commitment to FHWA's TZD campaign. He explained that TZD is a national strategy that focuses on developing strong leadership and champions in organizations that can directly impact highway safety through engineering, enforcement, education, EMS, policy, public health, communications, among other efforts. The director stressed that the peer exchange is an opportunity for Rhode Island to learn from other areas in the country facing similar problems in their safety programs and updating their SHSP. He encouraged a collaborative environment and discussion with stakeholders and visiting peers to strengthen Rhode Island's SHSP. At his request, all participants then introduced themselves to the group.
The FHWA Rhode Island Division Office Administrator also welcomed participants and reiterated that safety is the number one priority for FHWA. He thanked the partners and peer States for attending and for their enthusiasm for Rhode Island's safety program. He urged participants to learn from each other with respect to available resources and tools for building stakeholder relationships, overcoming data issues, and updating the SHSP.
Staff from the FHWA Rhode Island Division Office and RIDOT then presented an overview of the workshop and background information about highway safety in Rhode Island. Next, peer agencies discussed their experience and perspective on creating and implementing a successful SHSP. Following the peer presentations on day one, breakout groups assessed strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement in Rhode Island's current SHSP. Rhode Island's SHSP Coordinator then presented information on data for Rhode Island's emphasis areas including occupant protection/seatbelts, younger drivers, distracted driving, Intersections and run-off road (lane departure), impaired drivers, and speeding. Using these data, participants spent the rest of day one and the following morning on goals and strategies for implementing the updated plan and on objectives to track performance.
The Safety and Operations Engineer from the FHWA Rhode Island Division Office presented an overview of FHWA's safety program. She emphasized that the SHSP is the guiding document for achieving strategic reductions in fatal and serious injury crashes.
The SHSP Program Manager from the FHWA Office of Safety provided more detail on FHWA's safety program. The primary FHWA safety program is the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). The purpose of HSIP is to reduce the number of fatal and severe injury crashes on all public roads by correcting or improving hazardous roadway conditions or addressing a highway safety problem. HSIP includes a requirement for States to develop an SHSP, which serves as an umbrella document that addresses all highway safety priorities. She also stressed that many States, like Rhode Island, are undergoing a process to update their SHSP. She asked participants to think about how peer States' experiences could apply to Rhode Island and enhance their SHSP efforts.
RIDOT's Managing Engineer in Traffic Design and Research presented an overview of Rhode Island's concerns and issues in updating its SHSP. The Rhode Island SHSP steering and leadership committees focus on identifying opportunities for significant reductions in fatal and injury crashes. Rhode Island is aware of its challenges with respect to data collection and data management challenges. A lack of data integration and data sharing makes it difficult to process data for trend analysis. More readily accessible data would allow for tracking of performance measures and gauging the effectiveness of countermeasures.
Prior to the event, representatives from Rhode Island's SHSP steering committee compiled a list of questions related to issues that Rhode Island hoped to address in its SHSP update. The three participating peer agencies developed their presentations in response to those questions. While GDOT and GOHS worked together to develop a joint presentation, they presented separately to offer their respective agency's perspectives on Georgia's SHSP. An overview of all peer presentations follows.
GDOT
GDOT's Safety Program Manager in the Office of Traffic Operations presented an overview of Georgia's road system mileage and crash figures. A unique challenge for Georgia is that its 159 counties require coordination between many local agencies for crash data reporting. Similar to Rhode Island, about 40 percent of Georgia's fatalities occur off-system, i.e., on local or other non-State maintained roads. Georgia's fatality rate has been steadily declining and is currently around 1.0 fatality per 100 million vehicle-miles, which is on par with current national trends.
GDOT is responsible for Georgia's SHSP and HSIP. Georgia's first SHSP attempt in 2004 was unsuccessful and, as a result, GDOT created an engineering action plan for safety in 2005. Later, a safety operations manager position was created to support development of the SHSP, which was successfully unveiled in 2006.
At GDOT, crash reporting, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data, and roadway inventory data are the responsibility of the Traffic Operations Office in the Division of Operations and Permits. All Georgia law enforcement agencies must submit original crash reports to GDOT within 45 days of the crash. The Department of Motor Vehicle Services transferred responsibility for crash reporting to GDOT in 2005.
Recommendations from the discussion on Georgia's SHSP successes follow.
GOHS
The GOHS Operations Manager for SHSP explained that GOHS works closely with GDOT, but is its own agency; GOHS is responsible for Georgia's HSP. He provided an overview of the safety policies and regulatory environment of Georgia and discussed stakeholder and SHSP team involvement. He stressed that the SHSP is referred to as the "Governor's SHSP," which is an important distinction to keep State leaders closely engaged. Like Rhode Island, Georgia has adopted a TZD mission. In Georgia, the highest percentages of fatalities involve no restraint, as well as alcohol, speed, and collisions with pedestrians. GOHS and GDOT work together closely to ensure that the SHSP functions as an umbrella document for highway safety in Georgia. Additional success factors for Georgia’s SHSP include:
MaineDOT
MaineDOT's Safety Office Manager began with a presentation of Maine's safety laws and statistics. Maine does not have a mandatory motorcycle helmet law; its previous helmet law was repealed. The State has a distracted driving law that prohibits texting and cellphone use for drivers who are 18 years old and under. There is a primary seatbelt law in Maine with fines based on the number of offenses. Seat belt use is currently at 83 percent; in the mid-2000s, Maine had the third lowest seatbelt rate in the country at 59 percent as a consequence of the State's previous secondary (versus primary) seatbelt law. Maine is now on par or slightly below the national average fatality rate per 100 million vehicle-miles. About three-quarters (70 percent) of fatalities in Maine result from lane departure crashes. However, Maine is a relatively small State, which leads to variability in crash data. Keys to Maine's SHSP success include:
Question and Answer and Discussion Session for Peer States
Following the peer presentations, attendees discussed a number of concerns regarding their States' safety programs, including:
During the afternoon, breakout groups discussed the strengths and weaknesses of Rhode Island's current SHSP as well as opportunities for improvement, elements to include in the new SHSP, and the necessary resources and champions for future success. The breakout groups were designed to allow diverse stakeholders to work together and build relationships in a collaborative setting. Later in the afternoon and in the morning of the second day, groups broke into emphasis area teams to discuss goals, strategies, and action items. Summaries of findings and recommendations from the breakout groups appear below, by topic.
Strengths of Rhode Island's SHSP
The groups noted that Rhode Island's small size is helpful in bringing stakeholders together and encouraging innovations. Other strengths included the following:
Weaknesses of Rhode Island's SHSP
The groups identified a few weaknesses of Rhode Island's current SHSP, including the following:
Opportunities for Improvement
Based on peer discussions and lessons learned from peer presentations, the groups outlined several opportunities for improving the SHSP in its next iteration:
Emphasis Area Discussions
To prepare for the emphasis area discussions, RIDOT's SHSP Coordinator distributed data handouts for all emphasis areas to participants. Each sheet provided emphasis area data categorized to display trends on demographics, location, time, and contributing factors to crashes. Rhode Island's consultant for the SHSP then presented a brief overview of the strategies and goals from the last SHSP update and demonstrated the tracking dashboard developed for the benefit of the emphasis area champions. The consultant noted that all objectives from the last SHSP were met except one, a seat belt usage target of 85 percent by 2010, which was missed by a small margin. She advised the group that emphasis area champions are responsible for updating and maintaining the tool and noted that if champions are not determined for each task, the task will not be kept in the SHSP.
The groups worked on goals and strategies for each emphasis area by reviewing this information from the current SHSP. The groups' results are outlined in Appendix C. Common themes for the revised strategies include the following:
Next, the groups addressed identifying measurable objectives to track the effectiveness of strategies. Draft objectives appear below:
Emphasis Area | Draft Objectives |
---|---|
Younger Drivers |
|
Occupant Protection/Seatbelt |
|
Distracted Driving |
|
Intersections and Run-off Road (Lane Departure) |
|
Speeding |
|
Impaired |
|
Rhode Island's peer exchange concluded with participants summarizing next steps for the SHSP update including:
Rhode Island's peer exchange successfully engaged the State's primary highway safety stakeholders in continuing to update the SHSP. Participants provided critical feedback on Rhode Island's existing SHSP, developed goals, strategies, and objectives for seven emphasis areas for the SHSP update, and identified next steps and a preliminary timeline for finalizing the updated SHSP. Stakeholders also learned about successful practices in other States and how to incorporate these practices into planning for Rhode Island’s SHSP update. Finally, participants emphasized the value of learning about interagency coordination, data collection to track fatalities and serious injury crashes, data analysis to support strategies and track performance, and communicating with partners and the public.
Noteworthy practices learned from the event that Rhode Island's stakeholders will focus on included the following:
Participants and key staff involved in planning the event appreciated the opportunity to learn from peer States and facilitators. The group was enthusiastic about the opportunity to network with their peers and engaged in creating a document that will make a difference in achieving the TZD goal. Participants indicated that the peer presentations provided good information and guidance for Rhode Island's SHSP update. In particular, participants commented that they benefited from learning how other States are addressing similar data issues and challenges and recognized that improvements are possible with close coordination of partner agencies and improved communication. Peer presentations were also helpful to understand how to keep partners involved in the process and build on the resources and skills that each agency offers. One participant noted that the event "generated great ideas" and the "experience served to regenerate energy and passion" for the update process. RIDOT's Managing Engineer in Traffic Design and Research noted: "The peer exchange was a very valuable learning experience for all of us and we are all grateful for the opportunity to have participated. I would highly recommend to any other state embarking on an SHSP update to take advantage of this peer exchange program."
Peer Presenters | |
---|---|
Duane Brunell Safety Performance Analysis Manager Maine Department of Transportation Office Phone: (207) 624-3278 Email: Duane.Brunell@maine.gov |
Norm Cressman Safety Program Manager Georgia Department of Transportation Office Phone: (404) 635-8131 Email: ncressman@dot.ga.gov |
Randy Clayton Operations Manager Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety Office Phone: (404) 651-8503 Email: rclayton@gohs.ga.gov |
|
Rhode Island Event Planners | |
Steve Pristawa Chief Civil Engineer Rhode Island Department of Transportation SHSP Coordinator Office Phone: (401) 222-2694 x4207 Email: spristw@dot.ri.gov |
Robert Rocchio Managing Engineer/Traffic Design Rhode Island Department Transportation SHSP Steering Committee Office Phone: (401) 222-2694 Email: brocchio@dot.ri.gov |
Sean Raymond Senior Civil Engineer Rhode Island Department of Transportation Office Phone: (401) 222-2694 x4204 Email: sraymond@dot.ri.gov |
|
FHWA/Volpe | |
Barbara Breslin Program Development Team Leader FHWA – RI Division Office Office Phone: (401) 528-4301 Email: Bbreslin@dot.gov |
Susan Smichenko Community Planner Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Office Phone: (617) 494-3438 Email: Susan.Smichenko@dot.gov |
Kim Rudy Operations Research Analyst Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Office Phone: (617) 494-3112 Email: Kimberly.Rudy.CTR@dot.gov |
Jennifer Warren Transportation Specialist FHWA Office of Safety Office Phone: (202) 366-2157 Email: Jennifer.Warren@dot.gov |
Jacinda Russell Safety & Operations Engineer FHWA - RI Division Office Phone: (401) 528-4551 Email: jacinda.russell@dot.gov |
|
Steering Committee Members/Stakeholders/Consultants | |
Gabrielle Abbate Executive Director Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) SHSP Steering Committee Office Phone: (401) 421-0800 Email: gabbate@maddri.com |
Jamie Hainsworth Law Enforcement Liaison MADD RI Chapter Office Phone: (401) 421-0800 Email: jhainsworth@maddri.com |
James Barden Highway Safety Program Coordinator RIDOT's Office on Highway Safety Office Phone: (401) 222-3024 x4059 Email: james.barden@dot.ri.gov |
Peter Pavao Transportation/Safety Engineer Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Office Phone: (401) 272-8100 Email: ppavao@vhb.com |
Pam Beer Senior Associate Cambridge Systematics Office Phone: (240) 274-9715 Email: pbeer@camsys.com |
Paul Petsching Senior Civil Engineer Rhode Island Department of Transportation Office Phone: (401) 222-2694 x4218 Email: ppetsch@dot.ri.gov |
Todd Brayton Senior Project Manager Bryant Associates, Inc. Office Phone: (401) 722-7660 x2202 Email: tbrayton@bryant-engrs.com |
Ginna Reeder Associate Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Office Phone: (617) 234-0465 Email: vreeder@camsys.com |
Thomas Bushell Senior Civil Engineer Rhode Island Department of Transportation Office Phone: (491) 222-2694 x4209 Email: tbushell@dot.ri.gov |
Richard Silva Chief of Police West Warwick Police Department Office Phone: (401) 827-9015 Email: rsilva@westwarwickri.org |
Jeffrey Cathcart Director of Technology Transfer RI T2 Center Office Phone: (401) 368-4850 Email: jcjci@cox.net |
John Sullivan Assistant Attorney General RI Attorney General - Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP) Office Phone: (401) 274-4400 x 2375 Email: jsullivan@riag.ri.gov |
Linsey Callaghan Supervising Planner Department of Administration, Statewide Planning Program Office Phone: (401) 222-6479 Email: linsey.callaghan@doa.ri.gov |
Andy Koziol Program Coordinator Rhode Island Department of Transportation - Highway Safety Office Phone: (401) 222-3024 x4570 Email: andrew.koziol@dot.ri.gov |
Gabriel Cano Regional Program Manager National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 1 Office Phone: (617) 494-3427 Email: Gabriel.cano@dot.gov |
Francisco Lovera Civil Engineer Rhode Island Department of Transportation Office Phone: (401) 222-2694 x4205 Email: flovera@dot.ri.gov |
Michael Casey Corporal Rhode Island State Police Office Phone: (401) 444-1316 Email: 136@risp.dps.ri.gov |
Phillip Magano Project Manager Rhode Island Department of Transportation Office Phone: (401) 222-2694 x4243 Email: pmagano@dot.ri.gov |
Emilio Colantonio Director Office of Community Services Community College of Rhode Island Office Phone: (401) 825-2320 Email: ecolantonio@ccri.edu |
Christopher Maxwell President RI Trucking Association Office Phone: (401) 729-6600 Email: chris.maxwell@ritrucking.org |
Michael Desmond Vice President Bryant Associates, Inc. Office Phone: (401) 722-7660 x2205 Email: mdesmond@bryant-engrs.com |
Despina Metakos Highway Safety Program Coordinator Rhode Island Department of Transportation - OHS Office Phone: (401) 222-2694 x4096 Email: despina.metakos@dot.ri.gov |
John DiTomasso Assistant Administrator Division of Motor Vehicles Office Phone: (401) 462-5703 Email: John.DiTomasso@dmv.ri.gov |
David Raposa Director, Public Affairs AAA Southern New England Office Phone: (401) 868-2000 x2124 Email: draposa@aaasne.com |
Ted Donnelly Sr. Public Health Epidemiologist Rhode Island Department of Health Office Phone: (401) 222-5142 Email: Edward.Donnelly@health.ri.gov |
Anthony Ricci Coordinator/Rider Coach Trainer Rhode Island Rider Education Program (RIREP) Adjunct Instructor Business Department Community College of Rhode Island Office Phone: (401) 825-2090 Email: aricci@ccri.edu |
Robert Drapeau, Ph.D. University of Rhode Island Office Phone: (401) 874-2109 Email: drapeau@uri.edu |
Gregory Smolan Assistant Vice President Amica Office Phone: (800) 652-2422 x22509 Email: gsmolan@amica.com |
Paul Zienowicz Sergeant Providence Police Department Office Phone: (401) 243-6279 Email: pzienowicz@providenceri.com |
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 – Peer Exchange | |
---|---|
7:30 am | Registration/Coffee |
8:00 am | Welcoming Remarks (Michael Lewis, Rhode Island Secretary of Transportation and Peter Osborn, FHWA Rhode Island Division Administrator) |
8:15 am | Overview of FHWA's Safety Program (Jacinda Russell, FHWA RI Division Office) |
8:25 am | SHSP Status Update (Jennifer Warren, FHWA, Office of Safety) |
8:35 am | Overview of RI's SHSP/Workshop Overview and Expected Outcomes (Bob Rocchio, RIDOT) |
8:50 am | Peer Presentation: (Norm Cressman, Safety Program Manager, Office of Traffic Operations, Georgia DOT and Randy Clayton, Operations Manager, Governor's Office of Highway Safety) |
9:35 am | Break |
9:50 am | Peer Presentation: (Duane Brunell, P.E., Safety Performance Analysis Manager, MaineDOT) |
10:35 am | Peers/Rhode Island Discussion |
11:30 am | Lunch |
12:30 pm | SHSP Update – Breakout Groups
|
1:30 pm | Report Out |
2:00 pm | Break |
2:10 pm | Emphasis Area Data Presentation (Steve Pristawa, RIDOT) |
2:30 pm | Break Out Groups – Emphasis Area Action Plans
|
3:30 pm | Report Out |
4:00 pm | Wrap-Up and Adjourn |
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 | |
8:00 am | Welcome and Logistics |
8:15 am | Recap from Day 1 (Jennifer Warren, FHWA Office of Safety) |
8:30 am | Break Out Groups - Emphasis Area Action Plans (continued)
|
9:30 am | Report Out and Discussion |
10:00 am | Break |
10:15 am | Break Out Groups – Emphasis Area Action Plans for Implementation (lead agencies, performance measures, and targets) |
11:15 am | Report Out and Discussion |
12:00 pm | Lunch |
SHSP Steering Committee Meeting | |
1:00 pm | SHSP: Next Steps: From Planning to Implementation |
3:30 pm | Wrap Up and Adjourn |
Occupant Protection/Seatbelt | |
---|---|
Goals |
|
Strategies |
|
Younger Drivers | |
Goals | No changes to current goal, however some discussion of redefining the age range, currently 18-24 |
Strategies | Comfortable with current strategies overall with the following exceptions:
|
Distracted Driving | |
Goals |
|
Strategies |
|
Intersections and Run-off Road (Lane Departure) | |
Goals |
|
Strategies |
|
Speeding | |
Goals | No changes to current goal. |
Strategies |
|
Impaired | |
Goals |
|
Strategies |
|