e-Guidebook Overview

The 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (TEA 21) included safety as a priority planning factor in the transportation planning process. The legislation provides an opportunity to identify effective safety strategies and to integrate these strategies into all phases of the performance-based transportation planning processes. An explicit consideration of safety issues can be part of every phase of the transportation process from planning through design, construction, and operations. The ultimate goal is to identify, early in the transportation planning process, methods for addressing safety issues and reducing the human, economic, and environmental consequences of fatal and serious injury crashes. The purpose of this Resource Guide is to provide State Departments of Transportation (DOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Division offices, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO), and local and Tribal agencies a toolkit of strategies to integrate the safety and transportation planning processes. Also, State Highway Safety Offices (SHSO) may benefit from the information presented on the planning processes. The Guide is presented as three modules: information on safety and the safety planning process for transportation planners, the second with information on the transportation planning process for safety specialists, and the third presenting strategies and practices to integrate the safety and transportation planning processes.