The Transportation Planner

1

• The Transportation Planners Safety Desk
  Reference and the TSPWG
• __________________________________
• Megan Zadecky
• Transportation Director
• National Association of Regional Councils

2
Overview

• Safety facts
• Background
• TSPWG
• Transportation Planners Safety Desk Reference
• TSPWG Resources

3
Safety on an Average Day

• 117 fatalities
• 30 of daily fatalities (35) are under the age of
  25
• Daily financial loss is 630 million

4
Addressing the Problem

• Engineering
• Education
• Enforcement
• Partnership Activities

5
Partnership Activities

• Key to success
• Federal, state and local governments
• Local business communities
• Citizens
• Schools
• Others

6
FHWA Partnership Activities

• SHSP
• National Work-Zone Safety Information
  Clearinghouse
• Stop Red Light Running
• Transportation Safety Planning Working Group
  (TSPWG)

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TSPWG

• Promote safety in the transportation planning
  process
• Informal, ad-hoc partnership
• US DOT agencies
• Nonprofit and association groups representing
  planning, engineering, and state DOTs.

8
TSPWG cont.

• May 2000
• Integrating safety into long range transportation
  planning
• Advocacy for SHSPs
• Meets every 2-3 months
• Develop ideas, information exchange, review and
  outreach

9
Transportation Planners Safety Desk Reference

• Initiated by TSPWG
• Sponsored by FHWA
• Targeted toward transportation planners
• Companion to AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan

10
Contents of the Desk Reference

• Overview of transportation safety
• Roles of planners to advance safety
• Incorporates safety into planning process
• Resources to fund safety programs
• Safety strategies

11
Safety Planning Overview

• Multi-disciplinary effort
• SHSP problems and solutions
• 4Es
• Engineering
• EMS
• Education
• Enforcement

12
Planners Role

• Multidisciplinary professionals
• Data collection and Analysis
• GIS
• Conveners
• Partnerships

13
How do Transportation Planners Improve Safety
Planning?

• Advocate make it a priority
• Develop a vision
• Comprehensive approach
• Performance measures
• Collaborate with safety community
• Improve data and analytical tools

14
How do Transportation Planners Improve Safety
Planning?

• Address policies
• Integrate safety into plans and programs
• Focus on investments that address safety
• Use the States SHSP
• Monitor safety
• Analyze effectiveness

15
Incorporating Safety into the Planning Process

• State DOTs, COGs and MPOs
• Identify problem
• SHSP get involved and use
• Develop countermeasures
• Include safety as a planning factor early in the
  process
• Safety goals, objectives and performance measures
  

16
Funding Safety Projects

• Many Resources
• Designated solely for safety
• Flexible
• 12 specific sources

17
Highway Safety Improvement Program

• New core federal-aid funding program in FY 06
• Reduction in traffic fatalities and serious
  injuries on public roads
• SHSP October 1, 2007

18
High-risk Rural Roads Program

• Component of HSIP
• Safety on high-risk rural roads
• Construction and operational improvements

19
Surface Transportation Program

• Flexible funding
• States and local projects on any federal-aid
  highway
• National highway system
• Bridge projects
• Federal share 80

20
Safe Routes to Schools

• Encouraging walking and biking to school
• Facilitate planning for safe routes for students
• State apportioned funds for projects, not less
  than 1 million

21
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality

• Air quality nonattainment and maintenance areas
  for ozone, carbon monoxide and particulate matter
• Reducing transportation-related emissions
• Federal share 80

22
SAFETEA-LU Section 402 State and Community
Highway Safety Grants

• Highway safety behavior programs
• Alcohol countermeasures
• Occupant protection
• Police traffic services
• EMS
• Traffic records
• Motorcycle, pedestrian and bicycle safety
• Non-construction aspects of roadway safety
• speed
• 40 to be spent by local governments to benefit
  local governments

23
SAFETEA-LU Section 405 Occupant Protection

• Incentive grants to states
• Adopt and implement programs to reduce deaths and
  injuries resulting from unrestrained passengers

24
SAFETEA-LU Section 406 Safety Belt Performance

• Incentive program for states
• Enact and enforce primary safety belt laws
• At least 1 million to be sued for behavior
  safety activities

25
SAFETEA-LU Section 408 State Traffic Safety

• Incentive program for states
• Improving state data
• Identify program priorities
• Evaluation
• Linking systems
• Enhance compatibility

26
SAFETEA-LU Section 410 State Safety Grant Programs

• Incentives to states
• Reduce safety traffic problems resulting from
  impaired driving

27
SAFETEA-LU Section 2010 Motorcyclist Safety

• Grants to states
• Programs to reduce the number of motorcycle
  accidents
• Motorcycle training and motorist awareness
  programs

28
CFR Title 49 part 350 Commercial Motor Carrier
Safety Assistance Program

• Grants to states
• Reduce the accidents involving commercial motor
  vehicles and hazardous materials
• Consistent, uniform and effective CMV safety
  programs

29
Safety Emphasis Areas

• Issues to focus on
• 17 areas listed
• Problem identified
• Data relating to the problem
• Potential solutions and objectives
• Strategies for achieving objectives
• Best practices
• Resources

30
Older Persons Safe Mobility

• Plan for an aging population
• Improvements to better accommodate older drivers
  special needs
• BMPs
• Model Driver Screening and Evaluation
• AAA education and training materials

31
Pedestrian Collisions

• Reduce pedestrian exposure to traffic
• Improve sight distance and visibility for drivers
  and pedestrians
• Reduce sped of motor vehicles
• Improve pedestrian and motorist safety awareness
  and behavior

32
Pedestrian Collisions

• BMPs
• City of Edgewood, Washington guidance on crossing
  islands
• City of Los Altos Neighborhood Traffic Management
  Program
• ITE website on traffic calming measures
• Project for Public Spaces Traffic Calming 101

33
Aggressive Driving

• Deter by specific populations
• History of such behavior
• Specific locations
• Improve driving environment to eliminate or
  minimize triggers of aggressive driving
• BMPs
• Washington state Patrol Aggressive Driver
  Apprehension Team
• North Central Texas Council of Governments
  Freeway Incident Management Course

34
Unlicensed Drivers

• Eliminate the need to drive
• Apply special enforcement practices
• Restrict mobility through license plate
  modification
• BMPs
• Aspen Colorados Tipsy Taxi Program

35
Signalized Intersections

• Traffic control and operational improvements
• Geometric improvements
• Improve sight distance and driver awareness
• Improve driver compliance with traffic control
  devices
• Improve access management near signalized
  intersections

36
Unsignalized Intersections

• Improve access management
• Geometric design improvements
• Improve sight distance
• Improve availability gaps in traffic
• Assist drivers in judging gap sizes
• Improve driver awareness
• Appropriate intersection traffic control

37
Unsignalized Intersections

• Improve driver compliance with traffic control
  devices and traffic laws
• Reduce operating speeds on specific intersection
  approaches
• Guide motorists more effectively through complex
  intersections
• BMPs
• Minnesota DOT Access Management Guidelines

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Run-Off-Road Collisions

• Keep vehicles from encroaching the roadside
• Minimize the likelihood of crashing if vehicle
  travels beyond the shoulder
• Reduce the severity of the crash
• BMPs
• Summary of survey results of State DOTs on Tree
  Crash Reduction Programs
• Iowa DOT office of design, Design Manual

39
Head-On Collisions

• Keep vehicles from encroaching into opposite lane
• Minimize likelihood of crashing into oncoming
  vehicles

40
Horizontal Curves

• Reduce likelihood of vehicle crossing centerline
  or leaving the roadway at a horizontal curve
• Minimize adverse consequences of leaving the
  roadway at a horizontal curve
• BMPs
• FHWA listing of state rumble strips contacts

41
Tree Collisions

• Prevent growth in hazardous locations
• Eliminate hazardous conditions
• Reduce severity of the crash
• BMPs
• Caltrans Maintenance Manual, Vegetation Control
  Plan, Chapter C2

42
Utility Pole Collisions

• Treat poles in high-crash and high-risk areas
• Prevent placement in high-risk locations
• Treat several poles along corridor to minimize
  off road crashing
• BMPs
• Washington state DOT policy on utility placement
• Examples of Utility Companies Roadside Safety
  Policies

43
Occupant Protection

• Programs to maximize use of occupant restraints
• Ensure that restraints are properly used
• Provide access to appropriate information for
  programs
• BMPs
• Summary of the State of CA carseal law
• Hoffman Estates, IL ordinance permitting local
  primary enforcement of safety belt use
• AAA
• Buckle Up America

44
Heavy Truck Collisions

• Reduce fatigue-related crashes
• Strengthen commercial drivers license program
• Increase knowledge about road sharing
• Improve maintenance of heavy trucks
• Identify unsafe roadway infrastructure and
  operational characteristics
• Improve truck safety data
• Promote industry safety initiatives

45
Heavy Truck Collisions

• BMPs
• Maryland preventative maintenance program for
  trucks
• Iowa TraCS, traffic and criminal software
• Tennessee Department of Safety Alternative
  Commercial Enforcement Strategies
• Michigan Center for Truck Safety
• FMCSA Safety if Good Business Program

46
Work Zone Collisions

• Reduce number, duration and impacts
• Improve traffic control devices
• Improve design practices
• Improve driver compliance with traffic controls
• Increase knowledge and awareness
• Develop procedures for effective management

47
Work Zone Collisions

• BMPs
• Virginia DOTs Work Area Protection Manual
• Work Area Protection Guide, Illinois DOT
• Illinois Bureau of Design and Environment Manual
• Washington State Dots Design Manual

48
Drowsy / Distracted Driving

• Make roadways safer
• Provide safe stopping and resting areas
• Increase awareness of the risks of drowsy and
  distracted driving
• Programs targeting at-risk population
• BMPs
• Utah Sleep Smart Drive Smart
• New Jerseys Maggies Law
• Cingular Wireless program

49
Rural Emergency Medical Services

• Integrate services to enhance EM capabilities
• Provide/improve management and decision tools
• Provide better education opportunities for rural
  EMS
• Resources

50
Alcohol-Involved Collisions

• Enforce DWI laws
• Prosecute and Impose Sanctions on DWI offenders

51
Where can I get the Desk Reference?

• Online
• PDF copy
• http//tsp.trb.org/assets/FR_Safety20Planner_1_17
  _07FINAL.pdf

52
Other Tools TSPWG website

• http//tsp.trb.org/default.asp
• Comprehensive
• One-stop
• Interactive
• Targets a broad range of interests

53
Research and Publications

• Recent topics in transportation safety planning
• General reports
• Presentations
• Forum reports
• Circulars

54
Q A Forum

• Interactive
• Post questions
• Archived information
• Broad range of topics

55
Noteworthy Practices

• Safety success stories
• Snapshots
• Easy to ready
• Resources

56
Newsletter

• Quarterly publication (January, April, July and
  October)
• Most up-to-date news
• Tools of the trade
• News from the field
• Research updates
• Noteworthy practices
• Champions corner

57
Member Organizations

• NARC
• Other local and state transportation engineering
  and planning organizations
• Link to all sites
• Access to information from each sector

58

• Megan Zadecky
• Transportation Director
• National Association of Regional Councils
• 202.986.1032
• megan_at_narc.org