Safety
The National Safety Council (NSC) reports that highway accidents are the leading cause of death among persons aged 1 to 34, and the fifth leading cause of death among all persons. It follows that safety is among the top considerations when it comes to maintaining and improving the nation’s transportation infrastructure. While the fatality rates on the nation’s highways are going down, the actual number of highway fatalities is increasing as a result of population and vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) increases. State DOTs are primarily measuring the benefits of safety improvements through the collection of crash data, through Before-and-After safety project analysis and by tracking supplemental data that is obtained in accidents such as the involvement of alcohol, controlled substances and seatbelt use. The ongoing practice of safety performance measurement has been further highlighted by the passage of SAFETEA-LU which requires statewide, performance-based safety plans that track and report results.
Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Transportation.
Maryland’s Annual Highway Fatality Performance Measures
For 30 years, accident rates on Maryland roads have declined. Maryland’s fatality rate is 26 percent lower than the 2005 national fatality rate of 1.47. (Figure 8.) Maryland DOT attributes its success to increased use of median barriers on high-speed roads, increased seat belt usage, lowered impaired driving rates, public information campaigns and improved traffic enforcement. Maryland DOT plans to use the data collected in this measure for future studies, and has set a short-term target of decreasing annual traffic fatalities to fewer than 500 people per year.
Figure 8. Annual Number and Rate of Traffic Fatalities on All Roads in Maryland
Minnesota’s Highway Fatality Performance Measures
In partnership with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, local governments, and the private sector, Minnesota’s DOT has been engaged in a sustained effort to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. They set an aggressive target to reduce annual fatalities from 655 in 2003 to 500 by 2008. The target was achieved ahead of schedule in 2006 with 494 annual fatalities, the fewest since 1945. Minnesota’s fatality rate fell to 0.99 in 2005, the fourth lowest in the nation, surpassing FHWA’s 2008 target of 1.0 fatalities per million vehicle miles traveled. (Figure 9.)
Minnesota DOT’s long-term safety plan called “Toward Zero Deaths” builds on safety performance planning and reporting with its federal and local transportation partners, as well as implementing local community coalitions to promote safer driving habits, infrastructure inventory, lower-cost safety design strategies, and faster emergency medical response.
Figure 9. Minnesota Fatalities—All State and Local Roads
Results vs. 2003 Statewide Plan Target and CHSP* Target
Florida’s Highway Fatality Performance Measures
Florida has adopted a comparative performance measure using the national fatality rate. Objectives for highway, bicyclist, pedestrian and motorcycle fatality and injury rates have been adopted. The objective for moving to within 5 percent of the national fatality rate by 2015 is a challenge in a high-growth state like Florida. (Figure 10.)
Figure 10. Fatalities per 100 Million VMT on All Public Roads in Florida
Missouri’s Safety Impacts of Guard Cable Installation
Cross-median crashes are frequently severe because vehicles often hit head-on at high speeds. The crashes are most frequent on highways with high traffic volumes and narrow medians. Median guard cable has proven to be an effective countermeasure for this crash type. Due to the installation of 179 miles of guard cable on Missouri Highways, cross-median fatalities have continued to decrease. Figure 11 shows that the investment in these median cable systems has led to a decrease in cross-median fatalities.
Figure 11. Missouri Interstate Cross-Median Fatalities, 2001–2006
Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Transportation. Guard cable helps reduce traffic fatalities during cross-median crashes.
Washington’s Target Zero Highway Safety Performance Measures
The fatality rate on Washington’s public roads has decreased 36 percent over the past 15 years (from 1.85 in 1990 to 1.17 in 2005). (Figure 12.) Washington’s long-term objective is known as Target Zero, with a goal to eliminate fatal collisions on Washington’s public roadway system by the year 2030. Target Zero incorporates four key components commonly referred to as the four “E”s: enforcement, engineering, education and emergency services.
As part of a continuing effort to determine the effect on reducing the number and severity of traffic collisions, completed projects are subject to extensive Before-and-After studies. (Table 3.) For example, 32 completed highway improvement projects that were analyzed in 2006 show a 43 percent reduction in injury and fatality accidents.
Table 3. Combined Average Collisions per Year for All of Washington State DOT’s Before-and-After Study Projects
Source: WSDOT Transportation Data Offi ce.
Figure 12. Traffic Fatality Rates in Washington Compared to the National Average
Fatalities per 100 Million VMT: 1980–2005
Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Transportation.A roadway in eastern Washington State.
