Description:
The primary objectives of this program are to:
- Reduce fatalities by identifying major road safety shortcomings.
- Promote assessment of risk as a major part of strategic decisions on route improvements.
- Forge partnerships among all participants in road safety.
Different functions of the tool include risk mapping, performance tracking, and star ratings.
- Risk mapping – Risk maps are used to document the risk of fatal and serious injury crashes and show where risk is high and low. Five color coded risk levels are used for the development of maps for crash density, crash rate, crash rate ratio, and potential crash savings. The categories include highest risk (5 percent of system), medium-high risk (10 percent of system), medium risk (20 percent of system), medium-low risk (25 percent of system), and lowest risk (40 percent of system). The maps are presented based on crash type (e.g., roadway departure crashes).
- Star ratings – Star ratings are based on inspection of roads to examine how well they protect users from crashes and from deaths and serious injuries when crashes occur. Road protection scores (RPSs) are used to derive star ratings to identify important differences in road design or management which are likely to lead to different probabilities of fatal or serious crashes and RPSs can be determined relatively quickly, with low cost. Roadway data can be used without detailed crash data to estimate star ratings.
- Performance tracking – Performance tracking compares the safety performance of highways over time and relates those changes to ongoing safety improvement programs.
Agencies responsible for road safety can use the usRAP maps to see how well their road system is performing and direct resources rationally toward systematic improvement of their road system. In addition, this tool produces a safer roads investment plan that provides preliminary recommendations of appropriate countermeasures for implementation at specific locations to improve safety.
Tool Type:
Information Source
Owner Source:
organization
Sponsor/Owner:
- AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
Published:
Availability:
The tool is available free of charge, but requires training. Additional information is available at: United States Road Assessment Program.
Disclaimer:
This information is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained herein. This information does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturer's names appear in this information only because they are considered essential to the objective of this publication.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations, and translations thereof, expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Highway Administration.