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FHWA Highway Safety Programs

Program Structure

The report should briefly describe the structure of the State's HSIP. At a minimum, this description should include how HSIP funds are administered in the State and a summary of the methodology used to develop the programs and projects implemented through the HSIP on all public roads.

Program Administration

The report should briefly describe the general structure of the HSIP in the State, including information such as:

  • Location of HSIP staff within agency (e.g., planning, operations);
  • HSIP structure (i.e., how HSIP projects are identified, selected, designed, implemented, and evaluated);
  • Allocation of HSIP funds (e.g., centrally managed competitive application process, by SHSP emphasis area data, by formula to districts or planning organizations);
  • Inclusion of local and tribal roads; and
  • Coordination with internal (e.g., State departments of transportation (DOTs) Bureaus, Divisions) and external (e.g., regional planning organizations, state highway safety office, local agencies) partners.

The report should also include any program administration practices that have changed since the last reporting period (e.g., new local HSIP policy, HSIP steering committee).

Program Methodology

The HSIP planning, implementation, and evaluation processes must be developed in cooperation with the FHWA Division Administrator and in consultation with other safety stakeholders, as appropriate [23 CFR 924.7(b)]. Because these processes likely will not change on an annual basis, States should submit any such HSIP processes to the Division Administrator under a separate cover from the annual HSIP report and reference these documents in the FHWA/State Stewardship and Oversight Agreement as controlling documents. The Division Administrator should maintain a copy of current program and project identification processes. The State may choose to include the HSIP process as an attachment to the annual HSIP report, as appropriate.

For the purposes of the annual HSIP report, States should provide a brief overview of each program administered under the HSIP. The HSIP Manual defines a program as a group of projects (not necessarily similar in type or location) implemented to achieve a common highway safety goal.[1] For example, some States have one program that includes all projects resulting from the HSIP planning component. Other States have multiple "sub" programs. An example of a "sub" program may be a skid treatment program designed to reduce wet-weather-related crashes at different locations. Some States also refer to "sub" programs as initiatives.

For each program administered under the State's HSIP, the State should indicate the date that the program methodology was last updated and submit a brief summary of the following key elements:

  • Justification for program (i.e., why does this program exist? e.g., to address an SHSP emphasis area or State-mandated program);
  • Funding approach (e.g., competes with all projects, set-aside);
  • Data used, including:
    • Crash (e.g., all crashes, fatal only, fatal plus serious injury, fatal plus all injuries);
    • Exposure (e.g., traffic volume, population); and
    • Roadway (e.g., geometry, pavement condition, any Fundamental Data Elements);
  • Project Identification Methodology (consistent with the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) performance measures (e.g., frequency, equivalent property damage only, critical rate, safety performance functions, Empirical Bayes));
  • Extent to which local roads are addressed as part of each program; and
  • Project prioritization process (e.g., incremental benefit cost ratio, ranking based on net benefit, processes to prioritize non-infrastructure projects).

The report should also describe the:

  • Process used to identify potential countermeasures (e.g., engineering study, road safety assessment);
  • Considerations for connected vehicles and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies in the HSIP;
  • Extent to which the State has implemented systemic improvements as part of the HSIP (e.g., proportion of spot location vs. systemic improvements), including the type of systemic improvements, if applicable; and
  • Extent to which the State is using the HSM to support the HSIP.

The report should identify any changes to the HSIP methodology practices that were introduced during the last reporting period to advance HSIP implementation efforts (e.g., HSM, road safety audits, systemic approach).