States should describe the progress made toward achieving safety outcomes and performance targets. This includes an overview of general highway safety trends, documentation of safety performance targets, and the application of special rules.
General Highway Safety Trends
States must present and describe information showing the annual highway safety trends in the State for at least the last 5 years for the following performance measures:
- Number of fatalities;
- Number of serious injuries;
- Fatality rate per hundred million vehicle miles traveled (HMVMT);
- Serious injury rate per HMVMT; and
- Number of non-motorized fatalities and non-motorized serious injuries.
In addition, to the maximum extent possible, States should present this information by functional classification and ownership.
States can present fatality performance measure data using State-reported fatality data or data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). The State should clearly describe the data source in the HSIP report. FHWA will use the FARS data to both determine whether targets were met and set the baseline for the significant progress assessment.
States must present serious injury performance measure data consistent with the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) 4th edition definition for "suspected serious injury (A)" or use the serious injury conversion tables on FHWA's website.[2] FHWA will use the State-reported serious injury data to determine whether targets were met as well as set the baseline for the significant progress assessment. States should include a discussion on the current status of compliance with the MMUCC definition in the Compliance Assessment section of this report.
For the rate information, States must provide fatalities and serious injuries per HMVMT. Please note that FHWA will use the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data to derive the State VMT data to both determine whether targets were met and conduct the significant progress assessment.
States must present the number of non-motorized fatalities separately from the number of non-motorized serious injuries. The FHWA will use the State-reported, non-motorized serious injury data combined with the non-motorized fatalities reported in FARS to assess whether a State met its non-motorized safety target or whether its performance outcome was better than the baseline year.
States shall report the most current full calendar year of data that is available (e.g., for the 2017 reporting cycle, States should report 2016 performance measure data) [23 CFR 490.209 and 924.15(a)(1)(iii)(A)]. If the State is not able to report the most current year's performance measure data, please describe why and the State's efforts to become current.
Safety Performance Targets
States must present safety performance targets for the following calendar year for each of the five safety performance measures listed above [23 CFR 924.15(a)(1)(iii)(B)]. For example, for the 2017 reporting cycle, States will report calendar year (CY) 2018 targets for the (1) number of fatalities, (2) number of serious injuries, (3) fatality rate, (4) serious injury rate, and the (5) total number of non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries. CY2018 targets represent the 5-yr rolling average for 2014 to 2018 (as per 23 CFR 490.207(b)). Each performance measure is based on a 5-year rolling average. The targets for number of fatalities, number of serious injuries, and fatality rate must be identical to the targets submitted to NHTSA in the State's Highway Safety Plan [23 CFR 490.209(a)(1)]. States should describe their efforts to coordinate with other stakeholders (e.g., State highway safety office, metropolitan planning organizations) to establish the safety performance targets.
In addition, for each safety performance measure, State DOTs may choose to establish separate targets for any of the urbanized areas within the State and may also choose to establish a single target for all of the non-urbanized areas in the State. If the State chooses to establish these optional targets, it must also declare and describe the boundaries of each area. States can use boundaries from the decennial census or adjust them, as appropriate. If adjusted, the State should provide the boundary file as part of the HSIP report submission.
States must also describe the basis for each established target, how the established targets support SHSP goals, and, in future years, any reasons for differences between the actual outcomes and targets [(23 CFR 924.15(a)(1)(iii)(B)]. States should provide this information for each target.
Applicability of Special Rules
States should report on the applicability of the high risk rural roads and older drivers special rules described in 23 U.S.C. 148(g).
High Risk Rural Roads
The HSIP report should indicate whether or not the HRRR Special Rule applies to the State for this reporting period (based on previous determination by FHWA). If the HRRR Special Rule applies to the State, States should include in their annual HSIP report a description of the methodology used to identify HRRR projects in the Program Methodology section, documentation of the amount of HRRR funding programmed and obligated during the reporting period in the Funding section, a listing of HRRR projects obligated during the reporting period in the General Listing of Projects section, and the a description of the effectiveness of HRRR projects in the Program Evaluation section.
Older Drivers and Pedestrians
Beginning with the 2017 HSIP annual reports, States will only report fatalities and serious injuries involving older drivers and pedestrians, consistent with the most current version of the Section 148: Older Driver and Pedestrian Special Rule Guidance.[3] States should present this information for seven years, ending with the year prior to the most current full year of data [23 CFR 924.15(a)(1)(iii)(C)]. For example, for the 2017 HSIP report, States must report older driver and pedestrian performance measure data for the years 2009 through 2015.
The FHWA will use this information to calculate the older driver and pedestrian fatality and serious injury rate per capita, determine whether or not the special rule applies to each State, and notify the States no later than March of the following year. States will no longer self-report applicability of the Older Driver and Pedestrian Special Rule in their HSIP annual report.