Safety is an integral part of everything a state department of transportation (DOT) does, but the HSIP provides an opportunity to explicitly target safety issues and achieve significant reductions in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads.

Leaders can make such a positive difference for safety and the proof is evident in the states where leaders are active participants in the state's SHSP.

Active involvement in the SHSP is also beneficial because it:

• Reinforces that safety is a critical component of overall health and well-being.
• Offers opportunities for visibility with an issue everyone understands.
• Provides an opportunity for leaders to communicate the importance of adopting safe driving behaviors and everyone's role in reducing injuries and fatalities.

SHSPs are a central requirement of HSIP and have transformed how states identify roadway safety needs and make investment decisions. These plans:

• Provide a comprehensive framework for reducing highway fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads.
• Use crash and other safety data analyses to identify a state's key safety needs and guide investments toward strategies with the greatest potential to save lives and prevent injuries.
• Are developed in consultation with a broad range of safety stakeholders.
• Address the 4 Es (engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency medical services) of safety through a multidisciplinary approach.
• Consider other state highway safety plans and processes.

Leadership can get involved with the SHSP by:

• Communicating the state's SHSP vision, goals, and objectives.
• Bringing key stakeholders together under the SHSP banner.
• Supporting a collaborative framework that enables safety stakeholders to actively participate in the development and implementation of SHSP programs and activities.
• Eliminating barriers and overcoming institutional boundaries within and between agencies.
• Maximizing revenue, personnel, and technical resources available for SHSP and safety initiatives.