Few government services touch the lives of nearly every person as critically as the surface transportation system. Whether it is trips to the grocery store, a walk with the dog, the drive to work, or the move of goods and services, transportation is an integral part of daily life.

This briefing focuses on safety's place within the roadway transportation system, the critical role of the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and Strategic Highway Safety Plans (SHSP), and what leaders can do to champion safety through the state's SHSP.

Leaders are critical to the success of any traffic safety effort, but nowhere can that leadership have such an immediate and lasting impact than through the SHSP. SHSPs have transformed how states identify roadway safety needs and make investment decisions by using a data-driven, collaborative approach to achieve safety gains.

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Traffic safety also contributes to overarching state goals. In Washington State it is linked to the Governor's global goal of healthy people. "Keeping people safe on the roadways is a critical component of overall health and well-being and is centric to our work."

Chris Madill, Deputy Director
Washington State Transportation
Safety Commission (WTSC)

Safety Matters

Safety is an integral part of everything a state department of transportation (DOT) does. However, HSIP provides an opportunity to explicitly target safety issues and achieve significant reductions in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. Congress has designated the HSIP a core Federal-aid program, signifying its importance.

Leadership is particularly important in traffic safety because it is a complex field that requires direction and clarity, and innovations are constant which necessitates someone with vision. Leaders also create a statewide safety culture that turns roadway safety priorities and strategies into reality.

But has transportation safety improved? Fortunately, much progress has been made. Over the past 10 years, there has been a reduction of nearly 25 percent in the number of fatalities on the Nation's roadways. (NHTSA (2014). 2013 Motor Vehicle Crashes: An Overview, DOT HS 812 101, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C., December 2014.) Still, much needs to be done to move our nation towards zero deaths and state SHSPs are charting the course.

SHSPs Have Transformed Roadway Safety

Through collaboration, SHSPs have transformed how states identify roadway safety needs and make investment decisions. The SHSP:

• Is a statewide-coordinated safety plan developed in consultation with a broad range of safety stakeholders and addresses the 4 Es of safety (engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency medical services).
• Uses data to identify a state"s key safety needs and guides investments toward strategies with the greatest potential to save lives and prevent injuries.
• Is approved by the Governor or designee and updated at least every five years, which ensures the plan is relevant to current safety challenges.

Preventing crashes and reducing fatalities and serious injuries requires the skills and knowledge of many disciplines. The success of the SHSP is about how well these groups work together to improve safety. As a leader, you can bring these various disciplines and partners together under the SHSP banner.

"The State Strategic Highway Safety Plan continues to strengthen and improve collaboration and communication with safety stakeholder agencies. Participating engineers, law enforcement officers, EMS, and prevention professionals now view each other as critical partners in keeping citizens safe. Improving traffic safety is a cooperative effort and the SHSP is a key reason why Louisiana continues to make progress on reducing traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries."

Shawn Wilson, Ph.D., Secretary,
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development

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"I became involved in the SHSP because I trusted the people who asked me. The SHSP is all about building relationships so I knew it was something worthwhile."

Tom Gianni, Chief,
Maryland Highway Safety Office

Leadership Makes a Difference

The diversity of the safety field, the importance of coordination among disciplines, and the need to advance safety among a host of competing public sector priorities all contribute to the need for strong safety leadership.

Active involvement and support of your state's SHSP is a critical step towards positively impacting safety in your state. To start, you can communicate the state's SHSP vision, goals, and objectives and support a collaborative framework that enables safety stakeholders to actively participate in the development and implementation of SHSP programs and activities.

For more information on what safety leaders can do to champion the SHSP, view the Leadership That Saves Lives flyer

For more information on SHSPs, go to Strategic Highway Safety Plan

For more information on HSIP, go to Highway Safety Improvement Program

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