Publication Year:
2021 Road Safety Award
From 2010 through 2018, California experienced an unacceptable trend of increases in fatalities and serious injuries on its roadways. Every year, about 3,600 individuals die on California’s roadways, an average of 10 deaths per day. To reverse this trend, state transportation leaders recognized that a bolder and more focused approach was necessary, and capitalized on the opportunity to update the state’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) and its implementation to align it with this aggressive recommitment to safety.
This important change, referred to as “The Pivot,” includes four new Guiding Principles (Integrate Equity, Implement a Safe System Approach, Double Down on What Works, and Accelerate Advanced Technology), focuses on High Priority Challenge Areas, expands the SHSP committee membership to reflect the diversity of the state and promote inclusivity, and incorporates innovative tools into the planning and implementation process. Crucially, crash statistics will be evaluated against SHSP implementation on an annual basis to ensure progress using a newly-developed Action Tracking Tool. Through this process, Caltrans incorporates proven countermeasures and leading-edge safety planning to evolve with the changing environment, and maximize statewide efforts to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries.