Original publication: 2013 National Roadway Safety Awards Noteworthy Practices Guide Publication FHWA-SA-14-002; 2013

Description of Practice

In 2012, the Genesee County Road Commission (GCRC) in Flint, Michigan, signed an agreement for a U.S. Road Assessment Program (usRAP) Safety Improvement evaluation of the county road system. Initiated in 2004 as a pilot by the AAA Foundation, the usRAP program was designed to assess and benchmark the relative safety of roads using historical crash data and roadway inventory data. The program includes a Road Protection Score (RPS), which can identify road segments with higher crash potential through analyses of road inventory data relative to design features that are strongly correlated with the risk of serious crashes.

GCRC developed the safety improvement plan based on a comprehensive review of the existing physical infrastructure of the county road system. Project staff obtained and assembled data on over 40 existing safety-related infrastructure elements for more than 8,600 300-ft roadway segments. The project database was uploaded to the usRAP Tools software and processed to develop a safety improvement plan.

Key Accomplishments and Results

Assessing and benchmarking the relative safety of roads using historical crash data and roadway inventory data. The development of the plan was completed in early 2013 and is now proceeding to the programming and implementation stage.

Contact

John H. Daly III, Ph.D.
Genesee County Road Commission
810-767-4920
jdaly@gcrc.org