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FHWA Highway Safety Programs

Resources

Relevant Links

Outreach Materials

Reports and Toolkits

  • NEW Organizational Safety Culture Self-Assessment Toolkit was developed for transportation agencies to determine their level (i.e., degree of capability or readiness) of organizational road safety culture and identify opportunities for improvements.   

  • NEW Safe System Alignment Frameworks allow practitioners to quantify alignment of projects and policies with Safe System principles and elements. 
  • NEW Vision Zero Toolkit provides communities, organizations, and advocates with tools and resources to advance Vision Zero. Each section includes a variety of available resources, as well as notable practices from Vision Zero communities.
  • NEW Safe System Roadway Design Hierarchy is a tool that characterizes engineering and infrastructure-based countermeasures and strategies relative to their alignment with the Safe System Approach (SSA), toward the goal of eliminating traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries. The purpose of the hierarchy is to help transportation agencies and practitioners identify and prioritize countermeasures and strategies when developing transportation projects. 
  • Safe System Approach for the Urban Core Informational Report outlines how practitioners can apply the principles, elements, and framework of the Safe System Approach in policy, program, and project decision-making processes across the entire system through proven safety approaches for urban areas. The report also includes 10 case studies of noteworthy practices that are relevant to implementing the Safe System Approach in the urban core. These case studies provide practical examples of how some of the key concepts covered in the report have already been implemented and the benefits have been realized. 
  • Safe System Approach for Speed Management helps practitioners understand the impacts of speed on traffic safety and explore the link between speed management and the Safe System Approach by introducing a five-stage Safe System Approach for Speed Management framework. Case studies and examples are interspersed throughout the report and in the appendix, demonstrating how agencies have been able to overcome institutional barriers and rally behind Safe System Approach principles to enact speed management programs with proven, measurable reductions in operating speeds and crashes.
  • Safe System Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for the advancement of the Safe System Approach in the U.S. It describes the Safe System Approach, discusses the process involved in building the plan, outlines how to advance a Safe System mindset, and describes steps necessary to implement Safe System practices within the transportation community in the U.S. This plan focuses on the role of road system owners and operators in applying the Safe System Approach to design, build, and operate safer roads. This plan aims to educate transportation professionals on the effectiveness of the Safe System Approach while also offering guidance on how to prioritize safety in the U.S. as a means to achieving zero traffic fatalities.
  • Safe System-based Framework and Analytical Methodology for Assessing Intersections Final Report provides a basis to assess intersection alternatives according to SSA principles, using a kinetic energy management approach. The report and tech brief are in the “Technical Materials and Research” section.
  • Primer on Safe System Approach for Pedestrians and Bicyclists provides transportation agencies a base understanding of the Safe System approach and how it relates to bicycle and pedestrian safety. The document is in the “Resources” section.
  • Lessons Learned from Development of Vision Zero Action Plans – This report summarizes the Vision Zero plan development processes of two communities – Daly City, CA and Macon-Bibb County, GA. It draws from their experiences and summarizes the common elements and principles applied, including those of the Vision Zero and Safe System Approaches. The report also includes a section on opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned.
  • Integrating the Safe System Approach with the Highway Safety Improvement Program report presents areas of alignment between the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and the Safe System Approach; as well as opportunities, noteworthy practices, and next steps for safety stakeholders to advance implementation of the Safe System approach through HSIP.
  • State and Local Alignment Toward Zero Traffic Deaths: To promote effective partnerships as a way to advance zero deaths efforts, the FHWA sponsored several State-based workshops where stakeholders discussed their safety priorities and strategies to achieve their shared goal of zero traffic deaths.
  • Vision Zero City Overviews
  • Transportation Safety Planning and the Zero Deaths Vision: A Guide for Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Local Communities provides references to key information for Metropolitan Planning Organizations and local communities to understand and use the safety planning process to work toward the zero deaths vision.

Case Studies and Success Stories

Notable practices from States and Vision Zero communities:

Other Materials and Efforts