Utah Department of Transportation Uses Safety Data Processes and Governance Practices

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | Utah Department of Transportation Safety Data Processes and Governance Practices | FHWA-SA-15-060

Background

The purpose of this case study is to highlight innovative data management strategies at Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) that support the use of technology to benefit safety programs. In addition to highlighting forward-thinking strategies for safety data management, data analysis, and reporting, the case study documents the need for a formal data business plan and data governance. Exploring data management practices and the use of innovative tools within UDOT provides safety data management examples of:

• The importance and usefulness of a robust and well-managed data collection program.
• Providing access to integrated data for a variety of purposes.
• How to use integrated data to develop advanced safety analysis capabilities and at the same time support tools for planning, performance measures, and target-setting processes.
• The importance of collaboration and sharing current data strategies and challenges with data stakeholders.

Read the Case Study Utah Department of Transportation Safety Data Processes and Governance Practices for more detailed information.

New Hampshire Department of Transportation Uses Safety Data Systems and Processes to Improve Traffic Safety

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | New Hampshire Department of Transportation Safety Data Systems and Processes | FHWA-SA-15-058

Background

The purpose of this case study is to highlight noteworthy practices of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) in leveraging technology to enhance safety data management—in particular, NHDOT’s use of an integrated Linear Referencing System (LRS) and use of information technology (IT) tools to analyze safety data (e.g., AASHTOWare Safety Analyst™, American Association of State and Highway Officials (AASHTO) Highway Safety Manual (HSM), and Graphical Information Systems (GIS) tools). New Hampshire’s use of technology improves management of safety data systems by providing mechanisms for:

• Electronic data collection, thereby reducing data errors at the point of collection;
• Integration of data from different systems, using GIS and a consolidated LRS;
• Access to multiple types of safety data through a single portal that extracts and displays crash, traffic, and road inventory data; and
• Analysis of data for identification of high crash “hot spots,” or locations with potential for safety improvement, using safety performance functions to estimate expected crash frequency of all sites across the road network.

Read the Case Study New Hampshire Department of Transportation Safety Data Systems and Processes for more detailed information.

Michigan Department of Transportation Uses Safety Data Processes

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | Michigan Department of Transportation Safety Data Processes and Governance Practices | FHWA-SA-15-059

Background

The purpose of this case study is to summarize how the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) incorporates a data governance structure into their standard business operations and how it has helped them to improve their safety data systems and processes. “Data governance can be defined as the execution and enforcement of authority over the management of data assets and the performance of data functions” (NCHRP Report 666, 2010) and is an integral component used to facilitate management of data systems as part of an agency’s data business plan.

In the case of MDOT, a set of data governance practices provides the foundation needed to develop a comprehensive Data Business Plan, to support MDOT’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan Highway Safety Improvement Program, and improve information systems that manage data needed for safety analysis, planning, and decision-making.

Read the Case Study Michigan Department of Transportation Safety Data Processes and Governance Practices for more detailed information.

New Hampshire Develops Intersection Inventory to Improve Road Safety

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | New Hampshire’s Intersection Inventory | FHWA-SA-15-087

Background

One of the major challenges transportation agencies face when trying to address intersection safety is not having a sufficient intersection inventory that provides location, operations, or geometrics of the intersections. In 2010, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released the Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE), which is a recommended list of roadway and traffic volume data elements important to safety management and analysis. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) was one of two States selected by FHWA to participate as a Lead Agency in the MIRE Management Information System (MIS) effort. FHWA conducted the MIRE MIS Lead Agency Program pilot project to test the feasibility of collecting, storing, and integrating MIRE data into an MIS and then linking roadway inventory data with crash and other relevant data for safety analyses.

NHDOT chose to focus their data collection effort on the acquisition of additional intersection elements to expand its use of AASHTOWare Safety Analyst™ primarily to support network screening analyses. After NHDOT completed data collection and integrated the data into the system, they now use the inventory for evaluating roadway safety countermeasures and for performing economic analysis. The intersection inventory supports better safety analysis using data specific to New Hampshire’s roadway network instead of default values or national averages. New Hampshire has benefitted from the state-specific data by targeting their spending by comparing sites and prioritizing locations with greater potential for improvement.

Read the Case Study New Hampshire’s Intersection Inventory for more detailed information.

Iowa Uses Real-Time Data Integration of Snowplow Information and Roadway Safety

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | Iowa’s Real-Time Data Integration of Snowplow Information and Roadway Safety | FHWA-SA-16-030

Background

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) deploys about 900 snowplows each winter to plow 9,479 centerline miles of road and 25,215 lane miles of roadway. The Iowa DOT continuously seeks ways to improve winter operations and provide information to the traveling public. A current effort involves the Iowa DOT deploying the Plow Cam Project—a statewide real-time integration system. The project, started in winter 2013-2014, involves collecting up-to-date photos that create a database of road conditions.

To gather this information, the Iowa DOT used its existing communications infrastructure and the snowplows deployed on a regular basis in the winter. The process also required an iPhone (with camera and GPS), an Iowa DOT-developed app, phone charger, cigarette lighter socket and fuse, and a suction cup phone mount. The iPhone is mounted inside the front windshield of the snowplow; once activated, it automatically takes photos and accumulates data.

The information collected from the snowplow cameras is available for internal and public use. The public accesses the information through its Track A Plow web site, which provides snowplow locations, as well as up-to-date Plow Cam photos.

Read the Case Study Iowa’s Real-Time Data Integration of Snowplow Information and Roadway Safety for more detailed information.

Colorado Uses GIS to Implement Level of Service of Safety

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | Colorado’s Implementation of Level of Service of Safety: Strategies For Using GIS to Advance Highway Safety | FHWA-SA-16-027

Background

Design engineers at the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) developed the LOSS method as an alternative to using crash rates for evaluating safety. The LOSS method compares a roadway segment’s observed crash frequency and severity to the crash frequencies and severities predicted by Safety Performance Functions (SPFs). Relying on crash rates alone to identify safety deficiencies is problematic because crash rates imply a linear relationship between exposure and safety. However, the number of crashes fluctuates based on traffic volume.

Transportation agencies that model crash frequency and severity based on annual average daily traffic (AADT) develop SPFs for public roadways, including segments and intersections. They stratify SPFs by the number of lanes, number of legs, traffic control, terrain, environment, and functional classification. Once transportation engineers and planners develop the SPFs, they can employ the LOSS method. While it is possible to segment roadway data in tabular form, using a Geographic Information System (GIS) greatly facilitates segmentation of these roadways. More specifically, GIS enables analysts to spatially link data describing roadway geometry with crash data. For intersections, it is necessary for analysts to use some special context to link intersecting roadways, as a tabular dataset cannot use GIS to link intersecting roads.

Read the Case Study Colorado’s Implementation of Level of Service of Safety: Strategies For Using GIS to Advance Highway Safety for more detailed information.

Tennessee Develops Horizontal Curve Database

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | Tennessee’s Horizontal Curve Database | FHWA-SA-16-048

Background

In 2012, The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) accomplished its initial data collection for its entire roadway network, which includes all interstates, state highways, arterials, collectors, and local roads. With these data, TDOT created a horizontal curve database with approximately 40,000 miles of roadways with curves, which is housed in the Tennessee Roadway Information Management System (TRIMS)—a client-server application that allows TDOT to capture, maintain, and view critical roadway data. TDOT uses the horizontal curve database to provide quick, data-derived answers to public concerns, make data-driven decisions, quantify potential benefits from both systemic and spot improvements, and compare curves with similar characteristics to help prioritize projects.

Read the Case Study Tennessee’s Horizontal Curve Database for more detailed information.

Utah and Kentucky Make Innovative Use of GIS-Based Tools

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | Utah’s and Kentucky’s Innovative Use of GIS-Based Tools | FHWA-SA-16-028

Background

The United States Road Assessment Program (usRAP) is a tool transportation agencies can use to rate their roadways for safety and identify strategies for systematic improvement. UPlan is an interactive mapping platform that helps the Utah DOT (UDOT) visualize its data, track its assets, and strengthen its transportation planning through “better analysis and collaborative information.” UPlan’s Zero Fatalities safety component presents UDOT’s Safety and Crash Analysis, which is predicated on the mapping and road-rating tools first developed by usRAP. usRAP and UPlan safety components both employ similar general processes and have the same objective: to increase safety by understanding and mitigating crash risks and roadside hazards.

At the core of usRAP is a focus on risk assessment to identify practical solutions to roadway safety problems. usRAP uses crash and roadway data to map relative road risk using a number of standardized protocols. A roadway network is systematically divided into segments for data analysis and presentation of results. Attributes of each segment are used to quantify fatal and serious injury crash risk. Color-coded risk maps summarize the findings.

UDOT developed UPlan as part of an AASHTO Innovation Initiative. According to AASHTO:

UPlan is a powerful, yet easy-to-use web-based decision-support mapping and informational tool for completing complex planning and project development tasks. It allows complete or selective data sharing among various work units within the state DOT. It also allows selective data sharing between state DOTs and with the public.
– AASHTO Innovation Initiative (AASHTO 2016)

UPlan is a comprehensive infrastructure-management system that relies extensively on geospatial data. DOTs can use these available data to make safety, pavement, and roadway asset management decisions. In Utah, UPlan uses data-collection methods, such as LiDAR, digital imaging, workstation, and ArcGIS records to cover 5,845 centerline miles and 310 miles of ramps and collectors on State-maintained roads. Several government entities jointly performed the data collection, and each agency can use its products.

Read the Case Study Utah’s and Kentucky’s Innovative Use of GIS-Based Tools for more detailed information.

Arizona Imports Local and Tribal Data for Safety Analysis

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | Arizona Importing Local and Tribal Data for Safety Analysis | FHWA-SA-16-061

Background

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety completed a pilot project that allows the State to acquire roadway data elements from local and Tribal agencies and load the data into the Arizona Transportation Information System (ATIS) database. ADOT created a new process that allowed business users to import the data from local agencies, export combined State and local/tribal data, and load data into AASHTOWare Safety Analyst™ for analysis. ADOT used contractor support to establish data integration procedures for crash, roadway, and traffic volume data for both roadway segments and intersections. The results from the pilot created processes for the data submissions to ADOT, data integration in ATIS, the process for bringing data into AASHTOWare Safety Analyst™, and quality control checks prior to analysis.

Read the Case Study Arizona Importing Local and Tribal Data for Safety Analysis for more detailed information.

North Carolina Creates State-Specific CMFs

Summary from: Roadway Safety Data Program | North Carolina’s State-Specific CMFs | FHWA-SA-16-107

Background

North Carolina is one of a small number of States that have actively pursued developing their own crash modification factor (CMF) “short list” for countermeasures that are deployed throughout the State. It is important that all safety units across North Carolina use the same CMF value for a particular countermeasure in their benefit-cost analyses so that each safety unit has a level playing field when competing for safety dollars.

North Carolina’s Department of Transportation (NCDOT) wanted to develop a list of CMFs to use in benefit-cost analyses across the State. To develop the CMF list, NCDOT first reviewed studies found online. Later, they reviewed the available CMFs in the CMF Clearinghouse. The primary benefit that NCDOT has realized from conducting evaluations of countermeasures that previously had subjective CMF values is that the agency does not continue to implement countermeasures that have little to no quantifiable crash benefit. This is especially helpful with project selection processes and makes better use of safety dollars.

Read the Case Study North Carolina’s State-Specific CMFs for more detailed information.