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Sometimes we all need a little guidance or inspiration to get started on a new project. But where to start? On this page you’ll find helpful links for each category. Simply click on your area of interest to show links we’ve put together to help with your new project.
Because the majority of highway fatalities take place on rural roads, getting the right messaging to rural road users and practitioners is crucial to bringing safety to our roadways. Simple tools and tips can be effective in changing beliefs and behaviors, resulting in safer roadways for all. View >
FHWA’s Proven Safety Countermeasures initiative (PSCi) is a collection of countermeasures and strategies effective in reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries on our Nation’s highways. Transportation agencies are strongly encouraged to consider widespread implementation of PSCs to accelerate the achievement of local, State, and National safety goals. View >
The passing of the nation’s largest transportation spending bill means more funding to focus resources on bringing rural road fatalities to zero. The Safety Center is the premier national hub for training, resources, and technical assistance that supports rural road practitioners to reach that zero goal. View >
A local road safety plan (LRSP) provides a framework for identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing roadway safety improvements on local roads. The LRSP development process and content are tailored to local issues and needs. The process results in a prioritized list of issues, risks, actions, and improvements that can be used to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on local roads. View >
The zero deaths vision acknowledges that even one death on our transportation system is unacceptable and focuses on safe mobility for all road users. This idea was first adopted in Sweden in 1997 as “Vision Zero” and since then has spread around the world. View >
Rural roads present unique opportunities to broaden road safety enhancements. Rural modes of travel extend beyond that of common urban modes like motor vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Rural road users may also use untraditional modes of travel like snow mobiles, farming equipment, and large trucks. View >
FHWA defines a roadway departure (RwD) crash as a crash which occurs after a vehicle crosses an edge line or a center line, or otherwise leaves the traveled way. Another term our partners often use is lane departure, which is synonymous with RwD, since both include head-on collisions when a vehicle enters an opposing lane of traffic. From 2016 to 2018 an average of 19,158 fatalities resulted from roadway departures, which is 51 percent of all traffic fatalities in the United States. View >
Rural Safety Equity involves the distribution of resources in a way that brings safety to all road users. Examples of equity in transportation are road safety enhancements, education and workshops, and technical training and assistance. View >
Rural road safety is a particular concern, because the majority of highway fatalities take place on rural roads. In 2012, 19 percent of the US population lived in rural areas but rural road fatalities accounted for 54 percent of all fatalities. Even with reductions in the number of fatalities on the roadways, fatality rate in rural areas is 2.4 times higher than the fatality rate in urban areas. View >
Safety culture can be defined as the shared values, actions, and behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to safety over competing goals and demands.
Consensus among safety experts is that a safety culture exists in different forms in the transportation industry. Two forms that resonate the most with transportation organizations are an organizational safety culture and a public safety culture. View >
The last two decades have brought significant advancements in data-driven decision-making, including the development and refinement of numerous safety data and analysis tools. For many, this transition to data-driven decision-making represents a change in how they do business. View >
The Safe System approach requires a supporting safety culture that places safety first and foremost in road system investment decisions. To achieve our zero deaths vision, everyone must accept that fatalities and serious injuries are unacceptable and preventable. View >
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The National Center for Rural Road Safety provides coordinated, multidisciplinary, scalable, and accessible safety resources in order to empower rural road users to accelerate road safety improvements and save lives.
