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The Road Safety Champion Program (RSCP) is a nationally-recognized “Roadway Safety 101” training series. It is made for staff in transportation, public health, and first responder agencies who have an interest in roadway safety but are not safety experts.
The RSCP includes seven core modules plus career-focused pathways. Once participants complete the seven core modules and one pathway, they are awarded a Road Safety Champion Program Certificate!
(Note: courses can be taken in any order and the certificate is not a degree or professional certification.)
Take All Seven Core Modules* + Choose One of the Four Pathways* = Your Road Safety Champion Certificate!
Are you interested in registering for an upcoming Road Safety Champion Program module?
Option 1:
Take it with us!
Option 2:
Take it with an LTAP!
Are you a Local or Tribal Technical Assistance Program Center (LTAP/TTAP) trainer or a not-for-profit organization providing professional development and want to administer all or part of the RSCP? Training materials are available.
For questions or any additional information about the Road Safety Champion Program, email the Rural Road Safety Center at info@safetycenter.org.
Introduction to Road Safety
Get an overview of safety trends and a national understanding of roadway safety. Also, discuss techniques for safety collaboration, the importance of prioritizing safety over other considerations, and how an individual can become a Road Safety Champion.
Understanding Human Factors
This course will equip human factors “non”-experts to better consider the capabilities and limitation of road users and incorporate them into policies and practices. Knowing how road users interact with their vehicle, the roadway, and other road users can also provide useful insights for decision making for construction and maintenance personnel, planners, engineers, public health professionals, and law enforcement.
Introduction to Traffic Safety Culture
Learn why growing positive traffic safety culture can significantly improve road safety in your community and nationwide. Participants will leave the training better understanding the elements that shape traffic safety culture, how those factors interact to affect human behaviors, strategies that can be implemented to improve traffic safety culture among various groups, and ideas about how participants can use their role (and the role of others) in growing a positive traffic safety culture.
Overview of the MUTCD
This module is an introduction and overview of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The MUTCD defines the standards by which traffic signs, road surface markings, and signals are designed, installed, and used on all public streets, highways, bikeways, and private roads open to public traffic. This module will explain the need for uniformity of traffic control devices and traffic signals across locations.
Intersection of Transportation with Public Health and Law Enforcement
This training will discuss the need for transportation, public health, and law enforcement agencies to work together on the road to zero and to see transportation safety from each other’s perspective. Learn the similarities and differences in their respective planning processes, discipline-specific strategies used for improving road safety, and collaborative approaches.
Reading the Roadway
Learn how to “read the road” as well as the importance of incorporating it in daily activities. The training will include real-world examples so participants can discover potential safety issues during their routine activities. It will also discuss how the road safety audit process can be used to read the road through a more formal approach.
Safety Analysis Process
This training is an overview of the safety analysis process and will discuss how it can be applied using two different but complementary methods: traditional site analysis and systemic analysis. This module will help practitioners identify the factors that contribute to crashes and some of the countermeasures used to reduce them. Case studies will be presented to demonstrate practical applications of safety analysis.
Maintaining a Safer Roadway
Learn safety solutions that maintenance crews can implement in their regular work. The course includes a hands-on case study to equip crews to identify needs for shoulder drop-offs, right-of-way obstructions, striping and signing, guardrails, mowing, sweeping, patching, drainage, winter maintenance, and others.
Work Zones
Gain an overview of roadway work zones in rural areas and the minimum standards for various types of work zones covered in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
Worker Safety
Gain an overview of potential hazards for workers and explore preventive measures for improving worker safety. Participants will learn the hierarchy of safety controls for the workplace and specific examples from roadway construction.
Traffic Incident Management*
For this requirement, please submit a certificate of completion to the National Center for Rural Road Safety through email at info@ruralsafetycenter.org. Some options for taking this course include:
Take Action Now – Maintaining Safety
This course is a deep look at maintenance safety solutions that construction and maintenance personnel can implement daily. It will focus on safety topics using three FHWA documents: Vegetation Control for Safety, A Guide for Local Highway and Street Maintenance Personnel, Maintenance of Drainage Features for Safety, A Guide for Local Street and Highway Maintenance Personnel and Maintenance of Signs and Sign Supports: A Guide for Local Roads Maintenance Personnel as the basis.
OSHA 10*
For this requirement, please submit a certificate of completion to the National Center for Rural Road Safety through email at info@ruralsafetycenter.org. Some options for taking this course include your state Department of Transportation or your Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). To find your LTAP, click here.
Flagger Certification*
For this requirement, please submit a certificate of completion to the National Center for Rural Road Safety through email at info@ruralsafetycenter.org. Some options for taking this course include your state Department of Transportation or your Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). To find your LTAP, click here.
*This course is not offered by the Center. Students must complete through other programs.
Countermeasures for Road Safety
Road safety countermeasures save lives. These countermeasures can include infrastructure, behavioral, or programmatic and policy implementations. This training will provide an overview of safety countermeasures applicable to local roads with an emphasis on low-cost practices. Discussions include Crash Modification Factors (CMFs), systemic safety analysis, and factors for evaluating and selecting countermeasures.
Work Zones
Gain an overview of roadway work zones in rural areas and the minimum standards for various types of work zones covered in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
Overview of Local Road Safety Plans
Local Road Safety Plans (LRSPs) are proven to save lives on rural roads. They offer a foundation for consensus and focus that helps communities take proactive steps to reduce and prevent severe crashes in their communities. This training will provide an overview of an LRSP, including how they support safety efforts, the steps to develop an LRSP, and the strategies for implementing an LRSP in rural communities.
Overview of Data and Tools for Safety
Data-driven approaches to traffic safety let agencies make more informed decisions and invest their limited funds more effectively. In this training, learn about the different types of data, data challenges for local agencies, and the various tools available for applying the data you have for screening your network. Discussions include the Highway Safety Manual, usRAP, Road Safety Audits, Systemic Safety Project Selection Tool, and Crash Tree Maker.
Crash Reporting
Learn the role of crash data collection and reporting in reducing severe crashes and how such reporting benefits from cross-coordination among law enforcement, engineers, planners, and public health professionals. This training also reviews challenges with crash and injury surveillance, some nuances of crash data collection and reporting, and ways crash and injury data can be used to inform the design of safety interventions.
Systemic Safety Project Selection Tool
Take a deep dive into the Systemic Safety Project Selection Tool. The tool is a process for identifying the factors that can contribute to crashes and implementing effective countermeasures. The training will also cover the seven steps of the safety analysis process and discuss how it can be applied using both the traditional site safety analysis method and the systemic analysis method.
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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.
