Put Your Speed Management Plan into Action

You did it! You recognized that speeding is a significant safety problem in your jurisdiction, and you put a lot of time and effort into developing a Speed Management Action Plan that holds great promise for reducing speeding-related crashes and fatalities. So… what's next? Figuring out how to implement a speed management plan can be daunting, so FHWA has developed a set of steps that agency staff can adopt and tailor to get the ball rolling—but not speeding! Agencies can use these proven methods to jump start plan implementation and achieve success in reducing speed-related crashes.

1. INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS

In order for the plan to be successful, support and buy-in is needed from every area of transportation: engineering (Federal, State, local, and MPO), enforcement, education, and emergency medical services (EMS). Notify and engage stakeholders who were instrumental in developing the plan and identify gaps in support. Potential stakeholders may include:

• Behavioral and infrastructure funding source representatives
• Judicial representatives
• Emergency medical service providers
• Educators
• Planners
• Outreach specialists
• Governor's Highway Safety Office representatives
• NHTSA Regional Office representatives
• Local/MPO/State DOT representatives
• Police/enforcement representatives
• FHWA Division Safety Engineers
• Agency Traffic Operations Engineers
• Agency Safety Engineers
• Agency Pedestrian/Bicycle Coordinators
• Agency Pavement Design Engineers
• Agency Maintenance Engineers

2. MARKET THE PLAN

Stakeholders may come from unexpected areas of transportation. Broadly distributing the plan is vital to gathering a diverse set of stakeholders eager to work together and implement the plan. An agency's communication and outreach techniques will depend on the agency's structure and goals; however, techniques that have proven successful include:

• Stakeholder workshops
• Stakeholder webinars
• Breakout sessions, presentations, or announcements at agency-wide transportation conferences
• Newsletters
• Email blasts
• In-person meetings to internal and external partners

3. IDENTIFY A CHAMPION

Identify a motivated, passionate leader to oversee the plan's implementation. This individual will be responsible for assembling a Speed Management Team (see Step 4), gaining management buy-in for the strategies and implementation techniques, and keeping in touch with strategy leaders (see Step 6) to monitor progress and offer resources and support.

4. DEVELOP AN IMPLEMENTATION ACTION TEAM

A dedicated leader supported by an enthusiastic team sets up the Speed Management Plan for successful implementation. Form a speed management group that meets quarterly or bi-annually and includes all stakeholders from Step 1. This team will define their goals and vision, prioritize strategies, help identify funding and resources, promote speed management practices and concepts, and track the progress of plan strategies and action steps.

5. PRIORITIZE STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Whether an agency forms a large, diverse Speed Management Team or the effort is coordinated by a small group of staff, strategies should be reviewed and prioritized according to the level of resources available to the agency. Some strategies may be policy- or guidance-focused and only require staff time from a single agency. Others may be more complex and costly and could require multiple transportation agencies to work together.

6. IDENTIFY STRATEGY LEADS

Assign an agency and a specific person within the agency to lead each strategy. This individual is responsible for recruiting the necessary stakeholders, assembling a team to execute the strategy, identifying and gathering necessary resources, and garnering buy-in from management.

7. SET GOALS, TRACK PROGRESS, EVALUATE, AND CELEBRATE SUCCESS

Strategy leads are responsible for documenting implementation goals and tracking progress. Many agencies conduct status meetings that focus solely on reporting performance measures. Consider including progress goals within these meetings or reporting progress regularly to management. Once implemented, evaluate the results as appropriate. Celebrating success and recognizing the people that were integral in achieving the goal is important for sustaining momentum and keeping stakeholders engaged.

Agencies will need to tailor these high-level steps to fit into their established structures or practices. The steps can be used as a starting point and built upon as appropriate to address the unique needs of each agency, forming the foundation for a successful Speed Management Plan implementation approach that will reduce speed-related crashes and save lives.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To learn more or receive technical assistance, visit the Federal Highway Administration's Speed Management webpage (/safety/speed-management-safety/speed-management) or contact:

Guan Xu
FHWA Speed Management Program Manager
Phone: 202-366-5892
Email: Guan.Xu@dot.gov

FHWA-SA-18-050