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HSIP

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HSIP

Data Analysis for County Highway Safety Plans – Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has made $3.5 million available to develop Highway Safety Plans for each of the State’s 87 counties. The concept is to build on the foundation established by Minnesota’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), with the primary objective of identifying a specific set of safety projects directly linked to the causation factors associated with the most severe crashes on each county’s highway system.

Law Enforcement Expert for Improved Data Collection – Louisiana

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LDOTD) is responsible for collecting motor vehicle crash data for the entire State of Louisiana, as well as maintaining the state crash database. This equates to about 165,000 crash reports a year from state, parish, and local law enforcement agencies. The accuracy and timeliness of this data are critical in prioritizing safety improvements for roadways and intersections.

University Conducting HSIP Project Evaluations Using Empirical Bayes – Wisconsin

Wisconsin DOT contracted with the University of Wisconsin Traffic Operations and Safety (TOPS) Laboratory to investigate multiple project evaluation methods through a research grant for HSIP evaluation support. Initial research efforts included project evaluations based on before and after collision maps using the software Intersection Magic and before-after evaluations using benefit-cost analysis.

Safety Evaluation Group – North Carolina

In 1999, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) created a permanent group of employees to focus on safety project evaluation. The purpose for the group was to establish a formal project evaluation process to verify the success of the state’s efforts in safety.

Crash Reduction Analysis System Hub – Florida

Crash reduction factors (CRF) provide agencies with an estimate of the expected crash reduction and/or benefits associated with various countermeasures. However, since local conditions (e.g., roadway, driver, traffic, weather, crash investigation techniques) may vary from agency to agency, state specific CRFs provide a more accurate indication of the effectiveness of various countermeasures.

Project Evaluations Using Empirical Bayes – Colorado

Incorporating the Empirical Bayes (EB) method into project evaluations reduces the potential overestimation of safety benefits due to regression-to-the-mean. While the EB method is not difficult in itself, it requires safety performance functions (SPF) for the type of facilities on which projects are being evaluated.

Level of Service of Safety and Diagnostic Analysis – Colorado

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) uses two methods for identifying locations with potential for safety improvement: Level of Service of Safety (LOSS) and Diagnostic Analysis. LOSS is based on the concept of Safety Performance Functions (SPF), while Diagnostic Analysis is developed around the idea of statistical pattern recognition.

Development of SPFs for All State Routes and Intersections – Illinois

While the development of SafetyAnalyst and the Highway Safety Manual was still underway, Illinois decided to incorporate a new analysis technique to assist the state in moving forward with the implementation of SafetyAnalyst. Within a year, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), with the assistance of the University of Illinois, developed safety performance functions (SPF) for state routes and intersections throughout the state using the Empirical Bayes (EB) method.

Funding Goals for Proactive Improvements – Minnesota

The data analysis conducted for the development of Minnesota’s original Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) in 2004 indicated a large percentage of severe crashes were occurring on local roadways. All Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding was managed by eight Area Transportation Partnerships (ATP)1, and a small portion of the funding was allocated to local road safety improvements.

Implementation of Systemwide Improvements – Missouri

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has been successfully shifting the focus of its Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) towards a more proactive approach through the implementation of systemwide improvements. Many of these efforts began through the implementation of the Smooth Roads Initiative in 2004. The original initiative included 2,200 miles of resurfacing, installation of reflective pavement markings and signage, improved shoulders with rumble strips/stripes, and safer guardrails.