Dangers of the Road: Road Safety Fact Sheet

How Safe is America's Roadway System?

The U.S. roadway system's positive trends have plateaued at a fatality rate that is the lowest in history at 1.5 deaths per 100 million miles of travel (down from 5.5 fatalities in 1966). However, that's still not good enough. In 2003, almost 3 million people were injured and 42,643 people died on our nation's roads. The number of annual roadway fatalities had remained virtually unchanged (40,000-42,000) for the past ten years, but now there is an upward trend.

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How Significant is the Roadway Safety Problem?

Roadway safety is a serious, national public health issue. In 2003, there were 42,643 fatalities and almost 3 million injuries occurred on our nation's roads.

Out of the total 42,643 fatalities in 2003, there were:

• 25,321 road departure fatalities (59%)
• 9,213 intersection fatalities (21%)
• 4,749 pedestrian fatalities (11%)

Can You Put This In Perspective?

Fatalities

• One road departure fatality every 21 minutes
• One intersection fatality every hour
• One pedestrian fatality about every two hours

Average Day

• 117 fatalities a day
• 30% of daily fatalities (35) are under the age of 25
• Daily financial loss is $630 million

What is the FHWA Goal to Reduce Roadway Fatalities?

As a safety agency dedicated to saving lives, FHWA has identified improving roadway safety and mobility as a Vital Few -- one FHWA's top three priorities. The other two Vital Few priorities are Congestion and Environmental Streamlining.

The FHWA Safety Programs focuses on high risk areas, such as road departure, intersections and pedestrian safety, in order to make the biggest difference in improving traffic safety.

To reduce road departure, intersection and pedestrian fatalities by 10% by 2007,
FHWA is focusing on six national target areas, two of which are concerned with road departure. They are as follows:

• Road Departure Fatalities: Reduce run-off-the-road, head-on and opposite direction side-swipe crashes by 10% by 2007. Save 2,514 lives.
  • Preventing road departure fatalities from occurring
  • Minimizing the severity of road departure crashes
• Intersection Fatalities: Reduce by 10% by 2007. Save 921 lives.
• Pedestrian Fatalities: Reduce by 10% by 2007. Save 475 lives.
• Safety Belt Use: Raise seat belt use to 90% by 2008. Save 5,536 lives.
• Safety Awareness: FHWA is working to make sure that safety is an integral part of planning, project development and operations at the state, MPO and local levels.

What is the FHWA Doing to Solve This National Safety Problem?

FHWA provides national safety leadership through: conducting innovative safety research; setting national highway safety guidelines; and promoting proven or promising safety technologies.

FHWA is actively pursuing improved roadway safety through a multi-faceted approach in the fields of engineering, education, enforcement, and coordination with public safety agencies (police and fire services).

FHWA also partners with a variety of organizations that are interested in improving roadway safety including: the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), State Departments of Transportation, the National Association of County Engineers (NACE), the American Public Works Association (APWA) the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the American Automobile Association (AAA), the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO), and National Association of Regional Councils (NARC).

Engineering

On the engineering front, FHWA both conducts research and supports private sector research into a variety of innovative design features that create safer roads, intersections and pedestrian crossings.

Road safety design features that help to reduce road departures and minimize the severity of roadway crashes include: rumble strips, retroreflective signs, and forgiving roadside hardware (i.e. guardrails and breakaway poles), skid resistance pavements, and all-weather pavement markings.

Intersection safety design features that make intersections safer for drivers and pedestrians include: traffic signal timing, improved signage, exclusive turn lanes, and roundabouts.

Pedestrian safety design features that create safer pedestrian crossings for all pedestrians, including those with disabilities include: pedestrian-signal timings and pedestrian signals; improved lighting to enhance visibility; truncated domes for blind pedestrians; and refuge islands on a median.

In addition, FHWA is currently developing the Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM) software -- an innovative road safety evaluation software that marshals available safety knowledge into a useful form for highway planners and designers.

FHWA is also actively promoting the use of proven or promising safety technologies that will help improve roadway safety including: rumble strips, retroreflective signs and pavement markings, and roundabouts. As the federal agency responsible for setting national highway safety guidelines, FHWA issued a technical advisory on rumble strips; is working on national guidelines for minimum sign retroreflectivity levels; and published a comprehensive information guide on roundabouts.

Education

FHWA's safety program has a strong educational component. Through a variety of educational tools and workshops, FHWA is dedicated to improving public safety awareness and updating highway engineers and roadway planners on the latest safety research.
To this end, FHWA has funded and sponsored numerous videos, handbooks, websites, multilingual brochures, CDs, manuals, computer modeling software, clearinghouses and training courses. Although these educational materials and courses are too many to detail here, a few are listed below.

For example, FHWA funded and sponsored the Pedestrian Safety Roadshow (PSRS), a
four-hour educational workshop that is designed for use by community leaders, concerned citizens, and business leaders. The purpose of PSRS is twofold: to assist communities in developing their own approach to pedestrian safety and to increase awareness of pedestrian safety concerns.

Also, to help roadway planners and engineers apply the latest research and technologies on the needs of older drivers and pedestrians, FHWA published The Older Driver Highway Design Handbook and also offer a one-day workshop.

Enforcement

As part of our comprehensive safety program, FHWA engineers work closely with state highway engineers and law enforcement officials to identify appropriate engineering safety countermeasures for high risk locations and for new roads. Working with state and local law enforcement is one of the ways that FHWA makes sure that roadway safety is always a top priority.

Partnership Activities

FHWA believes that partnerships create synergy and are very important to improving roadway safety. FHWA participates in roadway safety partnerships with state and local officials, concerned citizens, local business leaders, schools and youth organizations. The partnership activities listed below are just a few of the safety partnerships that FHWA participates in. More information on FHWA partnership activities can be found on the FHWA Office of Safety web site (http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov).

FHWA's top partnership is working with AASHTO on the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). The goal is to reduce the annual number of highway deaths by 9,000 by 2008 to a rate of 1.0 (down from the current rate of 1.5). This will accomplished through improved safety in 22 key areas concerning infrastructure, vehicles, drivers, and emergency medical services (EMS). FHWA's role is that of providing national leadership, direction, and the development and demonstration of new safety innovations, technologies, and programs. (For more information, go to: http://safety.transportation.org).

The successful National Work-Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse website (http://wzsafety.tamu.ed) is a good example of what can be accomplished when FHWA partners with other roadway safety groups. It was created in a partnership by FHWA and the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) handles the site's day-to-day operations. The National Utility Contractors Associations (NUCA) and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) assist ARTBA in marketing and publicizing the clearinghouse.

Started in 1995 by FHWA, Stop Red Light Running (SRLR) is a national initiative to improve intersection safety by reducing the number of red light running incidents. The American Trauma Society became a partner with FHWA in 1998. Over 200 communities, including local law enforcement departments, are currently part of t his nationwide safety program.

In addition, FHWA is a founding member of the Safety Conscious Planning (SCP) Working Group. This group is a national organization dedicated to providing state and metropolitan planners with “best
practices' and opportunities to integrate safety in the planning process. Other partners in the SCP Working Group include: AASHTO, TRB, GHSA, AAA, AMPO, NARC, ITE, and FHWA's DOT sister agencies -- NHTSA, FTA, and FMCSA. For more information on SCP publications and projects there are two web site addresses -- http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/circulars/ec025.pdf and http://rip.trb.org/browse/dproject.asp?n=6691.

The extensive implementation of yellow-green fluorescent signs around heavily traveled pedestrian crosswalks at school zones, hospitals and airports, is a visible, day-to-day result of successful FHWA and local community partnerships. To improve pedestrian safety through the use of this new pedestrian sign, FHWA partnered with local police departments, schools and hospitals. This new sign has proven to be more visible than the standard, non-fluorescent yellow sign that had been previously used to warn motorists of pedestrian crossings.

Who Is Responsible for Roadway Safety?

Everyone. We all are responsible for driving, walking, and biking safely on our Nation's roads. The engineers and planners have the responsibility to make sure that roads are designed and operating properly -- with safety for all road users in mind. Drivers and pedestrians have the responsibility to always be alert and obey the traffic rules. Passengers should always buckle up and act responsibly. The police and the courts have the responsibility to make sure that the traffic and pedestrian laws are enforced. Public safety agencies have the responsibility of responding to and securing crash locations and enforcing traffic laws. Local communities and county and state governments need to allocate funding for safe roads and increase public awareness about road safety. Everyone should take responsibility for roadway safety.

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