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TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARDOF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES |
Task Force on the Development of the Highway Safety Manual |
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Safety Initiatives:
Evaluations of Low Cost Safety Improvements Pooled Fund Study The goal of this research is to develop reliable estimates of the safety effectiveness of safety improvements identified as strategies in the NCHRP Report 500 Guidebooks through scientifically rigorous before-after evaluations of sites within the U.S. where these strategies are being implemented. A target of 20 strategies is planned, but this will vary depending on the level of support. The data for the study will be gathered from those states that implement the strategies throughout the US. The methodology utilized will typically be Empirical Bayes evaluation, using before-after data (where the safety improvements are made, as well as untreated base locations), to help determine their effectiveness in reducing the number and severity of crashes.
The Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM) The Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM) is a suite of software analysis tools for evaluating safety and operational effects of geometric designs decisions on two-lane rural highways. IHSDM is a decision-support tool. It checks existing or proposed two-lane rural highway designs against relevant design policy values and provides estimates of a design's expected safety and operational performance. IHSDM results support decision making in the highway design process. Intended users include highway project managers, designers, and traffic and safety reviewers in State and local highway agencies and engineering consulting firms. IHSDM currently includes five evaluation models (Crash Prediction, Design Consistency, Intersection Review, Policy Review, and Traffic Analysis). A sixth module (Driver/Vehicle) is under development. The 2004 release of IHSDM may be downloaded free-of-charge at IHSDM.org. User technical support is also available free-of-charge. An IHSDM Training Course is available through the FHWA's National Highway Institute. SafetyAnalyst will provide state-of-the-art analytical tools for use in the decision-making process to identify and manage a system-wide program of site-specific improvements to enhance highway safety by cost-effective means. There are four modules planned for SafetyAnalyst: (1) "Network Screening for sites with promise", "Diagnosis and Countermeasures", "Project Ranking and Prioritization", "Evaluation of Measures of Effectiveness". The interim tools will be available in late 2004 and will be tested in 2005. The final tools should be available in 2006.
The purpose of the Human Factors Guide is to provide the best factual information and insight on road users' characteristics, in a useful CD-ROM format, to facilitate safe roadway design and operational decisions. The HFG is envisioned to complement design guides such as the AASHTO Geometric Design Guide, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the proposed Highway Safety Manual, and other key resources that are largely void of illustrative human factor principles and concepts needed by highway designers and traffic engineers. The ultimate goal is to develop a comprehensive set of human factor safety guidelines to assist engineers and others to achieve safer and more useable design, operation, and maintenance of roadways.
This manual, written by experts of the World Road Association (PIARC), is a basic reference for all transportation engineers concerned about road safety problems. In more than 500 pages, the work presents an easy-to-read, up-to-date summary of the accumulated knowledge of the last several decades. The work is divided into four parts. The first part introduces the reader to the road safety field. The second part describes a complete safety analysis process (from data collection to assessment). The third part explains in detail the relationship between various components of the road and safety (horizontal alignment, vertical alignment, etc.). The fourth part describes all the steps required to complete technical studies (sight distances, spot speed, etc.).
AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan In 1998, AASHTO approved its Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which was developed by the AASHTO Standing Committee for Highway Traffic Safety with the assistance of the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Transportation Research Board Committee on Transportation Safety Management. The plan includes strategies in 22 key emphasis areas that affect highway safety. Each of the emphasis areas includes strategies and an outline of what is needed to implement each strategy.
Guidance for Implementing the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (NCHRP 500 Series Reports) This NCHRP project will result in a series of guides to assist state and local agencies in reducing injuries and fatalities in targeted emphasis areas. The guides correspond to the emphasis areas outlined in the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Each guide includes a brief introduction, a general description of the problem, the strategies/countermeasures to address the problem, and a model implementation process. This series of guides includes relevant information assembled into the following thirteen single volumes, each pertaining to specific types of highway crashes:
Integrated Safety Management Process (NCHRP Report 501) This report examines issues associated with developing an integrated safety management process, a tool to assist in integrating safety-related implementation actions.
The objective of RIPCORD-ISEREST is to develop best practice guidelines based on current research results in the following areas: road safety impact assessment tools, accident prediction models, road design and road environment, road safety audits, road safety inspections, black spot management and safety analysis of road networks.
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| Please note that the Highway Safety Manual Task Force has not reviewed or formally endorsed any of these presentation materials. While you should feel free to use any of these presentation materials as-is or incorporate them into your own presentations, please give proper credit whenever you do so. |
