FHWA/MoDOT Partnering Agreements

SAFETY

February 2013

I. Roles and Responsibilities of MoDOT

MoDOT' s Role - Ensure the Highway Safety Program performs in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations while implementing MoDOT's Strategic Plan and related Business Plan priorities and goals. This includes MoDOT's core Value of"not compromising safety." For our program area, the following tasks are considered the most important and we will work in partnership with FHWA to ensure success:

• The Highway Safety Director will coordinate with the FHWA Safety & Mobility Engineer, while implementing the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) based on the Blueprint to Arrive Alive. In accordance with MoDOT Values, there will be open and honest communication.
• The Highway Safety Director will ensure quality data analysis is provided to the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety (MCRS) and regional coalitions. The FHWA Safety & Mobility Engineer will provide technical assistance as needed.
• The Highway Safety Director will evaluate the effectiveness of the Highway Safety Improvement Program including the Strategic Highway Safety Plan, Highway Safety Improvement Program, High Risk Rural Roads Program, and Missouri's 5% Report in collaboration with the FHWA Safety & Mobility Engineer and the FHWA Program Development Team Leader. An evaluation report is due to the FHW A Division Office by August 31 of each year.
• Blueprint strategies (including those related to the 402 Program) will be evaluated by the Highway Safety Director and the FHWA Safety & Mobility Engineer in cooperation with the Executive Committee of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety.

II. Roles and Responsibilities of FHWA

FHWA's Role- Ensure the Safety Program performs in accordance with federal laws and regulations while implementing FHWA's Performance Plan and required stewardship and oversight. For our program area, the following tasks are considered the most important and we will work in partnership with MoDOTto ensure success:

• The FHWA Safety & Mobility Engineer will provide support to implement Missouri's Blueprint to Save More LIves (SHSP). The FHWA Safety & Mobility Engineer will be devoted to working with the Executive Committee and regional coalitions to help implement the Blueprint.
• The FHWA Safety & Mobility Engineer and/or other designated personnel will review and provide comments to the Highway Safety Director within ten ( l 0) working days of a request for technical analysis.
• The FHWA Safety & Mobility Engineer will attend MAP-21 implementation meetings and provide comments on any written submittals in a timely manner.
• The FHWA Safety & Mobility Engineer and/or other personnel will work with the Highway Safety Director in evaluating the effectiveness of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan and in developing new strategies. Quarterly meetings will be held to monitor the progress of the Blueprint.

III. Ground Rules

We agree to concentrate efforts in improving our work by following these ground rules:

• We will respect each other by listening and trying to view issues from the standpoint of each partner.
• We will present a unified voice to internal and external customers. We will discuss matters together before responding to customers. FHWA personnel will not initiate action on statewide policy issues at the district level without having discussed and agreed to an approach with the appropriate personnel in the Central Office Division.
• FHWA and Highway Safety staff will make periodic joint visits to the districts to discuss implementation of regional coalition plans, HSIP program projects, and the like.
• We will communicate by phone, electronically, and through meeting at least quarterly to discuss the implementation of the Blueprint and the Strategic Highway Safety Plan. We will work together in developing the Highway Safety Division Tracker and the FHWA Performance Plan to ensure they are in line with FHWA goals, MoDOT's tangible results and the Blueprint.
• We will have early and continuing consultation on issues important to both FHWA and MoDOT. Thts includes membership on both FHWA and MoDOT teams and task forces that deal with highway safety Issues.
• We will make decisions by developing consensus.
• We will revisit this partnering agreement annually to determine if changes need to be made.

IV. Conflict Resolution

The conflict resolution process will follow the attached FHWA/MoDOT Conflict Resolution Ladder. For situations where a resolution is not achieved at the MoDOT Director/FHWA Team Leader level, the issue should elevated within thirty (30) days to facilitate prompt resolution.

V. Performance Evaluation

We will measure our partnering progress and success by the following performance indicators:

• Progress toward meeting new SHSP Goal of 700 or fewer fatalities by 2016 .
• Number of Fatalities.
• Number of Disabling Injuries.

VI. Communicating with Management

We will keep management informed of our activities and how our partnering is working by:

• Providing weekly fatality data.
• Discussions in MoDOT's System Management staff meetings, FHWA Team Leader meetings, and Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety meetings.