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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Office of the Secretary, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, DC 20590

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, November 8, 2001
Contact: TaMara McCrae
Telephone: 202-366-0660
FHWA 37-01

FHWA Announces National Highway Safety Awards Winners

Federal Highway Administrator Mary E. Peters today announced the winners of the 2001 National Highway Safety Awards. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) sponsored the awards.

"President Bush is committed to making America's transportation system as safe as possible," Peters said. "These project winners provide excellent examples of the continuous progress our nation is making in improving safety on our roads, from planning and research, to physical improvements, to enhanced operation and maintenance."

The 2001 National Highway Safety Award recipients come from 11 states: Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri. They include state departments of transportation, a governor's highway safety program and a state police agency. FHWA and RSF received 60 entries. A panel of judges with expertise in safety selected the winners.

Started in 1987, these biennial awards recognize innovation, effectiveness, and efficient use of resources to improve highway safety. The awards were given in three categories:

  • Safety Improvements. Physical improvements to the highway or roadside.

  • Operational Improvements. Activities, other than physical improvements, that contribute to the safe operation and maintenance of the highway facility.

  • Program Planning, Development and Evaluation. Processes and activities addressing the safety needs of spot locations, corridors, and/or communities.
The following is a list of the award recipients:

  • Optimal Continuous Shoulder Rumble Strips (Safety Improvements), Virginia

    After experimenting with Continuous Shoulder Rumble Strips (CSRS) from 1997-2000, the Virginia DOT concluded that milled CSRS are one of the most effective measures for improving highway safety. CSRS helped Virginia reduce run-off the road crashes by 51.5 percent.

    Contact: Ilona O. Kastenhofer, telephone 804-786-2965

  • PENNDOT Tailgating Treatment (Safety Improvements), Pennsylvania

    Aggressive driving and tailgating has dropped 60 percent in an area equipped with Pennsylvania DOT's "Dot" Tailgating Treatment. PENNDOT partnered with the police in a corridor on US 11 in South Centre Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania with high rates of aggressive driving collisions. The "Dot" Tailgating Treatment is an effective highway safety countermeasure for assisting motorists to establish a safe following distance. PENNDOT provided "dot" pavement markings and signs warning drivers to avoid tailgating and leave two "dots" or two seconds between themselves and the driver ahead of them.

    Contact: Michael Hess, telephone 570-368-4344

  • Centerline Rumble Strips (Safety Improvements), Delaware

    The Delaware DOT installed centerline rumble strips along US Route 301 after experiencing a high fatality rate from head-on collisions. Ongoing monitoring of the project has resulted in a documented 90 percent decrease in the head-on collision rate and a reduction to zero fatalities along this section of roadway since the project's completion more than six years ago. Delaware achieved these results despite a 30 percent increase in traffic during the study period.

    Contact: Randall Grunden, telephone 302-760-2145

  • Midwest States Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative (Operational Improvements), Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

    The Midwest States Smart Work Zone Deployment Initiative deployed and evaluated 26 work zone technologies to determine their impact on the safety and efficiency of traffic operations. This public-private partnership includes the state DOTs of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska; the university transportation faculty in each state; FHWA; and the Mid-America Transportation Center.

    Contact: Kathy Glenn, telephone 402-472-6363

  • Fast Track Hazard Elimination Safety Program (Operational Improvements), Alabama

    Alabama DOT's Fast Track Hazard Elimination Safety Program (HES) is designed to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities by 20 percent during the next 10 years. The Department's nine divisions received $19 million for prioritized safety projects that could be implemented immediately. ALDOT also partnered with local governments to identify low-cost safety improvements. Fast Track increased safety project development by 58 percent in 2000.

    Contact: Waymon Benifield, telephone 334-242-6128

  • Road Test of the Road Safety Audit Process (Operational Improvements), Pennsylvania

    PENNDOT's Road Test of the Road Safety Audit Process produced a detailed evaluation of the process including benefits, costs, challenges, and lessons learned. Safety improvements beyond current standards were added to construction projects for elderly drivers, bicyclists, emergency vehicles, buses, trucks and pedestrians without delaying projects and at a fraction of the cost of adding them later.

    Contact: ITE Road Safety Audit, Timothy Pieples, PENNDOT, telephone 724-357-2819

  • Collision Report Analysis for Safer Highways (Program Planning, Development and Evaluation), Kentucky

    The Collision Report Analysis for Safer Highways (CRASH) system developed by the Kentucky State Police improves the analysis of traffic collision data for Kentucky. The new system was designed for timely and accurate gathering of traffic collision data. Traffic collision information can be submitted electronically or by using color-coded paper reports. The electronic traffic collision report is free to any law enforcement agency in Kentucky.

    Contact: Sgt. John Carrico, telephone 502-227-8700

  • Intersection Safety Improvement Priority Program (Program Planning, Development and Evaluation), Washington

    The Intersection Safety Improvement Priority Program enables Washington DOT to analyze the need for left and/or right turn lanes at intersections and to prioritize improvements based on expected benefits. The installation of a left or right turn lane will generally show a significant decrease in intersection related accidents. This innovative program provides practitioners an Internet database with intersection traffic volumes, crashes and delay information to develop a priority list of projects.

    Contact: Larry Larson, telephone 509-324-6205

  • Work Zone Safety for Roadway Maintenance Operations (Program Planning, Development and Evaluation), New Jersey

    This interactive multimedia training system for work zone safety allows trainees to use web-based training modules to learn work zone safety regulations and "best practices" at their own pace. Their knowledge is tested through an on-line evaluation and testing system. Trainees experiment with work zone setups for different roadway conditions, traffic volumes and speeds. The computer evaluates, proposes setups, gives the trainee feedback and recommends further study as needed.

    Contact: Claudia Knezek, telephone 732-445-3632

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