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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