June 15, 2017
Innovation of the Month:
Data-Driven Safety Analysis
Traditional crash and roadway analysis methods rely mostly on subjective or limited quantitative measures of safety performance. Data-driven safety analysis (DDSA) uses new, evidence-based models that enable transportation agencies to quantify safety impacts with more confidence.
In Every Day Counts round four (EDC-4), the Federal Highway Administration is promoting two DDSA approaches that State and local agencies can implement individually or in combination:
- Predictive analysis helps identify roadway sites with the greatest potential for improvement and quantify the expected safety performance of project alternatives.
- Systemic analysis uses crash and roadway data to identify characteristics common to particular crash types, such as fatal and serious injury crashes. Once these characteristics are determined, locations can be identified across the targeted system for treatment with low-cost safety countermeasures.
View an EDC-4 Innovation Spotlight video on DDSA.
Arizona Workshops Focus on EDC Innovations
The Maricopa County, AZ, Department of Transportation partnered with FHWA on a June 8 workshop on automated traffic signal performance measures (ATSPMs). The event enabled more than 70 participants from 15 agencies to learn how ATSPMs can be used to manage signal performance, improve traffic operations, and increase safety in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Speakers from the Utah Department of Transportation and city of Overland Park, KS, discussed how they use ATSPMs to enhance traffic operations. Private sector representatives reviewed developments in ATSPM technologies. Participants identified next steps for advancing improvements in signal management in the Phoenix area. ATSPM workshops are planned for San Francisco, CA, and Atlanta, GA, in August. To schedule an ATSPM workshop, contact the EDC coordinator in your State's FHWA division office.
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) hosted an FHWA workshop on May 31 to assess road weather management capabilities as part of the department's implementation of the EDC-4 weather-savvy roads innovation. Representatives of the National Weather Service and a private weather service provider joined ADOT staff to discuss statewide capability levels in business processes, systems and technology, performance measurement, workforce, culture, and collaboration. Participants also discussed how EDC-4 road weather management strategies—the Pathfinder process and integrating mobile observations—can fill gaps in Arizona's road weather management processes. To schedule a similar workshop in your State, contact Roemer Alfelor of the EDC-4 Road Weather Management—Weather-Savvy Roads Team.
Michigan Signs Stakeholder Partnering Team Charter
The Michigan Department of Transportation, County Road Association of Michigan, Michigan Municipal League, and FHWA signed a charter on June 6 establishing the Michigan Local Public Agency Stakeholder Partnering Team. The Michigan State Transportation Innovation Council spearheaded development of the partnering team as part of the EDC effort to encourage stakeholder partnering on local projects and programs under the Federal-Aid Highway Program. Michigan’s partnering team will provide a forum to identify and resolve issues, improve information sharing among agencies, and streamline delivery of local transportation projects.
Deadline Approaches for STIC Excellence Award Nominations
Nominations close July 1 for the 2017 State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC) Excellence Award. FHWA's Center for Accelerating Innovation (CAI) partners with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Innovation Initiative on the award, which recognizes STICs that have achieved significant results in fostering an innovative culture. The 2017 award recipients will be announced at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in September. For information, contact Sara Lowry of CAI.
