U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000

Skip to content
Facebook iconYouTube iconTwitter iconFlickr iconLinkedInInstagram

Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations

 
PRESENTATION
This presentation is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information
Back to Publication List        
Publication Number:  N/A    Date:  May 2012
Publication Date: May 2012

 

This presentation is part of the 2012 National Highway Research Priorities Webinar Series.

Safety

Coordination of Highway Research with University Transportation Centers
May 8, 2012

PDF Version (1.07 MB)

PDF files can be viewed with the Acrobat® Reader®

Michael F. Trentacoste
Associate Administrator for Research, Development, and Technology
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Coordination of Highway Research with University Transportation Centers

Webinar Series Topics and Dates

  1. State of Good Repair, March 28th
  2. Economic Competitiveness, April 5th
  3. Safety, May 8th ← Today
  4. Livability and Sustainability, May 9th
  5. Policy and Innovative Financing, May 10th

Invited Participants

Host and Presenters

Webinar Purpose

Thanks for Your Participation

Thanks to the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) for this opportunity to communicate priorities to the UTCs

For more information about UTC participation, contact:
Debra Elston, 202-493-3181
www.fhwa.dot.gov/research

Visit our Web Site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/research

Safety - Monique R. Evens, P.E., Director, Office of Safety R&D, Federal Highway Administration - Coordination of Highway Research with University Transportation Centers, May 8 2012

Overview

National Safety Challenges

32,885 deaths each year
People NOT statistics

Meeting the Challenges

FHWA's Safety Strategic Plan (SSP)

FHWA Safety R&D Goals

FHWA Safety Research Priorities

------------------------- Cross-Cutting Areas -------------------------

Intersections – Goal

Accelerate the reduction in injury and fatality crashes at U.S. intersections by promoting best practices, encouraging implementation of effective and innovative solutions, and evaluating promising new intersection designs and technologies.

Chart entitled Intersection & Intersection-Related Fatalities showing % of Injury Crashes, % of Total Crashes, and % of Highway Fatalities

Intersections – Thrusts

Aerial photo of a diverging diamond intersection (also known as a double crossover diamond)

Intersections – Gaps and Opportunities

Roadway Departure – Goal

Consistent with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) goal, reduce national roadway departure fatalities by a minimum of 500 per year from existing 18,000 per year to 9,000 per year by year 2030.

Downward arrow indicating a reduction of 500 roadway departure fatalities per year by 2030

Roadway Departure – Thrusts

Photo of a crash test of a pickup truck impacting a w-beam guardrail at the Federal Outdoor Impact Lab at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center

Roadway Departure – Gaps and Opportunities

Pedestrians and Bicycles – Goal

Improve safety and mobility through comprehensive programs and research efforts

Graphic 1: Photo of pedestrians walking in a crosswalk across a multi-lane road. Graphic 2: Photo of a bicyclist wearing a helmet and riding through an intersection.

Pedestrians and Bicycles – Thrusts

Pedestrians and Bicycles – Gaps and Opportunities

Motorcycles – Goal

Decrease motorcycle fatalities and serious injuries by providing an accommodating roadway and appropriate roadside geometry

Graph of rising motorcycle fatalities versus declining total fatalities from 1997 to 2009

Motorcycles – Thrusts

Photo of a sign on a sidewalk offering a free gas incentive to participate in a motorcycle survey

Motorcycles – Gaps and Opportunities

Rural and Local Roads – Goal

Reduce the fatalities and serious injuries on local and rural roads by providing the practitioners and decisionmakers with important information, tools, and resources that will improve the safety performance of roadways

Photo of a two lane rural road

Rural and Local Roads – Thrusts

Rural and Local Roads – Gaps and Opportunities

Speed Management – Goal

Reduce speeding related fatalities in support of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) goal of reducing the number of total traffic fatalities

Photo of a curved two-lane rural road with an electronic roadway sign with a curved arrow to the left and text stating slow down

Speed Management – Thrusts

Speed Management – Gaps and Opportunities

Comprehensive Approach to Safety – Goal

Improve Federal, State, and local safety programs by maintaining data-driven and systematic planning, management, and evaluation processes in a performance-based framework

Graphic of a pyramid divided into four horizontal layers depicting standardized and accessible safety data on the bottom, with research, safety policy and programs, and reduced injuries and fatalities stacked successively on the top

Comprehensive Approach to Safety – Thrusts

Comprehensive Approach to Safety – Gaps and Opportunities

Visibility – Goal

Reduce the rate and severity of nighttime crashes by conducting and evaluating research related to visibility on and along the roadway

Chart of Nighttime and Daytime Fatalities per Million Miles traveled between 2004 and 2006

Visibility – Thrusts

Photo of a car’s headlights shining on distance markers labeled 25 and 50

Visibility – Gaps and Opportunities

Human Factors – Goal

Enable safe roadway environments for all user groups by providing human factors and driver performance leadership and support to a broad range of stakeholders

Photo of the Highway Driving Simulator at Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center with an image of a two-lane road with guardrail on the screen

Human Factors (HF) – Thrusts

Photo of a simulated entrance into a roundabout intersection

Human Factors – Gaps and Opportunities

Additional Opportunities

Additional Opportunities

Safety Research Contacts

Any additional questions?

Monique Evans, 202-493-3074
monique.evans@dot.gov

 

Return to top

Privacy Policy | Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) | Accessibility | Web Policies & Notices | No Fear Act | Report Waste, Fraud and Abuse | U.S. DOT Home | USA.gov | WhiteHouse.gov

Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center | 6300 Georgetown Pike | McLean, VA | 22101