Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) goals are incorporated into this CLRP transportation safety element using the following considerations:
Key common goals and emphasis areas of the District of Columbia , Maryland , and Virginia Strategic Highway Safety Plans
Emphasis areas that lend themselves to being addressed at the metropolitan scale (instead of or in addition to the national, statewide, local jurisdictional, or site-specific scale)
Emphasis areas tied to other key elements of the CLRP
The TPB's local jurisdictions follow the goal and emphasis areas in their states' SHSPs. The CLRP bolsters this through support of regional programs, compilation of state and local information, and information sharing on safety issues and best practices.
Incorporating and Summarizing the Goals and Emphasis Areas of the SHSPs
All the plans call for measurable reduction, on the order of 10-15%, in traffic fatalities and injuries over the next five years. As required by federal regulation, the following emphasis areas are common to the State Strategic Highway Safety Plans, are incorporated in the Safety Element of the long-range transportation plan, and are considered by the Transportation Safety Subcommittee:
Impaired Driving
Aggressive Driving
Occupant Protection (seatbelts)
Driver Competence and Licensing
Young Drivers
Older Drivers
Pedestrian
Motorcycle
Large Truck
Information and Decision Support Systems (Traffic Records)
Run off the Road
Intersections
Work Zone
Regional Emphasis Areas
All important safety areas from the Strategic Highway Safety Plans should be supported by the regional safety element. Some emphasis areas lend themselves for focus at a metropolitan scale, or are specifically tied to elements of the CLRP. These emphasis areas are:
Education and Enforcement:
Regional planning is most relevant for outreach, education and related enforcement initiatives that cut across jurisdictional and State lines, including efforts against behaviors such as aggressive driving, drunk driving, occupant protection, and behavior by and towards special users such as older and younger drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, bicyclists, large trucks and buses. Since the region is one media market, education through mass media is economically feasible only on a regional basis. And since drivers cross jurisdictional lines every day, the consequences of unsafe behavior do not stay inside those lines either.
Engineering: While Engineering is primarily a national, state, and local responsibility, best practices for safety for the appropriate mode can be shared at numerous forums, including the Management, Operations and ITS Subcommittees (intersections, work zones), the Freight Subcommittee (large trucks), the Traffic Signals Subcommittee (intersections), the Bus Subcommittee, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee, and the Access for All Subcommittee (disabled pedestrians), the Transportation-Land Use Connections program (pedestrians), and the Safety Subcommittee.
Data and Information Sharing and Compilation: Regional data and information sharing and compilation should be an ongoing activity as State crash reporting and data collection systems improve. Consistency in data collection across state lines should be encouraged. Compiling regional data can illuminate regional safety problems and patterns not immediately evident in State and local-level data, and help inform the planning process of the TPB and its member agencies.
Bus Safety: Pedestrian safety around buses is a challenge, given issues of visibility, traffic, placement of bus stops, and other factors. The Regional Bus Subcommittee and planning program provide opportunities for collaboration and information sharing to improve bus safety.
Truck Safety:
Understanding the role of trucks in the overall safety picture of the region is important for advising, planning, engineering, and enforcement activities. The Transportation Safety Subcommittee interacts with the Regional Freight Subcommittee on this issue.
Emergency Response: Data regarding emergency response is important for consideration in the overall regional safety picture. The Transportation Safety Subcommittee interacts with COG's public safety program on this issue.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety:
Bicyclists and Pedestrians account for a fifth of the region's traffic fatalities. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee exchanges information on best practices, holds training workshops, and oversees the Street Smart Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program. The Transportation-Land Use Connections program provides technical support on pedestrian safety measures as part of planning for transit-oriented development.
Intersections, Work Zones:
Funding for safety projects can be tracked in the TIP, including set-aside funds for work zone safety, and the Transportation-Land Connections program deals with intersection as well as pedestrian safety.
