Introduction This guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) in selecting effective, science-based traffic safety countermeasures for major highway safety problem areas. The guide:
The guide is not intended to be a comprehensive list of countermeasures available for State use or a list of expectations for SHSO implementation. For a description of an optimal State countermeasure program, SHSOs should refer to the Highway Safety Program Guidelines, which delineate the principal components of each of the major program areas. States should identify problem areas through systematic data collection and analysis and are encouraged to continue to apply innovation in developing appropriate countermeasures. The evaluations summarized in this guide allow SHSOs to benefit from the experience and knowledge gained by others and to select countermeasure strategies that have either proven to be effective or that have shown promise. States choosing to use innovative programs can contribute to the collective knowledge pool by carefully evaluating the effectiveness of their efforts and publishing the findings for the benefit of others. What’s included: The guide contains a chapter for each problem area. Each chapter begins with a brief overview of the problem area’s size and characteristics, the main countermeasure strategies, a glossary of key terms, and a few general references. Next, a table lists specific countermeasures and summarizes their use, effectiveness, costs, and implementation time. Each countermeasure is then discussed in approximately one page. The guide provides an overview and starting point for readers to become familiar with the behavioral strategies and countermeasures in each program area. It has attempted to include countermeasures that have the most evidence of effectiveness as well as those that are used most regularly by SHSOs. Only those countermeasures that could be supported by traditional highway safety grant programs have been considered. Some countermeasure areas are covered in more depth than others due to the availability of published research. For example, impaired driving has a long and rich research history while other topics, such as driver distraction and fatigue, have received less attention. This difference in the availability of published research findings is due to a number of factors, including the relative scale of the problem areas, the availability of reliable data on the frequency and characteristics of some safety problems, and the challenge of conducting scientifically valid studies in certain behavioral areas. References are provided for each countermeasure. When possible, summaries of available research are cited, with Web links where available, so users can find most of the evaluation information in one place. If no summaries are available, one or two key studies are cited. There has been no attempt to list all research, current studies, or program information available on any countermeasure. Readers interested in any problem area or in specific countermeasures are urged to consult the references. What’s not included: Since the guide is intended as a tool for SHSO use, it does not include countermeasures for which SHSOs have little or no authority or responsibility, or that cannot be supported under typical highway safety grant programs. For example, the guide does not include vehicle- or roadway-based solutions. Also, it does not include countermeasures that are already in place in every State, such as .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) laws. Finally, the guide does not include administrative or management topics such as traffic safety data systems and analyses, program planning and assessments, State and community task forces, or comprehensive community traffic safety programs. What the effectiveness data means: The effectiveness of any countermeasure can vary immensely from State to State or community to community. What is done is often less important than how it is done. The best countermeasure may have little effect if it is not implemented vigorously, publicized extensively, and funded satisfactorily. Evaluation studies generally examine and report on high-quality implementation because there is little interest in evaluating poor implementation. Also, the fact that a countermeasure is being evaluated usually gets the attention of those implementing it, so that it is likely to be done well. The countermeasure effectiveness data presented in this guide probably show the maximum effect that can be realized with high-quality implementation. Many countermeasures have not been evaluated well, or at all, as noted in the effectiveness data. NCHRP Guides: The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is developing a series of guides for State DOTs to use in implementing the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Strategic Highway Safety Plan. As of summer 2005, 13 guides had been published and several more were being prepared. This guide draws heavily on the published NCHRP guides and on several draft guides. It differs from the NCHRP guides because it is written for SHSOs only, contains only behavioral countermeasures, and is considerably more concise. Readers are urged to consult the NCHRP guides relevant to their interests. They are available at safety.transportation.org/guides.aspx. Disclaimers: As with any attempt to summarize a large amount of sometimes-conflicting information, this guide is highly subjective. All statements, judgments, omissions, and errors are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) or NHTSA. Users who disagree with any statement or who wish to add information or key references are invited to send their comments and suggestions for future editions (see bottom of page 4 for details). New traffic safety programs and research appear almost weekly. Web sites change frequently. This means that this guide was out of date even before it was published. Readers interested in a specific problem area or countermeasure are urged to contact NHTSA for up-to-date information. Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms used throughout:
Many people provided invaluable help in the preparation of this guide.
User Suggestions and Future Editions NHTSA will update this guide annually and will expand it with additional problem areas and countermeasures as appropriate. Users are invited to provide their suggestions and recommendations for the guide:
Please send your suggestions and recommendations to: Countermeasures That Work or by e-mail to countermeasuresthatwork@nhtsa.dot.gov |
||||