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Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health (CARTEEH)

A USDOT University Transportation Center

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Integrate Safety Into Planning

Integrating safety in transportation planning is an approach that aids in identifying, analyzing, and developing solutions to transportation hazards. This planning tends to address vehicle, commuter, and pedestrian safety. The goal is not just about preventing accidents but also ensuring that emergency situations are well-handled should they arise. The first step in integrating safety into the planning process is to identify all the possible risks and hazards that exist in the workplace. Then, there should be a response plan developed for mitigating these risks and hazards.1

Considering this strategy will help achieve the goal of the following objectives

  • Less Contamination
  • Less Emissions
  • Less Traffic Noise
  • Connectivity and Inclusion
  • Healthy Destinations
  • Less Traffic Violence
  • Active Transportation
  • Green Space

Transportation lifecycle phases

This strategy is associated with the following transportation lifecycle phases:

  • Construction
  • End of Life
  • Maintenance
  • Material Selection
  • Operations
  • Policy and Planning
  • Project Development

Who's involved

  • Law enforcement
  • Local governments
  • MPOs
  • State governments
  • Transit agencies
  • Vulnerable road users
Integrating safety in transportation planning is an approach that aids in identifying, analyzing, and developing solutions to transportation hazards. This planning tends to address vehicle, commuter, and pedestrian safety. The goal is not just about preventing accidents but also ensuring that emergency situations are well-handled should they arise. The first step in integrating safety into the planning process is to identify all the possible risks and hazards that exist in the workplace. Then, there should be a response plan developed for mitigating these risks and hazards.1

How it Helps

This strategy will help identify and mitigate transportation risk factors that might result in severe injury or death, thereby improving road user safety. This can be achieved through engineering, education, or enforcement approaches.2

Implementing

Traffic Facilities:

Traffic facilities should be installed to regulate traffic on congested roads and give a clear distinction of the road lanes. As a result, this will reduce the incidence of transportation hazards and guarantee safety for all road users.

Education:

Increasing awareness of safe travel behaviors should be prioritized. This will educate drivers on safe travel behaviors such as avoiding calls and texts, avoiding alcohol and drugs, and always wearing a seat belt. This may also educate people on the safety of traffic precautions when driving.

Enforcement of Traffic Laws:

Enforcement of traffic laws is key to keeping people safe on the roads. Exceeding speed limits, driving while distracted, and not wearing a seat belt are the leading causes of death and severe injuries on the road. Therefore, enforcing these traffic laws will help keep these things from happening and reduce the rate of fatal accidents on roads.3

Road Infrastructure:

When planning for safety, changes to the way roads are designed, built, and maintained can make a big difference in how safe they are. Road surfaces that are not good quality or are getting worse can damage cars and put road users in danger. Unclear traffic signs, wrong lane markings, bad road surfaces, and bad road designs are dangerous, leading to higher crash rates. Fortunately, a lot can be done to make roads safer. For example, the safety of road intersections is greatly improved when traffic lights are replaced with roundabouts.4

Challenges:

Behavioral issues are one of the most challenging road safety problems to solve because they involve people’s attitudes, beliefs, and ways of living. Most of the time, unsafe driving and bad behavior are common on the roads. This is sometimes blamed on how most drivers think, act, and behave.5 Additionally, some people have trouble driving carefully because they misunderstand safety signs or when signals are placed in the wrong place on the road.

Examples

1) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is a large transportation body involved in the prevention of motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries. FMCSA contributes to ensuring safety in motor carrier operations through strong enforcement of safety regulations and integrating safety in transportation planning. FMCSA targets high-risk carriers and commercial motor vehicle drivers, improves safety information system and technologies, and also increases safety awareness among all drivers and road users.

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/mission/about-us

2) The National Safety Council (NSC)

The National Safety Council (NSC) is a prominent non-profit organization in the United States that strives to ensure that everyone is safe by focusing on workplace, highway, and impairment concerns. The NSC assists organizations in developing a safety culture that will make people safer in the workplace and beyond.

https://www.nsc.org/

3) Federal Highway Administration

The Federal Highway Administration is a national organization with the primary goal of ensuring road safety and integrating safety in transportation planning. FHA implemented the National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), which aimed to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on roads. This strategy embraces a Safe System Approach, which builds multiple layers of protection around road users and is based on the reality that although people make mistakes, those mistakes do not have to be fatal.

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/about/

1. Loeppke, R.R., et al. (2015). Integrating health and safety in the workplace. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 575, 585-97. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000467
2. Genesee Transportation Council. (2016). Integrating Safety into Transportation Planning. https://www.gtcmpo.org/16
3. Ogombe, J.A., et al. Integrated Road Infrastructure Interventions on Implementation of Pedestrian Safety Rules in the City of Kisumu, Kenya. International Journal of Business and Commerce, 62. https://www.ijbcnet.com/6-2/IJBC-16-5910.pdf
4. Road Safety Facts. (2019). How can infrastructure improve road safety? [cited 2022 Jun 26]. Available from: https://www.roadsafetyfacts.eu/how-can-infrastructure-improve-road-safety/
5. Odonkor, S. T., et al. (2020). Road Safety Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Ghana. Journal of Advanced Transportation. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7047189