Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices. Topic 57-13. Practices to Improve DOT Employee Vehicle Safety and Reduce Workplace Driving Incidents

State department of transportation (DOT) employees spend a significant amount of work time behind the wheel in a variety of light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle crashes cost employers $60 billion annually in medical care, legal expenses, property damage, and lost productivity. The Smith System Driver Improvement Institute notes that driving is the leading cause of workplace deaths and results in 1.95 million workdays being lost each year. It identifies distracted driving, speeding, and failure to wear a seat belt as common contributing factors to motor vehicle crashes and injuries. Specifically for state DOTs, a number of fatal incidents have occurred involving vehicles running off the road or backing up. Some state DOTs use defensive driving, seatbelt use incentives, driver agreements, or other driver improvement training to improve education, awareness, and skills, but issues remain. As state DOTs continue to explore opportunities to improve their agency’s safety performance, a synthesis that captures initiatives regarding employee vehicle safety can inform the national audience about this impactful area. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT practices regarding employee driving and vehicle safety programs for state DOT employees. An important focus of this synthesis project will be on incidents attributed to actions or behaviors of state DOT employees. Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to): DOT characteristics that may influence training or safe driving enforcement (permanent or temporary employees; union or non-union workforces; civil service or non-civil service; human resources in the DOT or a statewide agency; a centralized, semi-centralized, or decentralized DOT); Employee characteristics and classifications (new or experienced employees, contract employees, or supervisory capacity); State DOT efforts to support safe operations (e.g., telematics); Components of an employee driving training/and fitness program; Existence of employee driving behavior metrics; Employee engagement in driving behavior training; Incentives or disincentives used related to employee driving behaviors; Benefits and challenges of employee driving programs; Implementation strategies for employee driving programs; and Written policies and procedures for employee driving programs. Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5990

Language

• English

Project

• Funding: $65,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  20-05/Topic 57-13

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Li, Zhiye

• Start Date: 20241001
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crashes; Personnel; Safety programs; State departments of transportation; Vehicle safety; Workplaces
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01972944
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: 20-05/Topic 57-13
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 26 2025 5:42PM