Incorporating Safe System Approach into the NCHRP 500 Series

NCHRP Report 500: Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan identifies proven, tried, and experimental safety strategies for each of the emphasis areas in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO’s) original 1998 Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state departments of transportation (DOTs) partnered through a pooled fund study to develop reliable estimates of the effectiveness of the safety improvements identified as strategies in the NCHRP Report 500 series. Information presented in the NCHRP Report 500 series predates the Safe System approach, which is an internationally adopted framework for road safety management that works by building and reinforcing multiple layers of protection to prevent crashes from happening in the first place and minimize the harm caused to those involved when crashes do occur (UN Resolution). An increasing number of localities and states are moving toward a Safe System approach in road planning, design, and operation. To assist transportation owners and operators, FHWA developed a series of guidance documents and associated tools outlining application to the Safe System in the U.S. context (FHWA Brochure). To further support this process, there is an immediate need to provide updated, evidence-based countermeasure information for priority crash types addressed in the NCHRP Report 500 series to reflect the current knowledge base. The objective of this project is to develop a searchable electronic toolkit that builds on the NCHRP Report 500 series to align with Safe System principles and AASHTO’s current priorities, as well as reflect the most recent research and identify new innovations to help achieve the goal of zero deaths on the nation’s roads. Successful completion of this project will (1) help transportation officials consider a broader list of countermeasures applicable to the majority of crash types; (2) improve the efficiency of countermeasure selection, link to state analysis tools, and enhance usability of the NCHRP Report 500 series; (3) provide access to the most current information; (4) advance implementation of the Safe System approach; and (5) increase practitioner awareness of the NCHRP Report 500 series. 

• Record URL:
  http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5342
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $700000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 17-113

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  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:

  Retting, Richard

• Start Date: 20221122
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fatalities; Highway safety; Information dissemination; Strategic planning; Traffic safety
• Identifier Terms: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01847465
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 17-113
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: May 27 2022 12:55PM