Project Overview:
The mission of the Texas Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) is to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on state and local roadways. The SHSP is intended to be a comprehensive approach to address this mission. A critical part of the SHSP development process is to ensure the inclusion of a diverse set of stakeholders as well as a detailed analysis of crash and other appropriate data sets.
Key Takeaways:
- Texas is committed to ending all fatalities on Texas roads by 2050.
- The Texas SHSP is focused on preventing crashes, reducing injury severity, and enhancing emergency response.
- Employing a Safe System in Texas requires all stakeholders to focus on safer roads, people, speeds, vehicles, and post-crash care.
Our Approach:
For this project, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) strategically identified eight emphasis areas to apply transportation safety strategies and countermeasures. TTI engaged state and local stakeholders to identify evidenced-based strategies and countermeasures to address fatal and serious injury crashes. TTI also performed an extensive literature review and data analysis to determine the appropriate countermeasures for Texas transportation safety issues.
This project has provided a framework for Texas to move towards the goal of zero fatalities on all Texas roads by 2050. Below are a few principal ideas the SHSP project promotes:
- Establish common statewide goals and priorities.
- Strengthen existing partnerships.
- Build new local, regional, and statewide safety coalitions.
- Promote data, knowledge, and resource sharing.
- Focus on the state’s most serious traffic safety problems.
- Avoid redundant activities and leverage existing resources like funding, personnel, and leadership.
- Provide a multidisciplinary approach to solving transportation safety problems.
- Incorporate both behavioral and infrastructure strategies and countermeasures.
Findings:
Crash data indicates an increase in fatal and severe injury crashes over the last few years, specifically during the pandemic, therefore we must reset priorities to reverse all downward trends. View the SHSP website: https://www.texasshsp.com/
For more information on this project, please contact:
Melissa Walden
TTI Senior Research Scientist
(979) 317-2540
[email protected]
Project Title: Technical Assistance and Support for Updating and Managing Implementation of the Texas Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP)
Project Start and End Dates: September 1, 2021 – August 31, 2022
Author List: Melissa Walden
Sponsor/Funding Source: Texas Department of Transportation, Traffic Operations Division