Strategic Intersection Safety Program Guide

Publication No. FHWA-SA-09-004

FHWA Contact: Lawrence J. Brown, HSSD, 202-366-2214

PDF Version [751 KB]

2. Establishing A Strategic Intersection Safety Program

The strategic process described in this Guide for improving safety at intersections can assist in the development and implementation of an effective and efficient intersection safety program. Key elements of a strategic intersection safety program include:

• forming a stakeholder group
• identifying intersection safety needs
• defining goals
• developing action plans and associated projects, which include strategies and countermeasures and the locations where they will be implemented
• evaluating the results

A strategic process of this type typically leads to a balanced and cost-effective cyclical process of planning, implementation, and evaluation that addresses specific intersection safety and operational concerns at the highest-need locations.

The process described here provides a logical planning approach that helps justify and coordinate intersection safety improvement initiatives within jurisdictions of any size. At the State level, for example, this process can be used to develop an intersection safety emphasis area for the SHSP and to develop action plans to implement the SHSP. This would serve as a major planning resource for implementing intersection safety projects through the transportation planning process. Figure 4 shows the relationship of an intersection safety portion of an SHSP to a typical overall transportation planning process in a State. It shows various safety improvement programs that may serve as resources for an intersection safety program. It also illustrates the relationships between the various plans, which can aid agencies in the coordination of their programs. The process can be important in integrating State and local intersection safety initiatives into long-range and short-range project planning and decision-making.

Figure 4. SHSP Relationship to Other Planning Documents⁽¹⁾

Role of an SHSP in a Strategic Intersection Safety Program

A State's Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) should serve as a resource for any intersection safety program developed by a State or local agency. It is a strategic safety plan that can and should provide focus, coordination, and support for all road safety programs within a State or local agency. Importantly, a SHSP can include and coordinate safety programs in each of the 4Es (engineering, enforcement, education, and EMS). Therefore, any intersection safety program, whether at the State or local level, can and should help achieve the intersection safety goals in an SHSP because they would be part of the safety program and goals for the State.

An SHSP is a cooperatively coordinated statewide safety plan that provides a comprehensive framework with specific data-driven goals and objectives for reducing fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. The development of an SHSP is a Federal requirement for State DOTs. The goals, objectives and emphasis areas outlined in the SHSP must be developed in consultation with public and private safety stakeholders at the Federal, State, and local levels.⁽¹⁾ The collaborative process allows for all highway safety programs in the State to align, focus, and leverage resources for defining and addressing safety challenges indicated by data analyses.

All 50 States and the District of Columbia have developed an SHSP using processes approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).⁽¹⁾ This guide presents a summary of the overall strategic safety goals and strategic intersection safety goals as well as intersection improvement strategies found in the SHSPs. This summary, shown in Tables 1 through 8, illustrates the level of emphasis States have placed on intersection safety in their SHSPs. Such information can be useful for State and local agencies that are creating or updating their intersection safety programs.

Figure 5. Logo of Maryland SHSP

Intersection safety programs should be updated periodically. For example, States may modify the emphasis areas and goals in their SHSP to reflect changing needs or because their original goals have been met. As SHSPs are modified, overall intersection safety program goals may need to be updated to reflect SHSP modifications. As of 2008, 45 of the 51 SHSPs included a strategic overall fatality reduction goal in the form of either an anticipated reduced fatality rate or a specific reduction in percentage or number of fatalities. Such goals typically reference a goal year or a time period over which the anticipated reduction will be achieved. Two States do not present an overall fatality-reduction goal, but present a fatality-reduction goal for each emphasis area in their SHSPs. One State indicates a goal of achieving zero fatalities without a target date. The remaining three States use a goal of fatality and/or injury reduction, but do not indicate a specific anticipated number, rate, or percentage for reduction. In addition to fatality-reduction goals, some SHSPs contain either injury-reduction or crash-reduction goals. Table 1 presents a summary of overall SHSP strategic safety goals, most of which are anticipated to be achieved in part by intersection safety strategies either described in the SHSP or in other intersection safety programs.

Most SHSPs make intersection safety a focus area, or discuss strategies and countermeasures within other emphasis areas for improving intersection safety. SHSPs often present specific strategic intersection safety goals, identify the State's intersection safety needs, and/or guide investment decisions to achieve significant reductions in intersection-related fatalities and serious injuries. Some SHSPs specify the intersection safety projects they plan to implement, but more often SHSPs discuss the need for action plans and potential strategies and countermeasures to address strategic goals, while specific projects are defined when developing the action plans that implement the SHSPs.

Fifteen States include strategic intersection safety goals in their SHSPs. Table 2 presents a summary of the strategic intersection safety goals included in the State SHSPs.

In State SHSPs for which a strategic intersection safety goal is not specifically given, the overall strategic goal may be applied proportionally to the strategic intersection goal. For example, if the overall strategic goal is to reduce fatal and serious injury crashes by 20 percent over the next five years, the strategic intersection safety goal could be to reduce fatal and serious injury intersection crashes by 20 percent over the same time period. In cases where the overall goal is to reduce a specific number of crashes, the intersection goal can be to reduce a percentage of that number of reduced crashes equal to the percentage of total crashes that occur at intersections.

Most SHSPs identify and categorize their various safety programs into emphasis areas. Intersection safety is an emphasis area in about half of the States' SHSPs. Most of these States outline specific intersection improvement strategies for addressing the types of intersection crashes that are overrepresented in the data. In addition, intersection improvement strategies are often included in other safety improvement emphasis areas such as for pedestrians, older drivers, commercial motor vehicles, motorcycles, aggressive driving, distracted driving, impaired driving, speed, EMS, occupant protection, roadway departure, work zones, and data management. Consultation and coordination between the various emphasis areas is important to the successful development, planning, and implementation of safety projects and to achieving the strategic goals for the intersection safety program. Coordination between participating agencies also helps create the support required from all stakeholders to successfully address the jurisdiction's intersection safety needs.

Table 3 presents a summary of the emphasis areas in SHSPs that address intersection crashes with intersection-related strategies or countermeasures. Of the 51 State SHSPs available in 2008, 25 SHSPs include an emphasis area for intersection safety improvement. Fifteen additional SHSPs list intersections as a subcategory under another emphasis area. Therefore, a total of 40 SHSPs have a specific intersection emphasis area or emphasis-area subcategory. Twenty-five SHSPs include intersection safety strategies in other emphasis areas such as pedestrians/bicyclists, older/restricted drivers, aggressive driving/speeding, railroad-highway grade crossings, and locations with potential for crash reduction. Few SHSPs include no strategies specifically related to intersection safety improvements.

Although the level of detail and the content used to discuss intersection safety initiatives may vary between SHSPs, an SHSP that includes an intersection safety emphasis area helps provide a focus and framework for improving intersection safety on a comprehensive, coordinated basis.

Figure 6. Cover of
NCHRP Report 501

Several documents that are relevant to, and can assist in, intersection safety program development include:

• FHWA Transportation Planner's Safety Desk Reference⁽²⁾
• FHWA Public Roads, Vol. 6, No. 6, Proactive Approach to Safety Planning⁽³⁾
• FHWA Transportation Safety Planning Brochure⁽⁴⁾
• FHWA National Agenda for Intersection Safety⁽⁵⁾
• FHWA Making the Case for Transportation Safety-Ideas for Decision Makers⁽⁶⁾
• NCHRP Report 500, Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan (Volumes 5 and 12) ^(7,8)
• NCHRP Report 501, Integrated Safety Management Process⁽⁹⁾
• NCHRP Report 546, Incorporating Safety into Long-Range Transportation Planning⁽¹⁰⁾
• TRB Transportation Research Circular E-C025, Safety-Conscious Planning⁽¹¹⁾
• TRB Transportation Research Circular E-C041, Supporting the Establishment of Safe Transportation Networks⁽¹²⁾

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