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Safety Professional Capacity Building

Highway Safety Training, Education, Curricula, Workforce Planning & Development

This page provides links and downloads to references and resources for roadway safety training, education, curricula, and workforce development.

What’s New

  • Supply and Demand for Highway Safety Professionals in the Public Sector

    Meanwhile, a TRB Special Committee for a Study of Supply and Demand for Highway Safety Professionals in the Public Sector has completed Special Report 289 – Building the Road Safety Profession in the Public Sector. The report indicates that the lack of professional recognition and comprehensive road safety education and training opportunities threatens the ability of agencies to build the knowledgeable and skilled road safety workforce needed to make safety advances. To address this need, the report recommends that AASHTO & GHSA forge a broad-based alliance of public, private, and educational organizations to champion the road safety profession. Contact Tom Menzies, TRB. The AASHTO Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety (SCOHTS) has recommended a specific NCHRP project to address these policy recommendations, starting with a Safety Workforce Summit. Contact Ben Gribbon, FHWA.

  • Core Competencies for Highway Safety Professionals

    Research Results Digest 302 presents five (5) core competencies for highway safety professionals practicing in any mode or specialty, supported by 37 learning objectives. Specialists may have or require additional competencies in their own field or organization. The competencies were developed by the TRB Subcommittee for Highway Safety Workforce Development, representing NHTSA, FHWA, GHSA, AAA, professional associations, and academia. The competencies may be used to assess individual abilities, determine workforce requirements, develop curricula, assess course materials, target professional development, and provide cross training. The authors, Paul Jovanis and Frank Gross, also identify that few if any universities offer much training in highway safety, in either civil engineering or public health. Contact: Charles Niessner, TRB.

  • Model Safety Curricula – Safety 101

    Very few schools, if any, teach specific courses on highway safety, although many mention safety in related courses. NCHRP Project 17-40 has been undertaken by Cambridge Systematics to develop a Model Curriculum for Highway Safety Core Competencies, that may be taught in schools of public health or engineering that would address the core competencies. This model curriculum may be used in a semester-long course, but may be scalable for use in seminars or a series of courses or certificate program. It is hoped that one or more university faculty will make use of the curriculum, to help create a supply of new highway safety professionals competent in highway safety fundamentals. The Preliminary Lesson Plan was reviewed at a status briefing for the review panel on Dec 10, 2007. Contact: Charles Niessner, TRB.

  • Professional Development – Safety 101

    Agencies specifically responsible for highway safety should also demand competence in these core areas. To address the needs of existing highway safety professionals and new hires, who may be skilled in specific areas but not trained in all fundamentals, shorter professional development opportunities are needed. The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) is developing a series of Safety 101 modules to address the core competencies. The series will be developed and disseminated with help from a variety of partners for a variety of audiences. The National Highway Institute (NHI) is working with ITE to ensure the resulting product will also be usable as Highway Safety Fundamentals course for FHWA and NHTSA employees. The authors met in a working meeting November 14, 2007, and are drafting modules. Contact Ed Stolloff, ITE.

  • What Was New

    See back issues and posts of what was new previously…

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The Roadway Safety Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program

  • Background

    Roadway safety professionals across the country are striving to improve the safety of our nation’s roads but face challenges as technologies emerge and new professionals enter the field. Overview

  • The Workforce Challenges

    Changing technologies – Knowledge of tools and technologies developed over the last few decades is needed for better safety analysis.

    Changing workforce – Turnover and demands within the industry have created a need to educate and train new and practicing professionals.

  • Building Our Roadway Safety Workforce

    As an organizational response to these workforce challenges, the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Safety is creating a roadway safety professional capacity building program to help develop critical knowledge, skills, and abilities within the roadway safety workforce. Building on the work of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan and the Highway Safety Manual, the Office of Safety is creating this program to help transportation professionals better utilize new tools and technologies.

  • Program Objectives

    • Provide educational resources to highway safety professionals, managers, and elected officials

    • Develop knowledge, skills, and abilities in individuals at all levels to enable them to share a common understanding of highway safety

    • Ensure that safety expertise, technical assistance, training, education, and mentoring are available to federal, state, local, and private transportation professionals.

  • Products

    1. Safety Training Resource Guide CD-ROM
    2. Safety Training Resource Database (STRD)
    3. Roadway Safety PCB Brochure, Program Plan and Preliminary Needs Assessment, Course Lists
    4. What’s New Newsletters and updates
    5. New Training Courses

  • Support

    The RSPCB program works with TRB Highway Safety Workforce Development Task Force, The Transportation Curriculum Coordinating Council (TCCC), the National Highway Institute (NHI), the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), National LTAP Association (NLTAPA) and other partners to support such products as:

    1. Current and future supply of and demand for experts in the field of highway safety, including specialty areas.

    2. Existing education, recruitment, and professional development practices.

    3. Current and future knowledge requirements, including core competencies.

    4. Standard competencies and suggested curricula for highway technicians.

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Competencies

  • Core Competencies for Highway Safety Professionals

    Research Results Digest 302 presents five (5) core competencies for highway safety professionals practicing in any mode or specialty, supported by 37 learning objectives. Specialists may have or require additional competencies in their own field or organization. The competencies were developed by the TRB Subcommittee for Highway Safety Workforce Development, representing NHTSA, FHWA, GHSA, AAA, professional associations, and academia. The competencies may be used to assess individual abilities, determine workforce requirements, develop curricula, assess course materials, target professional development, and provide cross training. The authors, Paul Jovanis and Frank Gross, also identify that few if any universities offer much training in highway safety, in either civil engineering or public health. Contact: Charles Niessner, TRB.

  • State Departments of Transportations

    States transportation agencies such as South Carolina have begun incorporating the Core Competencies into job descriptions for employees responsible for roadway safety.

    TCCC Safety Matrix – the Transportation Curriculum Coordinating Council (TCCC) has developed matrix of competencies for highway technicians at state and local departments of transportation. The Council is developing a list of training courses to help employees satisfy these competencies. The National LTAP Association (NLTAPA) has adopted the TCCC competencies for use with local governments.

  • United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)

    FHWA has several sets of competencies for its own highway safety professionals, including a “Headquarters Safety Engineering Competency Framework”, “Field Safety Engineering Competency Framework”, Safety Engineer Development Guide for participants in the Professional Development Program (PDP), and a guide for professionals in a Technical Career Track. Contact THE PCB Program Manager.

    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also has set of competencies for highway safety professionals.

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Curricula

  • Model Safety Curricula – Safety 101

    Very few schools, if any, teach specific courses on highway safety, although many mention safety in related courses. NCHRP Project 17-40 has been undertaken by Cambridge Systematics to develop a Model Curriculum for Highway Safety Core Competencies, that may be taught in schools of public health or engineering that would address the core competencies. This model curriculum may be used in a semester-long course, but may be scalable for use in seminars or a series of courses or certificate program. It is hoped that one or more university faculty will make use of the curriculum, to help create a supply of new highway safety professionals competent in highway safety fundamentals. The Preliminary Lesson Plan was reviewed at a status briefing for the review panel on Dec 10, 2007. Contact: Charles Niessner, TRB.

  • TCCC

    The TCCC Is working develop curricula to support the TCCC Safety Matrix of technician competencies.

  • Work Zone Safety Curriculum Framework

    Contact Benjamin.gribbon@dot.gov

Training & Professional Development

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Credentials

  • The Transportation Professional Certification Board oversees the PTOE and other certifications.
  • National Institute of Certified Engineering Technicians (NICET) certifies technitians in several highway topics, including highway traffic. See the Program Detail Manual: for Certification in the Field of Transportation Engineering Technology (Field Code 001), NICET (Sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers) http://www.nicet.org/nicetmanuals/hwytraff.pdf (PDF 259KB)
  • Colleges and Universities are developing certificate programs.
  • The National Highway Institute (NHI) offers a Certificate of Completion for completing a series of courses in specific topics.

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Education

Several colleges and universities are offering highway safety courses again, in addition to traffic engineering.

K-12 education focuses on personal traffic safety and technical careers.

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Workforce Planning & Development

  • Supply and Demand for Highway Safety Professionals in the Public Sector

    Meanwhile, a TRB Special Committee for a Study of Supply and Demand for Highway Safety Professionals in the Public Sector has completed Special Report 289 – Building the Road Safety Profession in the Public Sector. The report indicates that the lack of professional recognition and comprehensive road safety education and training opportunities threatens the ability of agencies to build the knowledgeable and skilled road safety workforce needed to make safety advances. To address this need, the report recommends that AASHTO & GHSA forge a broad-based alliance of public, private, and educational organizations to champion the road safety profession. Contact Tom Menzies, TRB. The AASHTO Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety (SCOHTS) has recommended a specific NCHRP project to address these policy recommendations, starting with a Safety Workforce Summit. Contact Ben Gribbon, FHWA.

  • Workforce Planning Resources

    Gribbon, Ben. “Roadway Safety Training”, Inside LTAP, June 2003, Ben Gribbon.

    ITE, Traffic Safety Toolbox. “Overview”, “Chapter 1: Safety Management”, “Chapter 22: Teaching Safety”, 1999.

    Knapp, Keith; Donald Walker, Eugene Wilson. Challenges and Strategies for Local Road Safety Training and Technology Transfer.

    USDOT FHWA.

    US General Accounting Office

    • Performance and Accountability Series: Major Management Challenges and Program Risks, “Department of Transportation.” January 2003.

Wilson, Eugene M. Wyoming Technology Transfer Center, University of Wyoming. “Teaching Safety”, Traffic Safety Toolbox, ITE, 1999; Chapter 23, pp 235-239.

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Transportation Technology Transfer

  • NCHRP Report 347, “Civil Engineering Careers: Awareness, Retention, and Curriculum”; Mason, Tarris, and Zaki; PTI, PSU, May 1992.
  • TRB Transportation Research Circular “Transportation Technology Transfer: A Primer on the State of the Practice”; Charles Wallace, John Anderson, Eugene Wilson; TRB Committee on Technology Transfer; Number 488, May 1998.[PDF, 446KB]
  • Managing Technology Transfer: A Strategy For The Federal Highway Administration, Transportation Research Board Special Report 256; 1999.
  • Transportation Research Record 1652, 1999.
    • “Teamwork And Technology Transfer In Low-Volume Road Safety”, Chobya, LAK; Eck, RW; Wyant, WD., Transportation Research Record 1652, 1999.
    • “Better Management Of Local Roads Through Effective Technology Transfer”, Giummarra, G.; Transportation Research Record 1652; 1999.
  • Training And Technology Transfer For Low-Volume Roads In Developing Countries , Miles, Dwj.; Transportation Research Record 1652, 1999.
  • Transportation Research Record 1637, 1998.
    • Who, What, Why, And How Of Technology Transfer: Survey Findings From A Cross-Section Of Experienced Practitioners; Coleman, F, Iii; Benekohal, Rf; Shim, E.; Transportation Research Record 1637, 1998.
    • Use of Active Learning And Group Competition To Facilitate Training And Technology Transfer For Adult Learners; Zacharia, Z; Jennings, B.; Transportation Research Record 1637, 1998.
    • Technology Transfer To The Caribbean: Case Study Of Kingston, Jamaica; Dawkins, J; Daniel, J. ; Transportation Research Record 1637
  • Transportation Research Circular 478, Nov. 1997.
    • Technology Transfer From Basic Research; Glassman, N; TRC 478
    • Technology Transfer Between Transportation Modes; Morrison, J; TRC 478

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