Countermeasures That Work: A Highway Safety Countermeasure Guide for State Highway Safety Offices, 11th Edition, 2023

Kirley, Bevan; Robison, Kristel; Goodwin, Arthur; Harmon, Katherine J; O’Brien, Natalie P.; West, Alyson; Harrell, Stephanie; Thomas, Libby; Brookshire, Kristen · 2023 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Office of Behavioral Safety Research

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Summary

**Countermeasures That Work: A Highway Safety Countermeasure Guide for State Highway Safety Offices, 11th Edition, 2023** is a comprehensive reference document published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to assist State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) in selecting effective, evidence-based strategies for traffic safety. The guide addresses ten critical problem areas: alcohol-impaired driving, young drivers, drug-impaired driving, older drivers, seat belts and child restraints, pedestrian safety, speeding and speed management, bicycle safety, distracted driving, drowsy driving, and motorcycle safety. Its primary motivation is to provide SHSOs with a standardized resource that summarizes countermeasure effectiveness, costs, implementation timelines, and relevant research, thereby facilitating data-driven decision-making in highway safety programming. The document was developed by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center under contract with NHTSA’s Office of Behavioral Safety Research. It serves as an updated compilation of existing research and policy evaluations rather than a report of new primary experimental data. The guide organizes countermeasures into three main categories: legislation and licensing, enforcement, and other strategies for behavior change. For each countermeasure, the guide provides a summary of its use, effectiveness, cost, and implementation time, supported by references to key research summaries and individual studies. It also includes sections on "Approaches That Are Unproven or Need Further Evaluation" to distinguish between established interventions and those lacking sufficient evidence. The content is structured to allow users to quickly identify high-impact strategies, such as high-visibility enforcement campaigns, graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws, and primary enforcement seat belt laws. Key findings presented in the guide highlight the efficacy of specific legislative and enforcement measures across various safety domains. For alcohol-impaired driving, the guide emphasizes the effectiveness of publicized sobriety checkpoints, high-visibility saturation patrols, and administrative license revocation. In the realm of speeding, speed safety camera enforcement and lower speed limits are identified as effective countermeasures, while dynamic speed display signs are noted as behavioral change strategies. For young drivers, Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) programs, particularly those with nighttime and passenger restrictions, are highlighted as critical interventions. The guide also underscores the importance of primary enforcement seat belt laws and strong child passenger safety laws in increasing restraint use. Additionally, it addresses emerging issues such as drug-impaired driving and distracted driving, noting the role of cell phone laws and enforcement in mitigating risks. The document provides specific data on crash risks associated with distracted behaviors, referencing studies like the SHRP2 Study of U.S. Drivers. The significance of this guide lies in its role as a definitive resource for state-level highway safety planning. By consolidating evidence-based countermeasures into a single, accessible format, it enables SHSOs to prioritize interventions that have demonstrated success in reducing fatalities and injuries. The inclusion of cost and implementation time data allows for practical budgeting and scheduling, while the distinction between proven and unproven approaches helps prevent the allocation of resources to ineffective strategies. This 11th edition reflects the evolving landscape of traffic safety, incorporating recent data and emerging issues such as drowsy driving and motorcycle safety. Ultimately, the guide supports the broader goal of improving highway safety through informed, strategic, and evidence-based policy and enforcement actions.

Key finding

The guide provides a structured compilation of evidence-based countermeasures and their associated effectiveness data for ten distinct traffic safety problem areas to assist State Highway Safety Offices in policy and program selection.

Methodology

review

Provenance

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Topics

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• regulatory evaluation
• driver education effectiveness
• seat belt use
• dui enforcement
• public messaging
• incidence prevalence

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes