Countermeasures That Work, 10th Edition [Traffic Tech]

NHTSA · 2021 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published the tenth edition of *Countermeasures That Work* in September 2021 to serve as a primary reference for State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) and highway safety professionals. The guide addresses the need for evidence-based strategies to mitigate traffic safety problems across ten specific program areas: alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, seat belts and child restraints, speeding, distracted driving, motorcycle safety, young drivers, older drivers, pedestrian safety, bicycle safety, and drowsy driving. Its purpose is to assist stakeholders in selecting effective countermeasures by summarizing their use, effectiveness, costs, and implementation timelines, while providing references to key research summaries and individual studies. The document is structured with a dedicated chapter for each program area, beginning with an overview of the problem’s size and characteristics, followed by a glossary and general references. Each chapter features a table listing specific countermeasures and their associated metrics, with detailed discussions of approximately one to two pages per countermeasure. The guide focuses exclusively on behavioral strategies and countermeasures for which SHSOs have authority, explicitly excluding vehicle- or roadway-based solutions, administrative management topics, and universally implemented laws such as .08 g/dL blood alcohol concentration limits. Updates are based solely on published research through May 31, 2018, and data from NHTSA’s 2018 Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Key updates in this edition include the separation of distracted and drowsy driving into distinct chapters and the addition of new countermeasures, such as employer programs for distracted driving, electronic technology for parental monitoring of young drivers, and walking school buses for pedestrians. Existing sections were expanded to cover topics like automated speed enforcement, graduated driver licensing (GDL) restrictions, and bicycle helmet laws for adults. A significant structural change involves moving detailed descriptions of one- and two-star countermeasures to an appendix; these ratings indicate that such measures have either limited high-quality evidence of effectiveness or undetermined effectiveness. Effectiveness ratings, ranging from one to five stars, are primarily based on demonstrated crash reductions, with behavioral and knowledge changes considered when crash data are unavailable. The significance of this publication lies in its role as a curated tool for optimizing state highway safety programs. By highlighting countermeasures with proven effectiveness or promise, the guide allows SHSOs to leverage collective knowledge and avoid ineffective strategies. The authors emphasize that implementation quality—vigorous execution, extensive publicity, and satisfactory funding—is critical to realizing the maximum potential of any countermeasure. The guide encourages states adopting innovative programs to evaluate and publish their findings, thereby contributing to the broader evidence base for traffic safety.

Key finding

The document describes the tenth edition of an NHTSA reference guide that categorizes and updates evidence-based behavioral traffic safety countermeasures for state highway safety offices.

Methodology

review

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• regulatory evaluation
• dui enforcement
• public messaging
• driver education effectiveness
• perceptual countermeasures

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, policy recommendations
• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence