A Focused Approach to Safety Guidebook

Sawyer, Michael; Fiedler, Rebecca; Nabors, Daniel T.; McGee, Hugh; Miller, Jeffrey; Barrington, Melonie · 2011 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety

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Summary

This document serves as a guidebook for the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) "Focused Approach to Safety," a program designed to reduce highway fatalities and serious injuries by targeting resources toward high-priority states. The initiative addresses the three crash types responsible for the majority of highway deaths: roadway departures (53%), intersection-related crashes (21%), and pedestrian crashes (11%). The program promotes a shift from traditional, site-specific safety management to a low-cost, systemic approach that identifies and treats high-risk roadway features across entire networks. The methodology relies on data-driven eligibility criteria to identify "focus states" requiring additional assistance. Eligibility is determined using a three-year average of fatality data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS). For roadway departures, states qualify if their fatality counts and rates per mile or vehicle miles traveled exceed national averages. Intersection eligibility requires fatality counts above the national average and an actual-to-expected fatality ratio greater than 1.0, adjusted for urban and rural traffic distribution. Pedestrian focus areas include cities with fatality counts or rates exceeding national averages, which automatically qualify their respective states. Once eligible, states engage in a four-step process: assembling a cross-functional team, conducting a kick-off meeting to tailor resources, addressing specific safety challenges through implementation plans, and receiving ongoing support. The program provides focus states with customized data analysis, technical assistance from FHWA experts, and training through the National Highway Institute. It encourages the deployment of nine proven countermeasures, including rumble strips, median barriers, roundabouts, and pedestrian refuge areas. The guidebook highlights the benefits of the systemic approach, noting its cost-effectiveness, ability to proactively prevent crashes at locations with similar geometric features to high-crash sites, and reduced data requirements compared to traditional methods. Since its inception in 2005, 36 states have participated, with studies indicating a 12 to 19 percent reduction in fatalities in focus areas between 2002 and 2008. The significance of this approach lies in its ability to streamline federal funding processes, such as the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), and foster organizational changes in safety culture. By concentrating resources on the most critical safety challenges, the program aims to achieve the "Towards Zero Deaths" vision. The guidebook also notes that while focus states receive priority access to resources, the tools and guidance developed are available to all states to support broader highway safety efforts.

Key finding

The Focused Approach to Safety program targets roadway departure, intersection, and pedestrian crashes, which accounted for 85 percent of all highway fatalities in 2009, to guide the targeted delivery of federal technical assistance and resources.

Methodology

review

Provenance

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Topics

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• comparative international
• regulatory evaluation
• incidence prevalence

Information type

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource