AASHTO Journal - AASHTO Urges Safety Performance Program Realignment

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urging the agency – and the Federal Highway Administration as well – to adjust the federal safety performance management program in order to support “improved outcomes” among the states in reducing fatalities and serious injuries on the nation’s roads.

[Above image by AASHTO]

AASHTO’s August 22 letter follows an early missive sent in March to FHWA regarding a notice of proposed rulemaking or NPRM issued in January that seeks to “update” federal performance management measures regarding the nation’s transportation system.

AASHTO expressed concern in March regarding FHWA’s justification for establishing authority pertaining to “constant or improved performance from the baseline safety performance” for the nation’s transportation system, pointing out that every state and political subdivision faces “different constraints and opportunities” affecting the transportation systems in their respective areas, such as: available funding; economic conditions; environmental conditions; population growth trends; legislative and gubernatorial mandates and priorities; coordination with local jurisdictions and their priorities; and issues identified in the public involvement process.

That is why AASHTO reiterated its call for a “realignment” of the federal safety performance management program in its August letter.

“State departments of transportation have no higher or more urgent priority than ensuring the safety of every user of our nation’s transportation system,” noted Craig Thompson, AASHTO president and secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, in that letter.

Thompson added that state DOT employees work hard every day to keep their “families, friends, neighbors and travelers in their states safe” when using their transportation networks.

“Yet this country continues to experience a crisis in which too many users of our transportation system do not make it home safely. It is crucial to address this crisis using all means and methods at our disposal,” Thompson stressed.

“As AASHTO president, I have called upon the state DOT community to harness all their data and best practices to significantly move the needle on safety across the country,” he said. “AASHTO and our members believe achieving this goal is our shared responsibility and collaborative action offers our best opportunity to achieve it.”

In addition to calling for a safety performance management program adjustment to better align with state DOT safety initiatives, AASHTO recommended that NHTSA and FHWA align safety performance management measures and funding with concepts of the Safe System Approach.

AASHTO also asked NHTSA and FHWA to provide additional flexibility for state DOTs and State Highway Safety Offices to develop, manage, and evaluate programs that address the needs in their states.

“State DOTs and AASHTO are working aggressively with their partners to identify and implement solutions to the national traffic safety crisis,” Thompson noted. “We look forward to continuing to do so in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Transportation.”