AASHTO Journal - AASHTO Poster Session Reflects Safe System Approach

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials hosted a special poster session during its 2025 Safety Summit October 28-30 in New Orleans.

[Above photo by AASHTO]

AASHTO said that poster session showcased how state departments of transportation and some of their partners from around the country incorporate safety more deeply into their respective transportation project decision-making processes.

On display at the 2025 Safety Summit were 64 posters submitted for this year’s session; highlighting how a wide variety of state DOT endeavors – from safety education initiatives and vulnerable road user or VRU safety assessments to roundabout intersection projects – incorporate some or all of the six principles of the “Safe System” approach; an approach in which deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable; humans make mistakes; humans are vulnerable; responsibility is shared; safety is proactive; and redundancy is crucial.

For example, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) highlighted a collaborative effort conducted with the Connecticut Highway Safety Office and the Colchester Fire Department in support of a statewide educational program to advance Connecticut’s “Move Over” initiative.

That effort aimed to enhance driver awareness and protect emergency personnel operating along roadways. As part of the program, the Colchester Fire Department acquired and deployed a Scorpion device, mounted on a repurposed town truck, to serve as a physical safety barrier for roadside operations.

Another CTDOT poster detailed the agency’s “Rounding Out Roundabouts in CT” program – showcasing a data-driven methodology developed by the agency for analyzing intersections for roundabouts with safety at the core. The poster about this program included a flow chart mapping out decision points and screening metrics, as well.

Concurrently, a Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development poster detailed how an agency-led VRU safety assessment identified target analysis areas (TAAs) statewide that have a high potential for reducing crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists.

After the TAAs were identified, Louisiana DOTD developed methodology to prioritize specific areas within the TAAs for project development.

“This annual poster exhibit is all about helping state DOTs present compact visualizations of their safety initiatives so they can share them more easily with their peers,” explained Kelly Hardy, AASHTO’s program manager for safety. “It is one more way to help state DOTs share best practices and help each other improve their safety efforts.”