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ABOUT SHSP
With the passage of the Safe, Accountable Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act-A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Congress challenged states by calling for the development of comprehensive Strategic Highway Safety Plans (SHSP’s) aimed at reducing deaths and injuries associated with traffic crashes. The goal is to lower the number of traffic fatalities nationwide. The strategy is to bring together the four safety components, engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency medical services (“4 E’s”) in each state to implement a comprehensive strategic plan.
Georgia’s traffic fatality rate has closely resembled the national highway fatality rate for several years. Georgia experienced an increase of 103 highway fatalities in 2005, and the statewide fatality rate increased from 1.46 in 2004 to 1.54 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2005. The national fatality count during the same period is 43,443, up from 42,836 in 2004 - an increase of 607 fatalities. Georgia’s increase accounts for 17% of the national increase. This distinction highlights Georgia’s need to seriously consider new approaches and comprehensive highway safety initiatives to reduce motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities.
Georgia’s highway fatalities peaked in 1973 at 1,928. Specific evaluations are needed to identify which actions are most effective in Georgia. For example, fatalities on state routes only increased by 3% (1102 to 1134) from 2004 to 2005, fatalities on non-state routes increased by 13% (539 to 610). This indicates new strategies are needed to affect the climb in highway fatalities. In 2000 dollars, the costs of traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths exceed $7.8 billion per year.
In an effort to create and support a strategic highway safety plan, the highway safety partnerships established a leadership team, working groups, data analysis team and highway safety emphasis area task teams. The teams are charged with timely efforts to identify problems and develop action plans.
Georgia’s first Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) was drafted with a current data analysis report. (2005 and previous trend data.) Some data categories track the number of crashes while others track the number of fatalities. Georgia’s SHSP also includes a review of existing highway safety plans in Georgia and incorporates those existing highway safety plans into the SHSP. The action plans within the existing highway safety shall continue to represent the SHSP actions. In addition, important public safety issues were evaluated and prioritized in order to develop Georgia’s Key Emphasis Areas (KEA’s). Once the Key Emphasis Areas were established, these were then validated based on “four dimensions.” The four dimensions are defined under the section designated “Prioritization Using Georgia Crash Data.” The SHSP recognizes “Current Strategies.” These are current efforts in place for the reduction of crashes. Along with the current strategies, the SHSP lists “Future Opportunities” which are considerations for possible future strategies. The future opportunities also provide ideas for ways to combine strategies and identify new joint countermeasures to reduce the increasing deaths on Georgia’s roadways.
Georgia's Goal
Georgia adopted a goal of 1.0 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled by 2010. Achieving this goal by 2010 will save 511 lives. Further evaluation of the countermeasures will indicate the most effective actions to decrease highway fatalities. The strategic goal may be refined to reflect the results of the evaluation.
In its August 2006 meeting, the SPL adopted Georgia’s vision, mission, guiding principles and initial KEA’s. In further considerations, the SPL established Georgia’s strategic highway safety goal and prioritized the KEA’s. Georgia’s vision establishes that any loss of life is unacceptable. Highway safety lifesaving efforts will continuously strive to eliminate all crashes, injuries and fatalities:
“Every Life Counts – Strive for Zero Deaths and Injuries on Georgia Roads.”
Likewise, Georgia’s mission is all inclusive of the highway safety stakeholders and road users. It is consistent with Governor Sonny Perdue’s priorities to be the best managed State in the nation and to be a safe, educated, healthy and growing Georgia.
“Georgia’s mission is to continue to strengthen initiatives
in education, engineering, enforcement and emergency medical services to
eliminate crashes, injuries, and deaths to have the safest roads in the
nation.”
NEW FOR MAY 2008---GET THE SPEEDWATCH MEDIA KIT FROM THE SPEED MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP HERE
Scenes from the February 13, 2008 SHSP Task Team Action Plan Workshop
The latest SHSP Newsletter can be found here
Older newsletters include: June 2007
NEWS FROM THE NOVEMBER 28TH SHSP LEADERSHIP MEETING CAN BE FOUND HERE
NEW FOR NOVEMBER 16TH--THE NEWEST GOVERNOR'S STRATEGIC HIGHWAY SAFETY PLAN IS NOW AVAILABLE. CLICK HERE FOR THE REPORT....
VIEW THE GOHS FATALITY SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM
Read the Recommendations of the Young Adult Driver Task Team 2007-2008 HERE
Auxilary material from the June 2007 SHSP Newsletter includes:
and
Traffic Engineering for Police
Click here for a copy of the 2006 Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
For more information about the Governor's Strategic Highway Safety Plan, contact:
Randy Clayton
Operations Manager
Strategic Highway Safety Plan
404-651-8503
rclayton@gohs.ga.gov
Georgia’s SHSP Structure
Georgia’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) provides a review of Georgia’s highway safety planning as well as existing plans in agencies throughout Georgia. The SHSP followed the Integrated Safety Management Process (ISMP) recommended by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s (NCHRP) Report 501. Georgia’s SHSP was created with the guidance of the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) SHSP.
Georgia highway safety leaders launched the comprehensive planning effort by committing to funding an Operations Manager position and related planning expenses. Georgia created a specialized position and interagency agreement to provide day-to-day oversight of the SHSP.
The early SHSP leaders include Governor Sonny Perdue and his policy advisers, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), and Department of Public Safety (DPS). In mid-2005, the leaders committed to a formal intergovernmental agreement between the GDOT and the GOHS. This agreement sets out the structure and funding of the planning expenses associated with developing Georgia’s SHSP for the next three years. The expenditures flow through GDOT and onto GOHS to cover these costs. Furthermore, the agreement provides that the organizational structure shall be established in accordance with the Integrated Safety Management Process. The Georgia SHSP structure is built from all of Georgia’s highway safety stakeholders, leaders, administrations and operations. The structure includes key emphasis areas and corresponding task teams.
The Integrated Safety Management Process identifies six steps to follow to progress from the planning phase to action or implementation phases with detailed descriptions of all SHSP participants’ responsibilities. These are:
› Review highway safety information.
› Establish emphasis area goals.
› Develop objectives, strategies, and preliminary action plans to
address the emphasis areas.
› Determine the appropriate combination of strategies for identified
emphasis areas.
› Develop detailed action plans.
› Implement the action plans and evaluate performance.
Georgia highway safety partners are engaged in developing objectives, strategies and preliminary action plans to address KEA’s. This includes determining an appropriate combination of criteria for strategies, detailed action plans, implementation of the SHSP, and an evaluation process.
Georgia regularly considers AASHTO’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan guidance and direction for planning, deployment, and evaluation of effective countermeasures that have the greatest impact. The AASHTO analyzed highway safety data to determine the “scope of the problem” and to develop Key Emphasis Areas. Additionally, the NCHRP developed Implementation Guides for each of the KEA’s. These Guides contain innovative countermeasures that supplement Georgia’s current strategies.
The Georgia SHSP Working Group considers the latest highway safety data in order to propose recommendations to the Safety Program Leadership (SPL) for further input and adoption. All reviews considered at least three years of data through 2005.
The ISMP emphasizes strong leadership and executive level involvement. This is essential to maintain the commitment and momentum to develop, implement, and sustain a comprehensive highway safety plan. Georgia, at the direction of Governor Sonny Perdue, organized its SHSP executive team establishing the Safety Program Leadership. The SPL members represent federal, state, and local agencies as well as private associations. As the ISMP recommends, decision makers accept the responsibility to participate first hand. The Safety Program Leadership is committed to the successful implementation and perpetual development of the SHSP. The SPL shall meet at least quarterly to direct the progress of the SHSP. The SHSP shall be updated annually and submitted to Governor Perdue.
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