AASHTO has been identifying existing practices for incorporating safety into state departments of transportation (DOTs) decision-making and for implementing the Safe System approach. As the USDOT and others are working to increase awareness and adoption of the Safe System approach, it is important to develop resources to support transportation agency leadership and management, as well as practitioners. The USDOT, in particular the FHWA, has developed a number of resources to support state implementation of the Safe system approach, and AASHTO is working to complement those efforts. Also, several NCHRP projects are focused on implementing the Safe system approach. 

The AASHTO Safety Summit in October 2023 (with participation from 400 safety experts,  across multiple disciplines, representing 28 AASHTO committees) identified analytical and decision-making tools as a key need.  The summit identified existing resources for further dissemination among the states and identified resource needs to develop to fill current gaps. The Safety Action Plan developed as a product of the Summit will provide a detailed starting point for this proposed research.

The objective of this research is to develop resources such as tools, methods, and process models to support consideration of safety throughout the transportation project lifecycle and across state DOT programs using the framework and principles of the Safe System approach. This project will focus on additional tools needed to support the range in project types and tasks, roadway facility types and contexts, user needs, and other factors handled by state DOTs across the country.