Final Scope

States choose and implement projects and programs aligned with their Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) and the National Roadway Safety Strategy goal of eliminating fatal and serious injuries. While all states adhere to the regulations, practices, and evaluation requirements, methods vary.  Both Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and Highway Safety Office (HSO) programs are key federal-aid initiatives aimed at achieving this goal on public roads through implementation of education, emergency services, enforcement, and engineering safety countermeasures. A synthesis of program practices will demonstrate how states are reducing serious injury and fatal crashes through coordination and collaboration between HSIP and HSO.

The objective of this synthesis is to document how states coordinate HSIP and HSO management, practices, and associated funding in their processes, including program structure, planning, implementation, data sharing, evaluation, and reporting.

Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to):

• Organizational and management structures of HSIP and HSO;
  Identification of the SHSP custodian;
• HSIP and HSO Evaluation metrics, data, tools, and influence on other project delivery methods; 
  Coordination and execution of BIL/IIJA special rules (sub-program project selection processes: Safe Routes to School, Railroad at-grade crossings, High Risk Rural Road, Vulnerable Road User Assessment) and NHTSA penalty funds;
• General coordination between HSIP and HSO as well as specific coordination in planning and project selection process;
• How safety stakeholders (primarily HSIP and HSO) share public feedback obtained from Public Participation and Engagement (PPE) efforts; and
• Dashboards and publicly shared data, data collection practices, including innovative data sources such as crowd-sourced and Artificial Intelligence analyses. 

Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be addressed.

Information Sources (Partial): 

• NCHRP syntheses Report 631: Practices for Integrating Performance-Based Plans with Long-Range Transportation Plans and Statewide Transportation Investment Programs, available online at: https://doi.org/10.17226/27828.
• NCHRP Synthesis Report 615: DOT Practices on Road Safety Audits, available online at: https://doi.org/10.17226/27648
• Highway Safety Improvement Program National Scan Tour - 2016.
• FHWA HSIP Guidance, Legislation & Policy; Governors Highway Safety Association Resources.

TRB Staff
Arefeh Nasri
Phone: 202-334-2763
Email: anasri@nas.edu

Meeting Dates
First Panel Meeting: October 10, 2024, in-person meeting in Washington, DC
Teleconference with Consultant: November 4, 2024, 1:00-2:00 pm EST, via Zoom
Second Panel Meeting: June 30, 2025, in-person meeting in Washington, DC.

Panel Members
Pamela Golden, Alaska Department of Transportation
Raymond J. Khoury, Virginia Department of Transportation
Kelly Mar, California Department of Transportation
Joseph Moges, Maryland State Highway Administration
Bonnie S. Polin, Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Linda Powell, Michigan Department of Transportation
Michael Vaughn, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Danielle Betkey, FHWA Liaison