Action Plan for Implementation of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan for Alabama

2007Implementation Report January 1, 2006-June 30, 2007PDFTech ReportUTCA Report 06408(2)CountermeasuresEvaluationImplementationSpeed controlSpeedingStrategic planningHighway safetyTraffic safetyHighwaysOperations and Traffic ManagementI73: Traffic ControlAlabamaUnited StatesUniversity of AlabamaBrown, DavidGuin, LindaTurner, DanBenifield, WayonElrod, WesUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham. Dept. of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity Transportation Center for AlabamaUS Transportation CollectionThere are about 145,000 traffic crashes in a typical year in Alabama, resulting in about 1100 fatalities and 45,000 injuries. This is a staggering toll and reflects the national picture \u2013 40,000 motorists die annually and more than three million are injured on the nation\u2019s roadways. At the encouragement of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) engaged the University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA) to prepare a Comprehensive Highway Safety Plan to reduce fatalities on Alabama Highways. UTCA led a group of 100 volunteers in shaping this plan, which concentrated on five safety topics: Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Legislation, Older or At-Risk Drivers, Risky Driving, and Run-Off-Road crashes. The SAFETEA-LU Legislation enacted in 2005 required that each state develop a Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). Agencies involved in highway safety were required to coordinate their programs and resources and unify their efforts to reduce crashes, injuries, and deaths. UTCA was again engaged by ALDOT, and the plan was developed using volunteers from various agencies and private sector interests. The Alabama SHSP was signed by the Governor and seven State and Federal agency heads on September 30, 2006, and was approved by the Federal Highway Administration. For the five key safety topics, groups of experts were formed to identify the most important elements of the safety topics, the best treatments, cost estimates, and time schedules. Each group worked through the fall of 2006 and early months of 2007 to prepare implementation plans. Chapters 2 though 6 of this report contain the five plans developed through this process.78