North Dakota Statewide Traffic Safety Survey, 2012 : Traffic Safety Performance Measures for State and Federal Agencies

MPEGTech ReportTraffic safetyTransportation safetySurveysFederal government agenciesState government agenciesNorth DakotaNorth Dakota. Dept. of TransportationVachal, KimberlyBenson, LaurelKubas, AndrewUpper Great Plains Transportation InstituteNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Highway SafetyNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-AccidentsNTL-PLANNING AND POLICY-SurveysUS Transportation CollectionThe United States trails other industrialized nations in several safety categories on public roadways. Traffic fatality risk, for example, is substantially higher than in other countries as found in Figure 1.1 (World Health Organization, 2009). Although progress has been made in reducing the number of traffic deaths, crashes that result in fatalities, injuries, and property damage continue to occur as a result of preventable factors such as impaired driving and low rates of seat belt use. These results indicate that more work is needed to improve driver behavior and overall safety on public roads. A critical asset in monitoring and communicating traffic safety priorities is a reliable and comprehensive means to set and measure goals in this effort (Government Accounting Office, 2010). In a national initiative to improve transparency and quantify metrics for behavior-based investments designed to reduce motor vehicle crashes, the Governor\ue2\u20ac\u2122s Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) devised a set of performance measures aimed at revealing traffic safety priorities and progress related to behavioral safety plans and programs (NHTSA, 2008)