Using Peer Exchanges to Improve the Effectiveness of Strategic Highway Safety Plans (2014)

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4To produce a successful peer exchange event that effectively supports a State’s SHSP, it is important that the sponsoring State have knowledge of the SHSP objectives, process, and requirements. SAFETEA-LU, which was signed into law in 2005, established the Highway Safety Improve- ment Program (HSIP) as a core Federal-aid program. The specific provisions pertaining to the HSIP are defined in Section 1401 of SAFETEA-LU, which amended Section 148 of Title 23, United States Code (23 USC 148) to incorporate these provisions. These requirements include the development of SHSPs in consultation with other key State and local highway safety stake- holders, and a number of reporting requirements. MAP-21, established in 2012, reinforces ongoing progress toward achieving safety targets by requiring regular plan updates and defining a clear linkage between behavioral State safety programs and the SHSP. The SHSP remains a statewide coordinated plan developed in coopera- tion with a broad range of multidisciplinary stakeholders. In addition, SHSPs can be developed at a city, county, or metropolitan planning organization (MPO) level for the sake of developing a similar plan to address safety within those jurisdictions. A peer exchange may serve to confirm or validate the quality and completeness of an SHSP, and to highlight potential implementation pitfalls. The following section highlights the char- acteristics of good SHSPs and what is necessary for their implementation. 2.1 What Is an SHSP? An SHSP is a coordinated safety plan for reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. The SHSP is developed by a lead agency—typically the State DOT—which assumes the responsibility for its implementation. This agency implements the SHSP in a cooperative process with local, State, Federal, and private sector stakeholders. The SHSP is a data-driven, comprehensive plan that establishes statewide goals, objectives, and key emphasis areas that integrate the Four E’s of Traffic Safety—Engineering, Education, Enforcement, and Emergency Medical Services. States are required to conduct data analyses, stimulate communication among traditional and nontraditional highway safety partners, and ensure strategic safety planning and implementation of action items. 2.2 Purpose of the SHSP The purpose of the SHSP process is to identify a State’s key roadway safety needs and coun- termeasures that will guide highway safety investment decisions and result in a reduction in highway fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. The SHSP provides a tool that allows C H A P T E R 2 Strategic Highway Safety Plan Basics

Strategic Highway Safety Plan Basics 5 all highway safety programs to work together in an effort to align and leverage resources. It also positions the State and its safety partners to collectively address the State’s traffic safety challenges.2 Incorporating safety into the overall Transportation Management Process (see Fig- ure 1) ensures that safety is explicitly considered in all decisions and is incorporated into the department’s overall project development processes. 2.3 Fundamental Elements SHSP development and implementation broke new ground in safety because multidisci- plinary, collaborative relationships had not been standard practice in the past. The pioneering efforts of States over the last few years have brought to light elements that consistently appear in effective implementation efforts. Effective use of the following fundamental elements sup- ports all SHSP practices: • Leadership • Collaboration • Communication • Data collection and analysis • Leveraging resources.3 These concepts are among some of the most important to the SHSP and are often explored in-depth at peer exchanges. These are covered extensively in the SHSP Implementation Process Model (IPM) and are also discussed briefly below. The IPM and additional resources are found at the following FHWA website: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/shsp. Leadership Sustained, visible, and committed leadership is a fundamental element to successful SHSP implementation, evaluation, and updates. Leaders recognize that implementing an SHSP is a long-term, ongoing process that changes how safety partners interact and collaborate to create and manage effective safety programs. Leaders are responsible for influencing policy direction, setting priorities, and defining performance expectations for agency staff; affect- ing the way partner agencies respond to SHSP requirements; controlling time and resource allocation; managing interagency relationships; and establishing accountability for actions and outcomes. SHSP development and implementation has revealed three fundamental leadership roles important for SHSP success. • Role 1: Administrators/Executives/Leadership: These leaders establish agency priorities and have both access to resources and the ability to implement change; in other words, they may not be involved in the day-to-day management responsibility for program development and implementation, but they are able to “move mountains” in terms of resource allocation and policy support. • Role 2: Champions: These leaders inspire others to follow their direction. Champi- ons are people who provide enthusiasm and support to SHSP implementation; have excellent interpersonal skills; are expediters; are credible and accountable; tend to be 2 Federal Highway Administration, Strategic Highway Safety Plans website. http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/shsp/. 3 Ibid.

6 Using Peer Exchanges to Improve the Effectiveness of Strategic Highway Safety Plans subject matter experts; and are highly respected within their own agencies and in the safety community. They need not necessarily be in top management positions, but they are internally visible, respected, and listened to by those above and below them in an organization. • Role 3: Implementers: Implementers are often known as program managers. Their activities keep the implementation process on track. They manage the process and attend to the day- to-day tasks of arranging, facilitating, and documenting program efforts, tracking progress, and moving discrete activities through to completion. In some cases, a single person may fulfill all these roles, but it is more often the case that these responsibilities are assumed by multiple people. Leadership can also be established through institutionalized partnerships among the DOT, State Highway Safety Office, Department of Public Safety, Department of Health, and other partner agencies. The partnership ensures that traditional safety-funded programs are driven by the SHSP, and also institutionalizes the continuity necessary to sustain safety efforts through changes of administration and personnel. SHSP peer exchanges can help to bring the leadership together for more effective SHSP development and implementation. Peer exchanges can also help identify gaps in these key roles by comparison with other State efforts. Collaboration The SHSP development process establishes broad-based collaboration among many agen- cies and organizations. Collaborative relationships among safety partners are fundamental to the SHSP process because the responsibility for addressing the wide range of programs and disciplines necessary for improving transportation safety falls upon many participants. States can facilitate internal collaboration through agency policies and procedures and support external collaboration through inter/intra-agency communication. Establishing collaborative arrange- ments where partners regularly work together builds trust and understand- ing. This collaboration helps expand the initiative to the broader safety community and foster widespread understanding and support for safety priorities. Collaboration results in a wiser use of limited resources and may facili- tate leveraging additional resources to achieve a broader range of program objectives. For example, multiple agencies may have responsibilities that require the use of crash data. Col- laboration among these agencies and individuals is imperative to effectively support crash data collection and analysis, minimize duplication of effort, and identify unique data from each partner that can be valuable to the team. Solutions reached collaboratively among several agencies and data users result in improved processes, opportunities to apply inno- vative approaches, and cost-sharing among the agencies. Collaboration on SHSP strategies and/or projects also brings new partners and further expands resources to assist with SHSP implementation. In addition, identifying existing programs within the HSIP, the Highway Safety Plan (HSP), and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan (CVSP) that fit within the SHSP emphasis areas is vital to the effectiveness of the SHSP. Communication Effective communication among internal and external stakeholders is the foundation upon which successful SHSPs are developed, shared, implemented, and tracked. Collaboration results in a wiser use of resources and may facilitate leveraging additional resources to achieve program objectives.

Strategic Highway Safety Plan Basics 7 • Communication among Agencies: One of the challenges facing States as they move forward is that the majority of stakeholders already have full-time jobs requiring their time and atten- tion. These stakeholders need to know “What’s in it for me?” to sustain their interest and involvement and to enable effective ongoing communication. Describing the vital role each safety stakeholder plays in the SHSP process, as well as the benefits they will receive through participation, builds buy-in and ownership. Conducting regular meetings where stakeholders report on progress, offer opinions on SHSP programs and activities, share data and informa- tion, identify opportunities, solve problems, and celebrate successes builds transparency into the process and maintains communication. Newsletters (including e-newsletters), periodic written updates, and status reports on SHSP activities are extremely useful tools to keep all the agencies/partners involved in the process. Development of these items is often handled by the SHSP lead agency. As an ex- ample, Maryland used an SHSP newsletter to keep the lines of communication open among their stakeholders.4 • Intra-agency Communication: Effective communication within organizations and agen- cies responsible for SHSP implementation is also essential. The existence of institutional- ized communication mechanisms to support information sharing among technical and senior staff facilitates decision making and enables agencies to be more effective. Methods may include weekly e-mails sharing statistics, monthly newsletters to SHSP coalition mem- bers with project updates, and quarterly in-person meetings to help guide the direction of the program. Data Collection and Analysis The purpose of a data-driven process is to direct resources to projects and programs with the greatest potential impact to advance toward the goal. The strength of the SHSP lies in a State’s ability to identify and analyze safety-related data (e.g., crash data, roadway information, enforcement data, and medical records). Just as data were analyzed to identify crash character- istics, trends, and behaviors during the SHSP development phase, data analysis is critical for prioritizing countermeasures, evaluating results, and updating the plan. Data analysis reveals the reductions in fatalities and serious injuries associated with implementing effective safety programs and countermeasures, as well as a lack of effectiveness stemming from implement- ing sub-optimal approaches. By cross-referencing these benefits with other considerations, such as cost and resource availability, projects, programs, and resources can be prioritized more effectively. Leveraging Resources Improving safety through the SHSP process requires funding. State budgets are typically prepared a year or more in advance, and making adjustments to fund SHSP activities can be challenging. Identifying existing programs or safety efforts that fit within the SHSP emphasis areas may allow for leveraging the committed resources to help implement SHSP programs and projects. Integrating SHSP activities into long-range transportation plans (LRTPs) is another source for leveraging. The relationships and overlaps among the planned safety solutions and countermeasures found within these plans are important to following through with future implementation. It is necessary for the SHSP to highlight how transportation safety resources should be allocated, both in terms of jurisdictional responsibility and functional need (e.g., education, 4 For more information about the Maryland SHSP newsletters, visit http://www.choosesafetyforlife.com/shsp.asp.

8 Using Peer Exchanges to Improve the Effectiveness of Strategic Highway Safety Plans engineering, enforcement). SHSP leadership should seek support from upper management to prioritize the needs identified through this process. 2.4 Steps for SHSP Implementation The careful and calculated development of the SHSP objectives and strategies is the initial step toward reaching established goals. To help a State achieve its safety goals, the SHSP must have a defined path for implementation. SHSP development, implementation, and evaluation materials are available at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/shsp/. Steps for implementation include the following: 1. Develop emphasis area action plans 2. Integrate the SHSP into other transportation plans 3. Develop an outreach/marketing strategy 4. Monitor progress, evaluate results, and establish a feedback loop to enable corrective action. Develop Emphasis Area Action Plans and Teams SHSPs are implemented through the objectives, strategies, and action plans developed for each emphasis area. An emphasis area can be defined as a type of crash (e.g., roadway departure, intersection-related); contributing circum- stance (e.g., impaired driver); or type of user (e.g., young drivers) that will be the focus of an SHSP to reduce overall fatalities and severe injuries in a jurisdiction. Multidisciplinary emphasis area action planning committees that include various agencies and encourage differing perspectives can result in more robust safety programs. They keep stakeholders involved, interested, and motivated. The needs and priorities of different agencies should be con- sidered to ensure they have a stake in the SHSP and are committed to its implementation. An effective action plan describes in detail how each of the strategies will be accomplished through a series of action steps. It identifies the responsible persons and agencies and includes performance measures, deadlines, evaluation criteria, and resource requirements. Integrate Into Other Transportation Plans Integrating the SHSP into statewide and metropolitan LRTPs, State Transportation Improve- ment Plans (STIPs), and other plans and programs advances the priorities of the safety agenda. These plans reflect statewide priorities, provide a blueprint of action for key agencies, and influ- ence resource distribution. Develop a Marketing Strategy A well-designed marketing strategy performs several functions, including informing the general public on transportation safety issues, educating key political leaders on their role in saving lives, and encouraging active partici- pation in SHSP implementation activities among safety partners. Marketing to individuals both inside and outside of the transportation community and to nonparticipating partners helps build and maintain support for SHSP implementation and future funding opportunities. It also broadens the reach of the SHSP to those who may not participate in implementation activities on a regular basis. Effective SHSP marketing strategies include, among other things, news events, websites, newsletters, and a branding theme with which stakeholders and the public can identify. SHSP IMPLEMENTATION STEPS • Emphasis Area Action Plans • Integrating Into Other Transportation Plans • Marketing • Monitoring, Evaluation & Feedback

Strategic Highway Safety Plan Basics 9 Monitor, Evaluate, and Provide Feedback Monitoring, evaluation, and feedback are essential steps for any strategic planning process. Institutionalizing lessons learned during the implementation phase can improve the efficiency of future efforts. Peer exchanges are an excellent venue for obtaining information through these elements. Comprehensive action plans identify the parties responsible for implementing action steps and include performance measures and deadlines. SHSP leadership should establish a monitoring process and assign responsibilities for updating the information frequently. An evaluation process should be developed to ensure appropriate data are collected for evaluating both the overall program and individual projects. Finally, a feedback loop should be incorpo- rated into the plan to ensure that leadership and stakeholders are continuously informed of the plan’s progress, information is used to make plan adjustments, and plan updates are based on data-driven evaluation results.