CNCounty News

Rural Road Safety: A Focus for County Elected Officials

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Local roads less traveled than state highways, have higher rate of crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries

Each year a disproportionate number of the nation’s fatalities occur on local roads. Working together, county elected officials and safety officials can leverage their combined knowledge on safety and community issues to reduce road crashes, injuries, and deaths.  Effective collaboration and communication among community and safety stakeholders are necessary in order to achieve ambitious yet achievable safety goals.

While local roads are less traveled than state highways, they have a higher rate of crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries.  In 2013, more than 12,000 people were killed on local roads across the U.S. — a fatality rate greater than 1.5 per 100 million vehicle-miles of travel, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

This is almost three times the fatality rate of the Interstate Highway System.  Also in 2013, the overall cost of crashes on local roads was well over $100 billion, accounting for fatalities, decreased quality of life due to injuries and economic costs (medical, insurance and property loss).

On July 13, 2015, Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx signed a resolution reflecting the need to improve safety on county-owned roads and affirming that the U.S. Department of Transportation will work with the National Association of Counties (NACo) to improve road safety in America’s communities.  This resolution underscores the important role that local elected officials play in improving road safety in their communities.

Road Safety Resources for County Elected Officials

Over the years, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Safety has partnered with NACo and local officials to develop a number of informational resources to help communities improve road safety.  These tools can help mitigate safety risks and reduce crashes and related injuries and deaths.  Resources include brochures, technical reports and guides as well as audiovisual materials that are readily available for practical use.

FHWA recognizes the role of elected officials in roadway safety and their responsibility to road users in their communities. But we also recognize the demands on the time of an elected official. 

As a result, a new FHWA Safety video titled Local Elected Officials: Leading the Way in Local Road Safety and an accompanying brochure were developed to give local elected officials a big-picture look at local road safety issues, and also to provide guidance on how to engage, collaborate, and coordinate actions with safety officials. 

Officials are given tips on how to get the best information for safety decision-making such as working with safety agencies to obtain up-to-date crash data or consulting with safety officials to learn how roads may be made safer.

The video features several local elected officials describing their engagement and collaboration with officials to improve safety on their roads.

One instance of such a discussion is provided by Supervisor Linda Langston, former NACo president from Linn County, Iowa, who talks about the importance of working with safety officials and supporting them to improve safety on her county’s roads.

Along with Langston, Commissioner Cindy Bobbitt, Grant County, Okla., recommends close coordination with county engineers and other safety stakeholders, and learning about cost-effective treatments to address safety issues and save lives.

A related video was developed to help local safety officials better communicate safety topics with elected officials.  The video, Communicating about Local Road Safety with Local Elected Officials, guides practitioners on how to best engage with local officials and make them aware of their vital role in preventing crashes. 

They are encouraged to communicate safety facts using clear, concise language supplemented with compelling facts about actual crashes and also with success stories of how similar communities have overcome their safety challenges. They are also advised to build and maintain relationships with other safety stakeholders to gather information and reinforce support for initiatives. 

Other tips include educating officials about proven, effective, low-cost solutions; scaling proposals to a level that local officials can address; and involving officials in road safety events and offering public acknowledgment of their support.

For additional Information and resources about local road safety see FHWA’s web page for Local and Rural Road Safety

Several officials are featured in the video demonstrating their approach to safety discussions with elected officials.

For instance, David Brand, Madison County,  Ohio engineer, acknowledges the challenge of selling safety initiatives, but talks about being prepared (i.e., having the facts) and presenting the information in an understandable format.

 “Safety officials can offer a wealth of knowledge to help county officials make the best safety decisions,” said Michael Griffith, director, Office of Safety Technologies, FHWA.  

“We believe the informational resources we are providing can help improve the interaction between officials and elected officials so that more lives can be saved in their local communities.” 

 

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