Improving Local Roadway Safety with Lessons from Europe

Abstract

A reduction in roadway fatalities is a priority for federal and state departments of transportation in the United States. However, it is estimated that approximately 40 percent of the more then 40,000 annual roadway fatalities in the United States occur along roadways under local governmental (e.g., town, city, and county) jurisdiction. Meeting national and/or state fatality reduction goals will require the organized and direct involvement of local governments, and the planning and implementation of efficient and effective local roadway safety-improvement programs. This article summarizes the overall findings and recommendations of a team of transportation safety experts (including the author) that investigated the components of successful roadway safety programs in four European countries. The applicability of the information gathered during the tour was evaluated by the author to recommend activities that can be used to improve the effectiveness of typical local roadway safety programs in the United States. The implementation of these recommendations should help achieve existing and proposed national, state, and local roadway safety improvement goals.