American Highway Users Alliance

N.C. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HONORED FOR REDUCING SEVERE CRASHES

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Thursday, November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) was honored today with a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award for significantly reducing the number of fatal and serious injury crashes at rural intersections.

Key Points:

North Carolina added all-way stops at 350 rural intersections after the state, like others, saw an increase in severe crashes during the pandemic.
As of fall 2022, those intersections showed a 55 percent reduction in total crashes and a 92 percent drop in crashes with fatalities and severe injuries.
They also had 65 percent fewer frontal-impact crashes, such as head-on and T-bone collisions, which are among the deadliest.
Our mission is to reduce the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities by improving roadway systems and their environment.

ILLINOIS TOLLWAY HONORED FOR CREATING THE TIMS2GO MOBILE INCIDENT RESPONSE TOOL

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Thursday, November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Illinois Tollway was honored with a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award today for creating the TIMS2GO Mobile Incident Response Tool, a mobile web application that provides its traffic managers with instant access to livestream video, incident details and status updates of roadway incidents on smartphones, tablets and laptops, helping them to quickly respond.

Key Points:

"TIMS2GO puts the resources of our Traffic Operations Center into our traffic and incident managers' hands, providing real-time information necessary to make informed decisions anytime from anywhere," said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse.
Since its launch in late 2020, the Illinois Tollway has used the TIMS2GO app an average 115 times monthly.
The Illinois Tollway is a user-fee system that receives no state or federal funds for maintenance and operations.
The agency maintains and operates 294 miles of roadways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois, including the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90), the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80) and the Illinois Route 390 Tollway.

FHWA and Roadway Safety Foundation Honor 10 Life-Saving Projects

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Thursday, November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten innovative highway safety projects, representing the very best of the nation's roadway safety practices, were honored today with National Roadway Safety Awards at a Capitol Hill ceremony. Two additional projects received honorable mentions.

Key Points:

The awards were presented by the leadership of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF), which jointly sponsor the competition.
Begun in 1999, the biennial National Roadway Safety Awards honor initiatives that improve roadway safety at the state and local level.
"The stubbornly elevated fatality numbers underscore the urgent need for innovations like the National Roadway Safety Award honorees' projects," said Roadway Safety Foundation Executive Director Bruce Hamilton.
Applicants for the National Roadway Safety Awards were encouraged to nominate projects and programs that are innovative, effective and cost efficient.

MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HONORED FOR WIDESPREAD USE OF "J-TURN INTERSECTIONS" TO REDUCE SEVERITY OF CRASHES

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Thursday, November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) was honored today with a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award for its widespread use of "J-turn intersections" that have significantly reduced the severity of crashes on high-speed divided highways.

Key Points:

A 2021 evaluation of those intersections found a 69 percent reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes, compared with before the J-turns were installed.
The state's first J-turn intersection, in Willmar, has had no fatal or serious injury crashes since its construction.
"The problem-solving creativity and dedication shown by the Minnesota Department of Transportation will save countless lives -- using a data driven approach and practices that are proven to reduce crashes," said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt.
Our mission is to reduce the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities by improving roadway systems and their environment.

NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HONORED FOR INITIATIVE TO COMBAT SPEEDING

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Thursday, November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nevada Department of Transportation today received an Honorable Mention as part of the 2023 National Roadway Safety Awards for its first comprehensive plan to reduce speeds and speeding, leading causes of fatal and severe crashes.

Key Points:

The 70-page plan also brings together planners, designers, law enforcement, public health experts and policy makers to implement a speed management program.
It calls for targeting the most cost-effective measures to areas where they will provide the greatest safety benefits.
Nevada officials noticed a "culture of speed" contributing to severe crashes even before the pandemic, said Lacey Tisler, NDOT's chief traffic safety engineer.
From 2015 to 2019, Nevada had 454 fatal crashes related to high speeds, accounting for 31 percent of all fatal collisions in the state.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HONORED FOR REDUCING PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES ON AUSTIN'S I-35

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Thursday, November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was honored today with a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award for working with community leaders to address concerns about pedestrians crossing Interstate 35 in Austin, thereby, significantly reducing the number of fatalities.

Key Points:

As of June 2023, the targeted section of I-35 had experienced 64 percent fewer pedestrian fatalities overall and 89 percent fewer fatalities among pedestrians facing homelessness, compared with 2019.
Many were hit at night as they tried to cross the highway to reach stores and a fast-food restaurant.
TxDOT partnered with the Federal Highway Administration to study that stretch of I-35 because of the disproportionate number of pedestrians killed.
Though no children had been involved in pedestrian fatalities, TxDOT wanted to further ensure their safety.

SOUTH JERSEY TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ORGANIZATION HONORED FOR CUMBERLAND COUNTY PLAN TO PROTECT PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS

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Thursday, November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO) was honored today with a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award for developing a plan to prioritize making roads and intersections safer for cyclists and pedestrians in rural Cumberland County.

Key Points:

2023 National Roadway Safety Awards recognize innovations to protect travelers as pandemic spike in U.S. road fatalities continues largely unabated
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO) was honored today with a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award for developing a plan to prioritize making roads and intersections safer for cyclists and pedestrians in rural Cumberland County.
The Cumberland County Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Action Plan , finalized in 2022, helped local officials secure federal funding to design and implement safety improvements in six busy corridors.
The roads are in the cities of Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland, where about 77 percent of county residents live.
Between 2012 and 2016, 536 crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians accounted for 2.9 percent of all collisions in Cumberland County.

DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HONORED FOR REDUCING SEVERE CRASHES AT INTERSECTIONS USING ALL-WAY STOP CONTROL

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Wednesday, November 29, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) was honored today with a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award for significantly reducing fatal and serious injury crashes at 20 intersections by converting them to all-way stops.

Key Points:

Between 2017 and 2020, DelDOT converted 20 low-volume intersections statewide, mostly in rural and suburban areas, from two-way to all-way stops.
In the two years after the change (2021 and 2022), the number of crashes at those intersections fell by 71 percent overall.
Fatal crashes dropped by 75 percent, while crashes with injuries plummeted by 90 percent.
Now, DelDOT engineers can consider the usage of all-way stops similar to traditional preliminary steps, such as installing larger stop signs.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HONORED FOR FRICTION TREATMENT THAT REDUCES STOPPING DISTANCES AT INTERSECTIONS

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Wednesday, November 29, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) was honored today with a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award for demonstrating how increasing pavement friction helps motorists stop more quickly and retain better control at high-speed intersections.

Key Points:

Florida and other states had used specially engineered material to increase friction on curves to prevent vehicles from running off the road.
However, this is believed to have been the first time a U.S. transportation agency has used intersection high friction treatment to reduce stopping distances and study its effect on driver stopping behaviors at signalized intersections, as is done in some European countries.
FDOT's two-year before and after study found that the increased friction reduced improper stopping behaviors at the three signalized intersections.
"It helps reduce stopping distance and improper stopping behaviors invading the crosswalks at signalized intersections."

CALTRANS HONORED FOR ENHANCING PEDESTRIAN SAFETY AND PREVENTING WRONG-WAY DRIVING AND RUN-OFF-ROAD CRASHES

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Thursday, November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was honored today with a 2023 National Roadway Safety Award for quickly installing wrong-way driver prevention safety enhancement, high visibility crosswalks, curve warning signs, and other safety enhancements to prevent serious crashes.

Key Points:

The projects were designed to protect pedestrians, head off wrong-way drivers, and prevent motorists from driving off roads on curves.
However, the Highway Maintenance 4 (HM-4) Safety Program is an innovative project delivery strategy that utilizes the maintenance delivery process to install cost-effective safety enhancements based on proactive safety or safety investigation recommendations.
This approach allows districts to implement stand-alone safety projects more quickly, delivering new signs, crosswalks, and other safety measures within a year.
The National Roadway Safety Awards, presented biannually since 1999, are sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and the nonprofit Roadway Safety Foundation.