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On July 1, 2003, legislation went into effect that established a highway safety corridor (HSC) program for Virginia. The intent of the HSC program is to address safety concerns through a combination of law enforcement, education, and engineering countermeasures. Fines for violations in the highway safety corridors are doubled, subject to a $200 minimum for criminal infractions and a $500 maximum for traffic offenses. The Code of Virginia required the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner, in conjunction with the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Superintendent of the Virginia State Police, to develop criteria for designating and evaluating highway safety corridors. The legislation required that this process include a review of "crash data, accident reports, type and volume of vehicular traffic, and engineering and traffic studies." This report documents the results of a study to develop a method to designate HSCs on Virginia's interstate and primary systems. The impacts of the HSC program on interstate crashes and speeds are also presented. The framework for the interstate program described was adopted and applied by the Virginia Department of Transportation, resulting in the installation of three HSCs around the state. The results of an evaluation of the data for 2004 indicate that the program did not produce a benefit in terms of safety or speed reduction, although the results were based on only 1 year of data. Preliminary crash data for 2005 indicate that a positive safety benefit may have occurred at the I-81 and I-95 Richmond HSCs. A rigorous analysis of the 2005 data could not be performed since comparison site data were not yet available, but the preliminary data seem promising. The HSC program currently does not have any dedicated resources with which countermeasures may be implemented; this may limit the potential effectiveness of the program. Additional effects might be observed if dedicated resources were available to allow a more systematic approach to enforcement, education, and engineering within the designated HSCs. Further analysis of the HSCs using at least two more years of data should be performed to gain a more accurate picture of whether the HSCs have had a positive safety benefit.
This paper describes some suggested revisions in the format of and method and procedures for compiling the Annual Highway Safety Work Program (AHSWP) required of the states by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Prior to fiscal year 1972, the states were required to send little information to the NHTSA (then the National Highway Safety Bureau) regarding activities and expenditures for future highway safety projects. Following the introduction of the Annual Work Program, however, the states were required to submit multi-year and annual plans and projections in a format similar to that of the Planning, Programming, Budgeting Systems (PPBS) models adopted during the 1960s by many federal agencies. It is suggested that problems with the AHSWP, both those caused by the system itself and those resulting from a lack of confidence in it by state program administrators, have impeded effective program management in the states. Revisions-to the AHSWP, which are based upon some of the data elements and information requirements of the Program Information Reporting System, the Design Manual for State Traffic Records Systems, and certain aspects of the management by objectives concepts now embraced by the NHTSA, are felt to be an asset to state highway safety program management. Examples of the new approach are given.
On March 22, 2003, Governor Mark Warner approved Senate Bill 1093 (SB 1093). SB1093 establishes a highway safety corridor (HSC) program for the Commonwealth. The program will attempt to address safety concerns through a combination of law enforcement, education, and safety enhancements. Fines for violations in the highway safety corridors will be doubled up to a maximum of $500. SB 1093 requires that the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner, in conjunction with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Superintendent of State Police, develop criteria for designating and evaluating highway safety corridors. This process is to include a review of crash data, accident reports, type and volume of vehicular traffic, and engineering and traffic studies. This report provides background information as to how an HSC program might operate in Virginia as well as a general indication of its potential impact on highway safety. Examples of similar programs in other states are reviewed, and a general framework for establishing an HSC program in Virginia is presented. Experiences from around the nation suggest that an HSC program could create beneficial safety impacts, but further work is needed to refine it.
In 1993, Virginia began to formalize the relationships and organizational structure for its Safety Management System (SMS). Although the SMS is no longer a federal requirement, Virginia decided to continue its implementation. The Focal Point for the SMS is within the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the SMS Steering Committee in Virginia is composed of representatives of VDOT, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Virginia State Police, the Office of Emergency Medical Services of the Virginia Department of Health, and the Commission on the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program. This report outlines options that have the potential to enhance the ability of Virginia's SMS to facilitate traffic safety in the Commonwealth. The report recommends that Virginia's SMS Steering Committee consider the following options: (1) establish an SMS coordinator position, (2) formalize a strategic planning process, (3) use the SMS to vitalize local traffic safety commissions, (4) encourage the use of the holistic corridor approach by community traffic safety programs, (5) provide for more integral involvement of the public health community in Virginia's SMS, (6) determine whether electronic communication would further Virginia's transportation safety goals, and (7) provide for the implementation of improved traffic records.