Transportation Research Board Special Report 354

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International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-72094-6
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-72094-X
Digital Object Identifier: http://doi.org/10.17226/27804

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COMMITTEE ON TRANSITIONING EVIDENCE-BASED ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE

JOSEPH L. SCHOFER (Chair), Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University

SAEED D. BARBAT, Executive Technical Leader, Ford Motor Company

RACHEL A. CARPENTER, Chief Safety Officer, California Department of Transportation

GRADY T. CARRICK, Chief Executive Officer, Enforcement Engineering, Inc.

JANICE DANIEL, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology

PAUL P. JOVANIS, Professor Emeritus, The Pennsylvania State University

FRANZ LOEWENHERZ, Mobility Planning and Solutions Manager, City of Bellevue Transportation Department

JEEVANJOT SINGH, Section Chief Engineering, Bureau of Safety, Bicycle and Pedestrian Programs, New Jersey Department of Transportation

BETTY SMOOT-MADISON, Deputy Commissioner, Strategy and Planning, City of Atlanta, Atlanta Department of Transportation

ROBERT C. WUNDERLICH, Director, Center for Transportation Safety, Texas A&M Transportation Institute

C. Y. DAVID YANG, President and Executive Director, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

JINGZHEN (GINGER) YANG, Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University

Study Staff

DAVID O. WILLAUER, Study Director

THOMAS R. MENZIES, JR., Director, Consensus and Advisory Studies, Transportation Research Board

BRITTANY P. BISHOP, Program Officer

DYLAN REBSTOCK, Program Officer

TIMOTHY B. MARFLAK, Program Coordinator

CLAUDIA SAULS, Program Coordinator

Reviewers

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by CHRIS HENDRICKSON (NAE), Carnegie Mellon University, and RICARDO MARTINEZ (NAM),

Acknowledgments

The committee thanks the many individuals who contributed to its work. The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Office of Safety Research and Development liaison was James Pol, who provided contract oversight and handled information requests from the study staff. Other liaisons include King W. Gee, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Safety and Mobility, and David Harkey, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The committee was briefed by or received information from federal and state agencies; foreign academic, policy, and consulting agencies; experts in road safety and transportation planning; and experts in translating medical research into practice. The committee expresses its gratitude from the following individuals.

From federal, state, and local agencies: Jessica Cicchino and David Harkey, IIHS; James Pol and Rick Drumm, FHWA; King W. Gee, AASHTO; Brian Keierleber, Buchanan County Iowa; Robert Molloy, National Transportation Safety Board; Colonel Matt Packard, Colorado State Patrol and the International Association of Chiefs of Police; Bonnie S. Polin, Massachusetts Department of Transportation; Nanda Srinivasan and Essie Wagner, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; and Rob Viola, New York City Department of Transportation.

From foreign academic, policy, and consulting agencies: Andrew Bur-bridge, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland; Narelle Haworth, Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety, Queensland; Sarah Jones, Driven, Perth; Topaz Peled, Israel National Road Safety Authority; Matteo Rizzi, Swedish Transport Authority; Richard Tay, Royal Melbourne

Contents

PREFACE

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1 INTRODUCTION

Study Scope and Process

Review of Previous Studies

Report Outline

2 U.S. ROAD SAFETY: CRISIS, CONTEXT, AND CULTURE

Introduction

U.S. Road Safety in the International Context

International Approaches to Road Safety

Automobility and the Safety of All Road Users

Federalism and Road Safety

Social and Political Factors

Sidebar: Automated Traffic Enforcement: Hitting a Culture Barrier

Summary

Sidebar: The Safe System Approach

3 RESEARCH TO PRACTICE IN ROAD SAFETY

Introduction

The Process of Transitioning Safety Research into Practice

Phase I: Road Safety Research

Phase II: Countermeasure Implementation

Sidebar: The 85th Percentile Speed Limit: Legacy Guidance Lives on But Where Is the Evidence?

Phase III: Post Implementation Evaluation

Summary

4 CHALLENGES TO MOVING CRASH COUNTERMEASURES INTO PRACTICE

Standards and Guidance for Designing Roads

Crash Countermeasures and Road Safety Projects

Sidebar: Combining Complete Streets Implementation with Road Resurfacing

Sidebar: When Deployment Gets Ahead of the Evidence: Complete Streets, Laboratories for Innovation

Sidebar: Using Streets as Laboratories for Innovation

Sidebar: Advancing Road Safety Through Community Innovation: Bellevue, Washington

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Behavioral Countermeasures That Work

Educating Transportation Professionals

Summary

5 TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE: ILLUSTRATION OF RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE APPLICATIONS

Introduction

Research Translation in Biomedicine

Research Translation in Federal Policy Making: Early Childhood Education

Sidebar: Research Translation in the Motor Vehicle Industry: Designing Safe Vehicles Through Evidence-Based Research

Summary

6 RECOMMENDATIONS

Concluding Comment

APPENDIX: STUDY COMMITTEE BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Preface

To assess the effectiveness of road safety research and its implementation, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety asked the Transportation Research Board to assemble an expert committee to study the process for transitioning evidence-based road safety research into practice and to recommend process improvements. The 12-member committee was made up of experts in various aspects of road safety, representing state and municipal departments of transportation, safety research, medicine, and the motor vehicle industry. The committee met in person 4 times and virtually 12 more times to examine and assess the processes involved in selecting, conducting, translating, and moving evidence-based road safety research into practice to inform the selection and deployment of crash countermeasures. To inform the study, the committee heard from the multiple safety experts in the United States and abroad listed in the Acknowledgements section of this report.

Joseph L. Schofer, Chair
Committee on Transitioning Evidence-Based
Road Safety Research into Practice

Acronyms and Abbreviations