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DIVISION OF TRAFFIC SAFETY
ISSUES HIGHWAY SAFETY PLAN
By WILLIAM T. SUNLEY, Engineer of Local Roads and Streets
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Credits to: John Moulton, Safety Projects Manager, Division of
Traffic Safety.
The Division of Traffic Safety (DTS) of the Illinois
Department of Transportation annually prepares a
traffic highway safety plan allocating funds and detailing programs and services available to prevent and reduce highway traffic deaths and injuries and submits it
to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) for its consideration and concurrence. On
October 1, 1995, NHTSA offered to the states an option: continue this process under Title 23 CFR, or
switch to a new "performance-based" approach. After
considerable deliberation, Illinois determined it would
submit its fiscal year Highway Safety Planning
Document under the new performance-based option
as one of the 16 pilot states in this new program. DTS
feels that committing to performance-based goals
could raise public interest to improve traffic safety and
could create support in the population and among
public and private organizations to contribute to reach
the established goals.
Improving traffic safety is a multi-faceted endeavor which involves resources and agencies of federal,
state and local government. As the Governor's representative for highway safety, the DTS assumes the lead
in coordinating strategic planning for traffic safety in
Illinois at the state level, chiefly through the development and implementation of the Annual Highway
Safety Plan. The current highway safety plan identifies
three key results areas the DTS will be concentrating
on: (1) lower the serious injury and fatality rates on its
secondary roads; (2) focus the public's attention on
traffic safety issues; and (3) improve the quality of its
programs and services.
It is exceedingly important that Illinois' traffic
safety problems be identified and that government,
private and public support be obtained to bring about
improvements and to minimize the social and economic costs of crashes. In order to accomplish this,
the DTS has developed the following eight goals to improve highway safety in Illinois over the next two years:
• Increase the statewide safety belt usage rate from
the 1995 rate of 68.7% to a rate of 75% by
September 1, 1997.
• Increase the statewide child safety seat usage rate
from the 1994 rate of 57.9% to a rate of 65% by
September 1, 1997.
• Reduce the serious injury rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled by 15% from the 1994 rate of
31 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled by
September 1, 1997.
• Reduce the traffic-related fatality rate by 15%
from the 1994 rate of 1.54 per 100 million vehicle
miles traveled by September 1, 1997.
• Reduce the incidence of impaired driving, and,
therefore, lower the number and percent of alco-
September 1996 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 17
hol-related motor vehicle fatalities to 40% from
the 1994 rate of 42.2% by September 1, 1997.
• Reduce the average speed exceeding the posted
speed limit of 55 mph by 15% by September 1,
1997.
• Increase the usage of motorcycle helmets from the
1995 rate of 39.4% to the target rate of 50% by
September 1, 1997.
• Link traffic records, hospital data, driver services
data and Emergency Medical Services database by
1998.
In order the accomplish the desired effect in the
three key results areas and eight performance goals established by DTS, strategies have been developed
which fall under five program areas. Those program
areas and several examples of their strategies are:
• Enforcement - Traffic Law Enforcement Grant,
Special Traffic Enforcement Program, Integrated
Mini-grant Enforcement Program. These are hire-back programs to place more officers on the street
enforcing traffic laws.
• Education - Child Safety Seat Tranining Work-
shops, Operation Buckle Down, Vince & Larry activities, public information & education brochures, promotional items and public service announcements. These services are available to
schools, daycares, local governments, and businesses and discuss occupant protection, impaired
driving, speed, pedestrian and bicycle safety and
many other traffic safety issues.
• Traffic Records - programs to link driver services
data, traffic records, hospital data EMS database;
and apply computer technology to enhance crash
reporting. Grants are available to units of local
and state government.
• Community Programs - community traffic safety
programs providing for the creation of community task forces to identify and resolve traffic safety
issues and special grants to implement improvement strategies.
• Safety Construction and Operations - provides
for traffic sign replacement and upgrade to improve traffic safety in communities; provides for
Rural Reference System implementation. Provides
for training for certain engineering courses. Units
of local government are eligible to apply.
Some of these goals are ambitious, but every gain
made, both large and small results in saving lives, reducing pain and suffering, and lessening economic
loss. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Illinois Department of
Transportation, Division of Traffic Safety, Safety
Projects Section at 217/785-3038. We welcome your
help. •
Page 18 / Illinois Municipal Review / September 1996
