The Regional Safety Report 2007 is now available!
To download the report, please click here or on the left tab labeled "Crash Data" and "Central Ohio Crash Facts" .
In the United States, over 43,000 people lost their lives in 2005 through traffic crashes, making motor vehicle traffic crashes the leading cause of death for persons aged 4 to 34. This is a devastating statistic when we consider that every day in this country close to 120 people will not make it home safely to their families and loved ones. Because of the young lives consumed, motor vehicle traffic crashes ranked third overall in terms of the years of life
lost; i.e., the number of remaining years that the person is expected to have lived had they not died, behind only cancer and diseases of the heart.
These crashes also result in an annual economic impact of $230.6 billion, an amount equal to 2.3% of the gross domestic product, or $820 for every person living in the United States. The economic cost to society was more than $977,000 for each crash fatality and an average of $1.1 million for each critically injured person.
Further, for states and metropolitan areas struggling with congestion on freeways and other major roads, crashes represent a major source of congestion (referred to as “non-recurring” congestion). In busy rush hours, the time it takes police and/or emergency services to reach a site, clear the vehicles from the travel lanes, collect any relevant crash-related data, and remove disabled vehicles from the roadway can lead to monumental traffic delays on critically important roads. Indeed, some estimates blame between 50% and 70% of urban congestion on crash-related incidents.
Beginning with TEA-21 and further emphasized in SAFETEA-LU, safety is now one of the seven planning factors to be considered in the transportation planning process: “Increase the safety of the transportation system for motorized and non-motorized users.” As such, MPOs now have the resources to include a safety element in their short- and long-range transportation plans. In addition, safety is a factor in rating projects and strategies being evaluated by MPOs for possible inclusion in their Transportation Improvement Plans (TIPs).
On August 10, 2005 President George W. Bush signed into law the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). With guaranteed funding for highways, highway safety, and public transportation totaling $244.1 billion, SAFETEA-LU represents the largest surface transportation investment in our nation’s history.
SAFETEA-LU establishes a new core Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) that is structured and funded to make significant progress in reducing highway fatalities. It creates a positive agenda for increased safety on highways by almost doubling the funds for infrastructure safety and requiring strategic highway safety planning, while focusing on results. Other programs target specific areas of concern, such as work zones, older drivers, and pedestrians, including children walking to school.
This bill requires state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to implement a Comprehensive Highway Safety Plan (CHSP) and to address safety issues in their regions. Partners in this effort are also the local Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), such as MORPC, who can now provide a Safety Planning Program in their long-range Transportation Plans. This Safety Plan should address all aspects of traffic safety by acquiring, organizing and analyzing crash data, and identifying the locations with the most traffic crashes (also referred to as ‘hotspots’) as well as the primary traffic causes, while defining possible countermeasures.
We invite you to navigate our safety website and learn more about our program and projects. Please feel free to contact Kerstin Carr at (614) 233-4163 to answer your questions.
