Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies
Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies
Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies
org/27197
DETAILS
56 pages | 8.5 x 11 | PAPERBACK
ISBN 978-0-309-69892-4 | DOI 10.17226/27197
CONTRIBUTORS
Jaime Sullivan, Jay Otto, Katie Dively, Bridget Hanson, Kari Finley, Karen Gee,
Samantha Pinzl, Jamie Arpin, Cara Hamann; Transportation Research Board;
BUY THIS BOOK National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Visit the National Academies Press at nap.edu and login or register to get:
– Access to free PDF downloads of thousands of publications
– 10% off the price of print publications
– Email or social media notifications of new titles related to your interests
– Special offers and discounts
All downloadable National Academies titles are free to be used for personal and/or non-commercial
academic use. Users may also freely post links to our titles on this website; non-commercial academic
users are encouraged to link to the version on this website rather than distribute a downloaded PDF
to ensure that all users are accessing the latest authoritative version of the work. All other uses require
written permission. (Request Permission)
This PDF is protected by copyright and owned by the National Academy of Sciences; unless otherwise
indicated, the National Academy of Sciences retains copyright to all materials in this PDF with all rights
reserved.
Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
B E H AV I O R A L T R A F F I C S A F E T Y C O O P E R AT I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M
Jaime Sullivan
Western Transportation Institute
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT
Jay Otto
Katie Dively
Bridget Hanson
Kari Finley
Karen Gee
Samantha Pinzl
Jamie Arpin
Center for Health and Safety Culture
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT
and
Cara Hamann
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Subscriber Categories
Highways • Safety and Human Factors
Research sponsored by the Governors Highway Safety Association and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
2023
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, non-
governmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for
outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the
practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering.
Dr. John L. Anderson is president.
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National
Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions
to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.
The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent,
objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions.
The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase
public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.
Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.
The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through
trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transportation. The
Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from
the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by
state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation,
and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.
FOREWORD
By Richard A. Retting
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
BTSCRP Research Report 8: Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas:
A Guide presents results from a multidisciplinary research project that developed a toolkit of
behavioral traffic safety countermeasures for highway safety partners focused on rural road
safety (e.g., tribal authorities, local government, law enforcement, emergency responders,
engineers) to reduce the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes on roads in rural
areas. This publication will be of interest to state highway safety offices; state and local
departments of transportation; county departments of public works; tribal authorities; and
other stakeholders concerned with improving traffic safety in rural areas.
Although rural areas account for about 30% of total U.S. vehicle miles traveled and less than
20% of the U.S. population, half of all traffic fatalities occur in rural areas. Despite a clear need
to improve traffic safety in rural areas, numerous constraints and resource limitations
hinder safety efforts. For example, in most states, the vast majority of rural road mileage
is owned and managed by local governments. In addition, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
recognizes 573 American Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages in the United States.
The sheer number of rural jurisdictions makes it difficult to assure that programs aimed
at improving rural transportation safety are effective in reaching all areas effectively and
equitably. Rural local government units vary considerably in the way they are organized,
their legal authority, and the financial and human resources available to them. The vast rural
highway mileage is another challenge: rural crashes are often widely dispersed, with a con-
siderable degree of randomness in crash locations. This makes it difficult to apply traditional
crash reduction strategies that focus on hot spots.
Under BTSCRP Project BTS-15, “Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural Areas,”
Montana State University developed a toolkit of behavioral traffic safety countermeasures
to assist rural highway safety partners in reducing the frequency and severity of motor
vehicle crashes on roads in rural areas. The research team (1) defined rural area roads and
conducted analysis of safety-related data; (2) conducted a literature review of traffic safety
campaigns and strategies, including rural barriers; (3) conducted interviews with selected
rural agencies to develop case studies to support the selection of noteworthy practices; and
(4) developed final deliverables. In addition to the present guide, documentation of the
overall research effort is available in BTSCRP Web-Only Document 4: Highway Safety Behav-
ioral Strategies for Rural Areas. Both publications, as well as a supplemental presentation and
video, can be accessed at nap.nationalacademies.org by searching on “BTSCRP Research
Report 8.”
CONTENTS
1 Chapter 1 Introduction
5 Chapter 2 How Behavioral Strategies Work
5 Overview
5 Logic Models
Note: Photographs, figures, and tables in this report may have been converted from color to grayscale for printing.
The electronic version of the report (posted on the web at nap.nationalacademies.org) retains the color versions.
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Fatalities and serious injuries associated with roadway crashes are a significant public health
concern in rural and tribal settings. While about 14% of the U.S. population lives in rural areas,
almost half of roadway fatalities occur in rural settings. According to the Fatality Analysis
Reporting System in 2018, people who are American Indians and Alaska Natives experienced
roadway fatality rates on a mileage basis twice the national rate (https://www.nhtsa.gov/research
-data/fatality-analysis-reporting-system-fars).
This guide supports the Safe System Approach (https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS
/SafeSystem), which recognizes that there is no single solution to eliminate fatalities and serious
injuries on our roadways. Instead, multiple strategies are required including safer people, safer
roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds, and postcrash care. The Safe System Approach comprises six
principles and five elements:
Six Principles of the Safe System Approach:
• Deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable. A Safe System Approach prioritizes the
elimination of crashes that result in death and serious injuries.
• Humans make mistakes. People will inevitably make mistakes and decisions that can lead
or contribute to crashes, but the transportation system can be designed and operated to
accommodate certain types and levels of human mistakes and avoid death and serious injuries
when a crash occurs.
• Humans are vulnerable. Human bodies have physical limits for tolerating crash forces before
death or serious injury occurs; therefore, it is critical to design and operate a transportation
system that is human-centric and accommodates physical human vulnerabilities.
• Responsibility is shared. All stakeholders—including government at all levels, industry,
nonprofit/advocacy groups, researchers, and the general public—are vital to preventing
fatalities and serious injuries on our roadways.
• Safety is proactive. Proactive tools should be used to identify and address safety issues in the
transportation system, rather than waiting for crashes to occur and reacting afterwards.
• Redundancy is crucial. Reducing risks requires that all parts of the transportation system be
strengthened, so that if one part fails, the other parts still protect people.
Five Elements of the Safe System Approach:
• Safer people: Encourage safe, responsible behavior by people who use our roads and create
conditions that prioritize their ability to reach their destination unharmed.
• Safer roads: Design roadway environments to mitigate human mistakes and account for
injury tolerances, encourage safer behavior, and facilitate safe travel by the most vulner-
able users.
2 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
• Safer vehicles: Expand the availability of vehicle systems and features that help to prevent
crashes and minimize the impact of crashes on both occupants and nonoccupants.
• Safer speeds: Promote safer speeds in all roadway environments through a combination of
thoughtful, context-appropriate roadway design; targeted education; outreach campaigns;
and enforcement.
• Postcrash care: Enhance the survivability of crashes through expedient access to emergency
medical care while creating a safe working environment for vital first responders and pre-
venting secondary crashes through robust practices for traffic incident management.
Because rural and tribal settings often do not have dedicated staff who work only on roadway
safety, opportunity often lies with those willing to take it on. This may include law enforcement,
local road owners (e.g., counties, towns, or tribal governments), public health educators, emer-
gency medical service providers, county and city elected officials, and local citizens. Each of these
roles can contribute to improving roadway safety.
Creating a coalition of interested individuals (with different roles in the community) is a way
to be more effective by sharing the work and being able to reach more people in your community.
You may want to share this guide with others and build a multidisciplinary team to engage in
the effort.
There is a growing recognition that more resources need to be made available for improving
roadway safety in rural and tribal settings. Addressing equity in roadway safety is a component of
the U.S. National Roadway Safety Strategy (https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS) (Box 1) and
may make additional funds available to rural and tribal settings. Box 2 lists sources of funding
that you may be able to use.
The $642 billion total transportation grants funding allocated for FY22 through
FY26 by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) contains an unprecedented
amount of funds designated to directly benefit rural communities that have
been disadvantaged. The Equity Action Plan, released by the U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT) in January 2022, shows the department’s commitment
to advancing equity through transportation and use of the BIL funds (U.S. DOT
2022). The Equity Action Plan has information on expanding access, providing
technology support to underserved communities, addressing uneven resource
distribution, building and activating coalitions, and improving transit deserts and
areas of the country where lack of transportation greatly affects quality of life,
and even includes a national technical assistance center to help overburdened
and underserved communities.
Each Indian Health Service district office has specialty grants for specific project
such as car seats and observational seatbelt surveys.
Safe Kids Worldwide has funding for prevention activities like car seats, bike
helmets, etc.
Safe roads grants may be available from local state highway traffic safety offices.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) foundation has state offices that
award grants for tribal and rural communities for specialty projects. For profit
companies may support local efforts to improve roadway safety:
Note: These funding sources may not be available indefinitely, and new ones may become avail-
able in the future.
4 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
This guide is for anyone who wants to improve roadway safety in rural and tribal settings. It
focuses on countermeasures and strategies to promote safer decisions by road users (often called
behavioral countermeasures or strategies) as well as resources for safer roads (often engineering
or maintenance practices that improve safety) and safer speeds. The guide includes four chapters
in addition to this introduction:
• Chapter 2 is a high-level overview of how behavioral countermeasures and strategies work.
Understanding how behavioral countermeasures and strategies work will help you be more
effective in selecting, adapting, and implementing countermeasures and strategies in your
community. Countermeasures and strategies will not be effective in changing behavior
unless they are implemented well.
• Chapter 3 offers guidance on steps and resources for developing a plan to improve roadway
safety. Improving roadway safety takes time. Having a plan will help you be more effective in
the long term. It can also help you obtain funding to support your efforts.
• Chapter 4 offers guidance on resources to identify, select, and adapt countermeasures and
strategies to use in your community. There are several resources available with ideas on how
to improve roadway safety. This section will help you identify resources suitable for your
community.
• Chapter 5 identifies specific actions you can take to be more effective over time. Counter
measures and strategies to improve roadway safety have limited impact if implemented only
once. Each time you implement a strategy you can learn what worked and what did not so
that you can be more effective the next time.
More-detailed information is provided in the following appendices:
• Appendix A: Example Logic Models,
• Appendix B: Examples of Implementing Countermeasures and Strategies in Rural Settings,
• Appendix C: Summary of Countermeasures That Work, and
• Appendix D: Proven Engineering Safety Countermeasures.
CHAPTER 2
Overview
Understanding how behavioral countermeasures and strategies work will guide you in selecting,
adapting, and implementing. To begin, it is important to distinguish three things:
• Beliefs: understanding or knowledge, such as, “It’s not safe to use a cell phone while driving”
or “Roundabouts are safer than traditional intersections”;
• Behavior: actions that lead to consequences such as risky driving (e.g., speeding, being
aggressive, distracted, or impaired) or designing a road or intersection poorly; and
• Consequences: the results of crashes, fatalities, serious injuries, trauma, loss of income, health-
care costs, insurance costs, and so forth.
Figure 1 illustrates how beliefs influence behavior, which leads to consequences. Therefore, if
you want to change the consequences (e.g., reduce fatal crashes related to impaired driving), then
you need to reduce the behavior that leads to those consequences (e.g., impaired driving, over-
serving of alcohol). Accordingly, to change a behavior, you need to grow beliefs supportive of
that behavior (e.g., “If you drive after drinking you may be arrested”; the importance of beverage
server training).
Behavioral countermeasures and strategies work by changing people’s beliefs, which then
results in changes in people’s behavior, which then reduces negative consequences. For example,
high-visibility seat belt enforcement promotes the belief among the general population that
“If I drive without using a seat belt, I may get a ticket.” Because people do not want to get a
ticket, they may be more likely to use a seat belt. When more people use a seat belt, fewer people
are likely to be killed or seriously injured in crashes.
By understanding how a behavioral countermeasure or strategy works, you can be sure that
if you need to make changes to the strategy (these changes are often called “adaptations”),
you do not lose the critical components that cause the change in beliefs. Take, for example, high-
visibility enforcement strategies. These strategies have two critical components—the enforcement
activities themselves and a media campaign to ensure awareness. If your community engaged in
high-visibility seat belt enforcement but did not promote it sufficiently, so that only a few people
were aware of it, the enforcement effort would not change beliefs among the general population
and would not have much of an impact. Chapter 4 includes more information about adapting
countermeasures and strategies.
Logic Models
A logic model is a tool for gaining understanding of how a countermeasure or strategy works
to create change. It captures what is critical for effective implementation. Table 1 shows a logic
model for high-visibility seat belt enforcement. The first column, “Inputs,” captures what is needed
6 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
for implementation. In this case, officers to conduct the enforcement, people to identify and
place media messages, funding (or earned media resources) to place the media, and some time
to plan are all needed.
The next column, “Outputs,” captures what the actions are and who the audience is. In this
case, the actions include increased seat belt enforcement and a universal (meaning the campaign
seeks to reach everyone) media campaign. The audience is everyone in the county.
The final column, “Outcomes,” includes the short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes.
In this case, the short-term outcomes are that more people believe they will be caught if they
do not use a seat belt and that getting caught will have real consequences. The intermediate
outcome is that more people will use a seat belt. The long-term outcome is that fewer people
will be killed or seriously injured in crashes because they were not using a seat belt.
A logic model should make sense. Anyone should be able to read a logic model (from
left to right) and clearly see how each column leads to the next column. Having more officers
available to do enforcement is required for more enforcement. Having media messages to
place is required for media message placement. Engaging in visible enforcement coupled
with lots of media about the enforcement effort leads to more people believing that they will
get caught. When more people believe that they will get caught for not using a seat belt, they
are more likely to use a seat belt. When more people use a seat belt, fewer people will be killed
or seriously injured because they were not using a seat belt. The flow and logic from one column
to the next make sense.
Table 1. Example logic model for high-visibility seat belt enforcement.
Inputs: Outputs:
What are we What are we doing? Outcomes:
investing? Who are we reaching? What are our anticipated outcomes?
4–6 months to
plan and
implement
CHAPTER 3
Guidance on Process:
What to Do Next
Improving safety on your roadways is not a one-time effort; it is an ongoing process involving
four basic steps that are repeated over time. Figure 2 and Table 2 summarize the key actions and
outcomes from each step.
An analysis of crash data based on different kinds of rural communities provides potential
considerations for improving roadway safety. Following are some potential considerations based
on community type:
Each community is unique, and you should use your local data to confirm these insights.
Evaluate
and Assess
Learn
Implement Plan
• Developing Safety Plans: A Manual for Local Rural Road Owners (Ceifetz et al. 2012)
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwasa12017/fhwasa12017.pdf
Steps:
1. Establish leadership.
2. Analyze safety data.
3. Determine emphasis areas.
4. Identify strategies.
5. Prioritize and incorporate strategies.
6. Evaluate and update the Local Road Safety Plan.
10 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
This NHTSA resource includes a crash form, database, and other resources to
help tribal settings better capture and use their crash data.
This tool provides demographic information for an area around a specific road.
This information can help identify populations and potential stakeholders that
may be affected by specific roads or improvement projects.
12 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
This web page is a compilation of eight short fact sheets that group similar
tools and offer examples of how they have been used in transportation
planning and project development.
This resource offers a transportation toolkit and other tools to assist community
members’ involvement in transportation decision making processes.
CHAPTER 4
13
14 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
General
Approach How It Works Examplesa
Laws, policies, Laws, policies, and rules • Laws such as seat belt use requirements, speed limits,
rules establish clear expectations and graduated driver’s licenses
about acceptable behavior. • Workplace policies about never using a cell phone while
They also enable driving
enforcement and establish • Family rules about never driving after drinking
penalties for not complying.
Enforcement Enforcement of laws may • High-visibility enforcement campaigns such as Click-It-or-
and increase people’s belief that Ticket
adjudication they will be caught and • Teaching law enforcement officers how to detect
prosecuted if they violate the impaired drivers
law. • Teaching prosecutors how to successfully prosecute an
impaired driving case
Education Media campaigns or • Drivers’ education to teach people how to drive safely
educational experiences • Education campaigns about the dangers of distracted
change people’s driving
understanding or beliefs • Seat Belt Convincer, which allows people to experience
about certain behavior. the force of a low-speed collision to give them an
understanding of what can happen in a crash when they
do not use a seat belt
Intervention Interventions are focused • Creating an impaired driving court that includes treatment
efforts with people who have and monitoring for people arrested for impaired driving
engaged in risky behavior or • Using alcohol ignition interlocks to prevent impaired
who are about to engage in driving
a risky behavior. • Promoting bystander engagement—positive intervention
such as calling for a ride for someone who has been
drinking or asking a person not to drive after drinking or
using drugs
a These are examples and not meant to be recommendations.
General
Approach How It Works Examplesa
Roadway Roadways can be designed • Roundabouts to slow speeds and eliminate side-
design in ways that constrain the impact crashes
behavior of road users to • Pedestrian bump-outs to narrow roadways, slow
reduce crashes that result in speeds, and focus drivers on pedestrians
serious injury or fatality. • Speed bumps to slow speeds
• Reduced conflict intersections to eliminate side-impact
crashes
• Separating nonmotorized users from vehicles
Roadway Surface treatments can be • Rumble strips to reduce roadway departure or
treatment used to reduce loss of control crossing the centerline
or keep vehicles from leaving • Reflectors and wider painted edge lines to reduce the
the roadway. incidence of vehicles leaving the roadway
• High-friction surface treatments to prevent sliding and
loss of control
Managing Components that absorb • Wire rope, guard rails, and impact devices that absorb
energy energy when vehicles leave energy and keep vehicles from crossing to oncoming
the roadway can be added vehicles, rolling over embankments, or colliding with
and areas adjacent to the fixed objects
roadway can be cleared to • Clearing trees from the edge of roadways
reduce the severity of
crashes.
a These are examples and not meant to be recommendations.
This guide provides a description of each countermeasure, the costs and time
to implement it, the evidence supporting it, and references. The guide is not
intended to be a comprehensive list of countermeasures available for use. The
topic areas addressed include alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, seat belts
and child restraints, speeding and speed management, distracted driving,
motorcycle safety, young drivers, older drivers, pedestrian safety, bicycle safety,
and drowsy driving. Appendix C of the present report includes a list of behavioral
countermeasures and strategies referenced in Countermeasures That Work
that have strong or moderate levels of evidence that they are effective.
This resource will help your organization build a new roadway safety data
program or strengthen an existing one. Options are “Manage,” “Analyze,”
“Collect,” and “Research.” The website is a database of multiple resources that
is searchable by filters, and there is a filter for “local/rural” under “focus area.”
There is no filter for “tribal.” There is also a 98-page primer to guide users.
16 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
This hands-on resource from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety will help
practitioners develop behavior change campaigns that are evidence-based and
effective. It includes information and resources to plan, design, implement,
and evaluate behavior change campaigns.
This toolkit from the Traffic Injury Research Foundation will support communities
in effectively developing and delivering their own road safety campaigns.
Included are (1) a summary of research on road safety campaigns, the evidence
base, and theoretical approaches guiding the development of campaigns and
(2) a collection of fact sheets created by experts in social marketing, research,
and evaluation to support full implementation of a campaign.
This toolkit from the National Center for Rural Road Safety offers a series
of 42 fact sheets (PDFs) on critical needs in rural transportation categorized
by topic for transportation practitioners. The fact sheets provide introductory
summary information to help agencies identify areas in which they can
improve efficiency and safety on roadways, public transportation systems, and
nonmotorized systems. It is designed to help rural agencies face their unique
challenges, such as extreme weather events, congestion from special events,
or seasonal recreational travel. All the content is relevant to rural settings
and could be adapted to tribal settings.
18 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
This report from the Governors Highway Safety Association provides general
guidance for rural communities on ways to improve rural road safety.
Education:
• The most common reason education campaigns do not work is lack of dosage. Dosage
describes how much of the focus population the education reaches, how often it reaches
them, and for how long. Effective education requires significant dosage. Ask yourself: “Are
we a mile wide and an inch deep?” If so, consider how you can narrow the focus population
or obtain more resources.
20 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
• Engaging teachers can help make educational efforts more successful. Teachers know what
is developmentally appropriate for different ages and what is required to transfer knowledge.
• Often, rural and tribal settings do not have extensive budgets for campaigns. Having a diverse
coalition supporting the campaign can increase the dosage. Consider creating speaking points,
social media posts, posters, and so forth that everyone can share through their contacts.
Intervention:
• DUI courts have been shown to be effective. However, starting one requires time and com-
mitment. Reach out to your state DOT for resources on how to start a DUI court in your
community.
• Alcohol ignition interlocks have been shown to be effective for preventing alcohol-impaired
driving. However, they can be expensive and require regular maintenance. Rural and tribal
settings may need to partner with neighboring communities to implement ignition interlocks.
Reach out to your state DOT for resources on how to get started.
• Training people who work in restaurants and bars about not overserving alcohol can reduce
impaired driving. This training may also include teaching servers how to intervene and
encourage alternative transportation for individuals who have been drinking. Reach out to
local law enforcement or substance use prevention coalitions in your community or neigh-
boring communities to find someone who can provide beverage server training. You can also
get local law enforcement officers trained so that they can provide the training locally.
a program developed for schools may require 10 sessions; however, the school says it only has
time for one session and would prefer to do it in an assembly with all students. This kind of
change could make the program completely ineffective. In such a case, you should consider
finding another program or spend more time advocating for the school to invest in the
10 sessions.
The Rural Health Information Hub provides a toolkit for choosing strategies as
well as guidance for adapting strategies to fit local needs. The toolkit provides
considerations for the types of proposed adaptations as well as components
that should not be altered.
This resource from the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, describes why and when strategies could be
adapted and provides guidance on the core components of evidence-based
strategies that must remain intact.
22 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
CHAPTER 5
You and those working with you will invest significant time and resources in planning and
implementing countermeasures and strategies to improve roadway safety. Taking even small
evaluation steps can reveal ways that you can be more effective.
According to the American Evaluation Association, “evaluation involves assessing the strengths
and weaknesses of strategies to improve their effectiveness” (American Evaluation Association
2019). By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a countermeasure or strategy, you can
make changes in the future to make the countermeasure or strategy more effective.
There are several reasons for evaluating countermeasures and strategies. Arguably, the most
important are to ensure systematic learning and to provide needed information in order to refine
and improve countermeasures and strategies. Other reasons for evaluation include
• Assessing effectiveness and informing good management practices by
– Comparing actual implementation with implementation plans and understanding reasons
for deviations,
– Comparing actual outcomes with intended outcomes,
– Comparing outcomes with those of previous years, and
– Establishing realistic intended outcomes for future performance.
• Fostering sustained improvements in roadway safety by
– Focusing attention on issues important to the effectiveness of the countermeasure or
strategy,
– Promoting a countermeasure or strategy by documenting and sharing its effectiveness,
– Recruiting new partners who want to join in contributing to effective countermeasures
and strategies,
– Enhancing the image of the countermeasure or strategy,
– Sustaining or increasing funding,
– Providing direction and informing training for staff and partners to implement the counter-
measure or strategy effectively in the future,
– Informing what training and technical assistance is needed to improve effectiveness,
– Informing long-range planning, and
– Justifying the investment of resources by legislators or other stakeholders by showing the
countermeasure or strategy is effective.
A good first step is to create a logic model for the countermeasure or strategy (see Chapter 2).
You can then identify things that you want to monitor and measure. Two forms of evaluation
could be particularly helpful:
• Process evaluations: Process evaluations examine the way the countermeasure or strategy
was implemented. Using the logic model, process evaluations ask questions about the outputs.
Were the activities conducted as planned and with fidelity to any available guidance? Was the
23
24 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
appropriate audience reached, and to what extent? Following are some specific examples of
process evaluation questions:
– If the countermeasure or strategy called for 5 days of enhanced visible enforcement, did
that actually happen? How much enforcement occurred each day? If there was a program
in the school, did the teacher complete all four modules?
– Did the countermeasure or strategy reach a sufficient portion of the population to make
a difference? For example, did most people in the community know about the enhanced
enforcement? Did the messages sent out actually reach people? With regard to the school
program, what percentage of students received all four modules?
• Outcome evaluations: Outcome evaluations measure the effect of the countermeasure or
strategy on creating change. In the logic model, outcome evaluations ask questions related to
the short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes. An outcome evaluation could assess
the degree to which the countermeasure or strategy changed beliefs. An outcome evaluation
could also assess the degree to which there was a change in behavior. Following are some
specific examples of outcome evaluation questions:
– Did people’s perception of getting caught for not using a seat belt increase?
– Did students’ knowledge change as a result of the school program?
– Did seat belt use change among the focus population?
No matter what type of evaluation you pursue, evaluation data and what was learned should be
shared with the team and used to explore ways of improving future implementation. Suggestions
for process and outcome evaluations can be categorized by general approach: laws, policies, and
rules; enforcement and adjudication; education; and intervention.
Laws, policies, and rules:
• Keep track of how many workplaces or organizations adopt policies about safe driving. Ask
how many employees the organizations have and estimate what proportion of the community
now has a safe driving policy at their place of work.
• Ask organization leadership what, if any, other activities they conduced to promote new policy
or train employees. Add a question or two to workplace surveys to ask about awareness of the
policy and driving behavior. Monitor changes in awareness and behavior over time.
• Ask families if they have family rules about safe driving practices. Work with the local school
to add a question or two to an existent survey or create a short survey to include with back-
to-school paperwork. Monitor the percentage of families with rules over time.
Enforcement and adjudication:
• Track the number of officers working on a high-visibility campaign and the number of shifts
or hours spent on high-visibility enforcement.
• Survey law enforcement officers before and after training (pre- and postdesign) to assess their
knowledge and confidence about detecting impaired drivers.
Education:
• Track the quantity and quality of specific content (whatever the topic of interest is—seat belts,
speeding, sharing the road with agricultural equipment) in driver’s education classes. Monitor
for changes over time.
• Conduct community surveys at selected locations (e.g., Post Office, Department of Motor
Vehicles, grocery store) to ask people whether they have seen the media campaign. Vary days,
times, and locations to try to get a wide cross section of community members. Do a few surveys
before the campaign starts to determine the baseline and then monitor for changes over time.
• Survey students who participate in the Seat Belt Convincer before and after the experience
to determine whether it led to any changes in attitudes or planned behavior. Do a follow-up
survey to see if changes persist.
Intervention:
• Track the number and type of cases in impaired driving court.
• Survey community members before, during, and after activities that promote bystander
engagement to assess their comfort in asking others not to drive after drinking and whether
they have asked anyone to not drive in the past month. Monitor for changes over time.
There may be skilled evaluators in your community. Evaluators often work across a variety
of subjects, and community-oriented evaluators may be eager to lend their expertise to local
efforts to improve roadway safety. You might consider reaching out to such individuals and invit-
ing them to join the coalition. The American Evaluation Association has a directory resource
(https://my.eval.org/find-an-evaluator) that may be helpful if you are looking for an evaluator
partner.
Box 7 lists additional resources for learning more about evaluation and evaluative thinking.
This site offers resources from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center
for Injury Research & Prevention, in partnership with the Pennsylvania DOT,
including a guide, videos, and additional resources. The information can be
applied to total roadway safety and includes examples related to teen driver
safety.
26
References
ACF (Administration for Children and Families). (n.d.). Making Adaptations Tip Sheet. Department of Health
and Human Services, Washington, DC. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/prep-making
-adaptations-ts_0.pdf.
American Evaluation Association. (2019). An Evaluation Roadmap for a More Effective Government. Washington,
DC. https://www.eval.org/Portals/0/Docs/AEA%20Evaluation%20Roadmap%202019%20Update%
20FINAL.pdf.
Beaudreault, A., Jepsen, S. D., and Dellinger, A. (2009). Designing an Agricultural Safety Intervention Program for
Ohio Amish Youth. Cases in Public Health Communication & Marketing, 3:38–58. https://www.researchgate
.net/publication/240630122_Designing_an_Agricultural_Safety_Intervention_Program_for_Ohio_Amish
_Youth_CASES.
Ceifetz, A. H., Bagdade, J., Nabors, D., Sawyer, M., and Eccles, K. (2012). Developing Safety Plans: A Manual for
Local Rural Road Owners. FHWA-SA-12-017. FHWA, Washington, DC. https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local
_rural/training/fhwasa12017/fhwasa12017.pdf.
Center for Injury Research and Policy. (2022). Transportation Safety. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health. https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-injury-research
-and-policy/our-impact/transportation-safety.html.
Community Guide. (2022). What Works Fact Sheet: Motor Vehicle-Related Injury Prevention. https://www
.thecommunityguide.org/resources/what-works-motor-vehicle-related-injury-prevention.html.
FHWA and FTA. (2022). Coming Together for Equity. Transportation Planning Capacity Building. https://www
.planning.dot.gov/planning/topic_transportationequity.aspx.
GHSA (Governors Highway Safety Association). (2022). America’s Rural Roads: Beautiful and Deadly.
Washington, DC.
Gorucu, S., Brown, C., and Lehtola, C. (2021). Lighting and Marking of Agricultural Equipment on Highways:
Summary of ASAE Standard S279.181. ABE302. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences, Gainesville, FL. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AE175.
IHS (Indian Health Service). (2021). Selected Evidence-Based Strategies for Preventing Injuries. Rockville, MD.
https://www.ihs.gov/sites/injuryprevention/themes/responsive2017/display_objects/documents/IHS_IPP
_Evidence-based_Strategies.pdf.
McKleroy, V. S., Galbraith, J. S., Cummings, B., Jones, P., Harshbarger, C., Collins, C., Gelaude, D., Carey, J. W.,
and the ADAPT Team. (2006). Adapting Evidence–Based Behavioral Interventions for New Settings and
Target Populations. AIDS Education and Prevention, 18(Supplement A):59–73.
Mehlhorn, S. A., Darroch, B., and Jackson, S. W. (2017). Raising Awareness of Farm Equipment on Public
Roadways in Tennessee. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health 23(4):241–246.
Michael, J. P., Wells, N. M., Shahum, L., Bidigare-Curtis, H. N., Greenberg, S. F., and Xu, T. (2021). Roadway
Safety, Design & Equity: A Paradigm Shift. Journal of Transport & Health, Vol. 23. https://doi.org/10.1016
/j.jth.2021.101260.
Ostergaard, M., and Guzzetta, C. (2021). A Guide to Implementing Child Passenger Safety Inspection Stations.
Report No. DOT HS 812 692. NHTSA, Washington, DC.
Otto, J., Dively, K., Ward, N. (2020). Guidance on Growing Traffic Safety Culture: Stories from Rural Communities.
Center for Health and Safety Culture, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. https://ruralsafetycenter.org
/pdfs/RRSC_Guidance_Growing_TSC_2022.pdf.
Pennsylvania DOT (Department of Transportation). (n.d.-a). Horse and Buggy Driver’s Manual. PUB 632 (4-19).
Harrisburg. PA. https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/PubsForms/Publications/PUB%20632.pdf.
Pennsylvania DOT. (n.d.-b). Safe Driving in Amish Country. PUB 627 (12-18). Harrisburg. PA. https://www.dot
.state.pa.us/public/PubsForms/Publications/PUB%20627.pdf.
27
28 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
Rudolph, L., Caplan, J., Ben-Moshe, K., and Dillon, L. (2013). Health in All Policies: A Guide for State and Local
Governments. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC, and Public Health Institute, Oakland,
CA. https://www.apha.org/-/media/Files/PDF/factsheets/Health_inAll_Policies_Guide_169pages.ashx.
SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). (2022). Adapting Evidence-Based
Practices for Under-Resourced Populations. SAMHSA Publication No. PEP22-06-02-004. National Mental
Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory, Rockville, MD. https://www.samhsa.gov/resource/ebp
/adapting-evidence-based-practices-under-resourced-populations.
U.S. DOT. (2022). Equity Action Plan. Washington, DC. https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files
/2022-04/Equity_Action_Plan.pdf.
Venkatraman, V., Richard, C. M., Magee, K., and Johnson, K. (2021). Countermeasures That Work: A Highway
Safety Countermeasures Guide for State Highway Safety Offices, 10th ed. Report No. DOT HS 813 097.
NHTSA, Washington, DC. https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures/countermeasures-work.
Wemple, E., and Colling, T. (2014a). Improving Safety on Rural Local and Tribal Roads: Network Safety Analysis—
User Guide #2. FHWA-SA-14-074. FHWA, Washington, DC. https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training
/fhwasa14074/isrltr2.pdf.
Wemple, E., and Colling, T. (2014b). Improving Safety on Rural Local and Tribal Roads: Safety Toolkit. FHWA-
SA-14-072. FHWA, Washington, DC. https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwasa14072/.
Wemple, E., and Colling, T. (2014c). Improving Safety on Rural Local and Tribal Roads: Site Safety Analysis—User
Guide #1. FHWA-SA-14-073. FHWA, Washington, DC. https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training
/fhwasa14073/isrltru1.pdf.
APPENDIX A
This appendix includes three examples of logic models and a blank logic model that can be
used as a template.
Inputs: Outputs:
What are we What are we doing? Outcomes:
investing? Who are we reaching? What are our anticipated outcomes?
Policy template or Draft policy; champion All employees Increased Increase in managers Decrease in
example policy through understanding that and supervisors crashes, serious
organization’s process for driving distracted is holding staff injuries, and fatalities
Leadership buy-in adopting policies against company accountable for caused by distracted
policy following the policy driving
Evidence about Communication to reach all
distracted driving staff, such as Increased belief that Decrease in staff
and best practices announcement(s) and distracted driving is members driving
for policies training for all staff on the dangerous distracted (within the
addressing policy (including for bounds of the policy,
distracted driving managers/supervisors Increased such as on company
about enforcing the policy) understanding about property or when
the consequences of operating company
violating the policy vehicles)
Increased knowledge
by managers and
supervisors about how
to enforce the policy
29
30 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
Inputs: Outputs:
What are we What are we doing? Outcomes:
investing? Who are we reaching? What are our anticipated outcomes?
Understanding of Media campaign Individuals in XX Increase knowledge of Increase in motorists Decrease in deaths
audience’s current including social community the requirements of the slowing down and of and serious
knowledge of Move media, print, TV, Move Over law providing adequate injuries to law
Over law radio space for enforcement officers
Increase belief that emergency and emergency
Staff to identify and moving over is the “right responders responders caused
place messages/ thing to do” by motorists failing to
media slow down and
provide adequate
Increase understanding space on roadway
Funding for media about the consequences
placement with high and penalties of violating
dosage the Move Over law
Inputs: Outputs:
What are we What are we doing? Outcomes:
investing? Who are we reaching? What are our anticipated outcomes?
Cost to purchase or Seat Belt Convincer Individuals at XX Understanding of Increase in seat belt Decrease in deaths
rent a Seat Belt session at XX Middle Middle School the physical impact use by middle school and serious injuries
Convincer School of not wearing a students who from crashes
seat belt in a 5- to participate in the involving unrestrained
Class period for 10-mph collision program occupants
students to engage in
Seat Belt Convincer Increase belief that
seat belts are
Staff to transition protective in
students in/out of crashes
Seat Belt Convincer
and back to
classrooms
Inputs: Outputs:
What are we What are we doing? Outcomes:
investing? Who are we reaching? What are our anticipated outcomes?
What do we need to What are the core Who is our audience What are the What are the What are the long-
do this strategy? components of this for this strategy? immediate or short- medium-term term outcomes we
strategy? term outcomes we outcomes we anticipate? What is
anticipate? anticipate? our ultimate goal?
Tip: Think of Tip: Think of the
personnel, resources, critical pieces that Tip: Think of Tip: Think of changes Tip: Think of health
information. make this strategy changes in in behavior. impacts such as
work. knowledge, beliefs, reduction in serious
or skills. injury and fatalities.
APPENDIX B
Examples of Implementing
Countermeasures and Strategies
in Rural Settings
Following are examples of how communities have implemented various countermeasures
and strategies in rural settings.
32
and other safety issues. On the basis of citizen complaints, the county also works directly with
CHP to set up radar studies and other enforcement actions.
• The local task force adapted public service announcements from the state to air on local radio
stations; for instance, “Be Safe California” was adapted as “Be Safe Humboldt.”
• The county also provided localized campaigns (e.g., addressing pedestrian safety) in both
English and Spanish using outdoor, print, web, and social media outlets as well as outreach
events and innovative marketing efforts such as branded coffee cups.
• They assembled a variety of stakeholders from the Humboldt County Department of Health
and Human Services, the Humboldt County Association of Governments, CHP, the California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Humboldt County Public Works, school groups,
and other partners to focus on Safe Routes to School and promote pedestrian safety around
county schools. Countermeasures and strategies included radar feedback signs and speed
humps. The county also created arrival and dismissal maps for schools, recommended walking
route maps, in-class pedestrian and bicycle safety education, walk- and bike-to-school day
activities, crossing guard training, pilot volunteer crossing guard programs, and walkability
assessments.
34 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
APPENDIX C
Summary of Countermeasures
That Work
The tables in this appendix list behavioral countermeasures and strategies from Counter
measures That Work (Venkatraman et al. 2021) for which there is strong or moderate evidence
that they are effective. See https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures/countermeasures-work
for an online version of the resource.
Deterrence: Laws
1.1 Administrative License Revocation +++++ $$$ High Medium Laws, policies, rules
or Suspension (ALR/ALS)
1.3 High Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) +++ $ Medium Short Laws, policies, rules
Sanctions
1.4 BAC Test Refusal Penalties +++ $ Unknown Short Laws, policies, rules
1.5 Alcohol-Impaired Driving Law Review ++ $$ Unknown Medium Laws, policies, rules
Deterrence: Enforcement
2.1 Publicized Sobriety Checkpoints +++++ $$$ Medium Short Enforcement and
adjudication
2.3 Preliminary Breath Test Devices a ++++ $$ High Short Enforcement and
adjudication
3.1 Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) ++++ $$$ Low Medium Intervention
Courtsc
3.2 Limits on Diversion and Plea ++++ $ Medium Short Enforcement and
Agreementsd adjudication
35
36 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
Table C-1. (Continued).
4.1 Alcohol Problem Assessment and +++++ Varies High Varies Intervention
Treatment
4.3 Vehicle and License Plate Sanctionsc ++++ Varies Medium Medium Laws, policies, rules
4.5 Lower BAC Limit for Repeat ++++ $ Low Short Laws, policies, rules
Offenders
6.1 Minimum Drinking Age 21 Laws +++++ $$$ High Low Laws, policies, rules
6.4 Other Minimum Legal Drinking +++ $$ Varies Varies Enforcement and
Age 21 Law Enforcement adjudication
Drug-Impaired Driving
1.3 Increased Seat Belt Use Law ++++ $ Low Short Laws, policies,
Penalties rules
6.1 Strategies for Older Children +++ Varies Unknown Medium Education
6.2 Strategies for Child Restraint +++ Varies Unknown Medium Education
and Booster Seat Use
Other Strategies
38 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
Table C-3. Speed.
Laws
Enforcement
3.1 Penalty Types and Levels ++ Varies High Low Laws, policies,
rules
1.2 Cell Phone and Text Messaging ++ $ Medium Short Laws, policies,
Laws rules
Other Countermeasures
Table C-5. Motorcycle.
Motorcycle Helmets
Alcohol Impairment
40 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
Driver Education
Parents
Licensing
2.5 License Renewal Policies: In- ++ $$$ Medium Medium Laws, policies,
Person Renewal, Vision Test rules
42 Highway Safety Behavioral Strategies for Rural and Tribal Areas: A Guide
Table C-8. Pedestrians.
Preschool-Age Children
School-Age Children
Impaired Pedestrians
All Pedestrians
4.1 Pedestrian Safety Zones ++++ $$$ Low Medium Laws, policies,
rules
4.2 Reduce and Enforce Speed +++ $ High Varies Laws, policies,
Limits rules
Children
1.1 Bicycle Helmet Laws for +++++ $$ Medium Short Laws, policies,
Children rules
Adults
2.1 Bicycle Helmet Laws for ++++ $ Low Short Laws, policies,
Adults rules
All Bicyclists
Other Countermeasures
APPENDIX D
The following are engineering countermeasures and strategies referenced in Proven Safety
Countermeasures (https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/), all of which have
evidence of effectiveness.
44
Source: https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/.
ISBN 978-0-309-69892-4
90000
9 780309 698924