mopdf.com

Vision, Mission and GoalsVISION, MISSION AND GOALSVISION:Federal, state, and local agencies, civicgroups, and private industries unified assafety partners and all working togethertoward zero fatalities and serious injurieson Tennessee roadways.MISSION:Using education, enforcement, engineering,and emergency response initiatives, worktoward zero deaths and serious injuries byreducing the number and severity ofcrashes on Tennessee’s roadways.GOALS: Fatalities: Reduce the number of fatalities by 10% within the next five years. Fatality Rate: Reduce the rate of fatalities by 10% within the next five years. Serious Injuries: Reduce the current trend of increasing serious injuries by not exceedingthe 2012 total value of 7,574 as an average over the next five years. Serious Injury Rate: Reduce the current trend of an increasing serious injury rate by notexceeding the 2012 total value of 10.65 serious injuries per hundred million vehicle milestraveled as an average over the next five years.The time period for evaluation of the Plan’s performance will be five years (maximum), which isthe planned interval for updating the Plan. Recognizing that statistics will vary due to climate,economy, and isolated catastrophic events, the Plan’s performance will be evaluated based on afive-year average of available data. The goal statements are based on the mission of continuallyworking toward zero deaths, which will require Tennessee to maintain the trend of decliningfatalities while reversing the trend of increasing serious injuries.4

Introduction and BackgroundINTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUNDFrom 2008 to 2012, Tennessee experienced an annual average of more than 163,910 reported trafficcrashes, which represents a slight reduction from the previous five-year average of 164,979. In 2008,6,233 serious injuries and 1,043 fatalities occurred on Tennessee’s roads. Based on preliminary data,there were 7,574 serious injuries and 1,014 fatalities in Tennessee in 2012. This data is illustrated inFigure 2 and Figure 3. As shown by Figure 2, historical and recent trends for fatalities are declining inTennessee. Despite the overall declining trend, there have been recent years with an increase intraffic fatalities compared to the previous year. However, the trend for serious injuries is increasing.This is shown on Figure 3 on page 6.Figure 2 - Fatalities on Tennessee ent fatality trend1004119313391270 128412111043 986 10329371014903Goal - 10% reduction of fiveyear moving average withinthe next five-years2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Fatalities5-Year AverageFatality Goal ThresholdCurrent TrendGoal: 5-Year AverageSource: TDOSHS1Figures 2 and 3 depict the fatality and serious injury data over the past ten years. While the statisticsvary from year to year, there are general trends associated with each data set. However, significantvariations in the values in the data from year to year have been observed. To offset the impact of asingle data point on the overall trend, calculation and evaluation of the five-year moving average ofeach data set was performed. This reduces the effects of large variations in the data from year toyear and has been chosen as the basis for setting goals and evaluating the performance of the plan.The five-year moving average ordinate for each year is the average of that year and the previous fouryears for a five-year average value. They are shown on the figures as triangles. For comparison, thecurrent trend of each data set based on the past five years is shown as a dashed line on the figures.The solid red line and numeric value for each figure illustrates the targeted value for the goal.5

Introduction and BackgroundFor fatalities, that goal is to reduce the total number of fatalities by 10% over the next five years.That value, when computed from the 2012 five-year average value of 1,004 is 903. It should benoted that the goal statement does not target this value specifically for 2017, but rather targetsachieving this value at some point within the next five years. For this reason, it is considered a goalthreshold.Figure 3 - Serious Injuries on Tennessee 00045004000Current trend of increasingserious injuries757468876910744075746673 73536872 6694 65966233 6604Goal - Reduce the rateof increasing trend forserious injuries2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Serious Injuries5-Year AverageGoal: 5-Year AverageSerious Injury Goal ThresholdCurrent TrendSource: TDOSHS2It is recognized that a reduction in fatalities can result in an increase in serious injuries with all otherfactors being equal. This factor contributes to the current upward trend of serious injuries and theirassociated five-year moving averages. The Plan’s goal for serious injuries is simply to reduce the rateof the current trend of increasing serious injury statistics by limiting the average of serious injuriesover the next five years to the current 2012 actual value of 7,574. This may seem like a targetedincrease when compared to the 2012 five-year average value of 6,887. However, due to the recentincreases in serious injuries from 2010 through 2012, the five-year moving average values willcontinue to trend upward until therehas been enough reduction in theannual number of serious injuriesover time to offset those values in thecomputation of the average. Themaximum allowable values for seriousinjury statistics that can eliminate thepositive trend for the five-yearmoving average within five years is azero increase each year of the actualvalues.6

Introduction and BackgroundFigure 4 - Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) on Tennessee 89.36680675200320042005200620072008Annual VMT (per 100 Million Vehicle Mile)Source: TDOT/TDOSHS3Tennessee experienced a 12% growth in population from 2000 to 2010. This is evident in the totalvolume of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) over the past ten years. The historic and recent trend in VMTis shown in Figure 4. The number of vehicles and the miles they are traveling are trending upward,even with the drop in VMT experienced in recent years (2008-2009) attributed largely to sluggisheconomic conditions.To account for increases or decreases in the amount of travel on our roadways, fatalities and seriousinjuries are considered in relation to the VMT. Figure 5 shows the fatality rate (fatalities per 100million vehicle miles traveled) for the past ten years, current five-year trend, and the most recentfive-year moving average fatality rate values. The trends associated with the fatality rates exhibitsimilar characteristics shown by the data for fatalities. In 2012, Tennessee’s fatality rate was 1.43fatalities per 100 million miles driven, which is a 5% decrease from the 2008 fatality rate. The 2014Plan sets a goal for the fatality rate equal to the goal for fatalities, which is a 10% reduction in thefatality rate within the next five years.For comparison, the serious injury rates for the same time period are also depicted in Figure 5. Asexpected from the analysis of serious injury statistics, they are currently trending sharply upwardafter a brief period of decline during the economic recession. Generally, with more users drivingmore miles, there are more instances for serious crashes. When coupled with gains in safety andemergency response that are working to save lives, it is logical to predict an occurrence of moreserious injuries. However, the increasing rate of serious injuries per vehicle miles traveled is anindication of safety issues that need to be addressed to prevent our roadways from becoming lesssafe over time. For this reason, serious injuries are now a performance measure equal to fatalities inthe Plan.7

Introduction and BackgroundFigure 5 - Fatality and Serious Injury Rates2.001.101.42Goal - 10% reduction offive-year moving averagewithin the next rrent fatality rate trend1.901.002003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Fatality Rate (Fatalities/VMT)5-Year Average Fatality RateCurrent TrendFatality Goal 08.97Current trend of increasingserious injury rate12.00Goal - Reduce increasingtrend for serious injury rate6.002003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Serious Injury Rate (Serious Injuries/VMT)5-Year Average Serious Injury RateCurrent TrendSerious Injury Goal ThresholdSource: TDOT/TDOSHS4As stated, serious injuries are now included with fatalities for reductions as a goal for the Plan. Manyof these injuries represent extended rehabilitation care costs and loss of productivity. For anindividual, these injuries vastly diminish quality of life. There are also substantial impacts within ourcommunities relative to medical costs, lost wages, insurance costs, taxes, police, fire and emergencyservices, legal and court costs, as well as property damage. Economic losses due to traffic crashes are8

Introduction and Backgroundestimated by FHWA to total 230 billion nationally.5 In Tennessee for the year 2012, there were over170,000 reported traffic crashes resulting in over 90,000 emergency room visits. The total economiccost to Tennessee due to traffic crashes in 2012 was estimated at 4.1 billion with 850 million inmedical costs alone.6 The benefits associated with improving safety along our roadways far exceedthe costs associated with implementing this plan. Tennessee simply cannot afford inaction.Past PerformanceThe previous SHSP was approved in 2009 and had an overall goal of reducing the total number offatalities by 144 or more to have fewer than 900 fatalities by 2012. This specific goal was not met.However, there were significant performance gains in each emphasis area from the previous SHSPwhen comparing the five-year average of fatalities resulting from crashes relating to the Plan’semphasis areas. The five-year average was selected as the method of analysis to reduce the effectsof random influences, such as inclement weather or catastrophic single events. Figure 6 tabulatesthe statistical gains in safety over the previous plan period.There have also been many accomplishments in establishing the Plan’s foundation of a collaborativeeffort with specific strategies directed at improving safety. Significant advances have been made inavailability and consistency of traffic crash data through development of the Enhanced TennesseeRoadway Information Management System (ETRIMS) and the Tennessee Integrated Traffic AnalysisNetwork (TITAN). The previous plan established an organizational structure of safety stakeholdersand a system for defining safety needs and strategies for meeting those needs. Evaluation of theprevious plan and current data can reveal areas of improvement and concern that provide focus forthe updated plan. Some of the specific performance measures to note from comparing traffic crashrecords during the previous plan period are depicted in Figure 6.Figure 6 - Five-Year Fatality Average Comparison5-Year Average of Plan DataEmphasis AreaFatalitiesFatalities Involving Roadway DepartureFatalities Involving IntersectionsFatalities in Work ZonesFatalities Involving Large TrucksFatalities Involving Alcohol Impaired DriversFatalities Involving SpeedingFatalities Involving Unrestrained OccupantsFatal Crashes2009 SHSP Data2014 SHSP 1%-18%-39%-32%-28%-25%-27%-17%Source: 2009 SHSP and TDOSHS79

Introduction and BackgroundWhile it is clear that there have been significant gains in the reduction of fatality statistics during theprevious plan period, there are still areas for concern. These are primarily associated with theconsideration of serious injuries. The previous plan focused on fatalities, which are trendingdownward nationally as well as in Tennessee. However, serious injuries are trending upward. This isevident in the review of Figure 7, which depicts the moving five-year average from 2008 to 2012 forserious injuries: a new focus for the SHSP.Figure 7 - Serious Injury Five-Year Moving AverageSerious Injuries5-Year Moving 876,7676,60004-0805-096,6926,56006-10Source: TDOSHS07-1108-128Decreases in fatalities can be attributed in many cases to improvements in safety equipment ofvehicles and improved response times for crashes. These and other factors tend to result in astatistical shift from fatalities to serious injuries. For this reason, some increases in serious injuriescan be expected as a result of a reduction in the total number of fatalities. In recognition of thisreality, the SHSP will now target the reduction of serious injuries in addition to fatalities.Toward Zero DeathsWith over 33,000 fatalities occurring on the nation’s highways each year, roadway safety remainsone of the most challenging issues facing America. Although many highway safety organizationshave stepped forward to address these needs, there has been no singular strategy that unites thesecommon efforts until the “Toward Zero Deaths” initiative was created. Its name and mission arebased on the premise that even one death is unacceptable, and therefore, we must aspire to movetoward zero deaths on our roadways.The “Toward Zero Deaths” strategy is a data-driven effort focusing on identifying and creatingopportunities for changing our culture and building a foundation of safety on our roadways. Itinvolves multiple disciplines in its approach to improving safety but realizes that significantreductions in roadway fatalities cannot take place without a change in our values and behavior as aculture. Tennessee is proud to become one of over 30 states to adopt this strategy for the basis oftheir SHSP.10

Update ProcessUPDATE PROCESSCreated in November of 2004, the Tennessee Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) defines asystem, organization, and process for managing the attributes of the road, the users, and themodes to achieve the highest level of highway safety by integrating the work of disciplines andagencies involved. These disciplines include the planning, design, construction, operation, andmaintenance of the roadway infrastructure (engineering); injury

Jan 07, 2015 · in Tennessee. By signing this document, the signatories agree to support the vision, mission, and goals of the 2014 Tennessee Strategic Highway Safety Plan. John C. Schroer Commissioner Tennessee Department of Transportation Bill Gibbons Commissioner Tennessee Departm