Honorable Mentions are given at the discretion of the judging panel when there is agreement that a particular project merits inclusion in the Noteworthy Practices Guide for the benefit of others to learn from.
Nevada: Nevada DOT Speed Management Action Plan
Speeding is widespread throughout Nevada. From 2015 to 2019, there were 454 speeding-related fatal crashes, representing 31 percent of all fatal crashes within the state. During this same timeframe, there was also an average of 175,000 speeding-related citations issued per year.
Speed management is a complex endeavor that requires commitment of all stakeholders. Accordingly, the Nevada Department of Transportation’s (NDOT) Speed Management Action Plan (SMAP) characterizes Nevada’s speeding-related safety problems and speed management issues; identifies appropriate engineering, enforcement, and educational countermeasures and strategies; and outlines actions that NDOT and partner agencies can take to implement these strategies to reduce speeding and speed-related fatal and serious injury crashes. The SMAP facilitates coordination and cooperation among various agency stakeholders including planners, designers and managers, enforcement officials, public health practitioners, and policymakers to implement a sustainable speed management program, and to target countermeasures where they will have the greatest safety benefits.
The SMAP will be a working document, with additional implementation actions, schedules, and other updates incorporated as needed during the five-year plan period. Near the end of five years, following the plan evaluation, revisions to the SMAP will incorporate lessons learned from the evaluation and implementation experiences, as well as from an updated problem assessment.
Virginia: Virginia DOT HSIP Systemic Initiatives
Like many other states, Virginia has experienced a rise in traffic fatalities and serious injuries. In response, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has transformed its Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). With support from senior leadership and informed with the proven results of systemic safety treatments combined with sophisticated predictive data analysis, VDOT has adapted its program to largely focus on the identification and deployment of low-cost, effective systemic safety measures.
Shifting the HSIP program in this way has been a significant undertaking that highlights VDOT’s commitment to enhancing traffic safety across its network. Since VDOT made this change in 2019, there has been continued growth and evolution in both the treatments and how the program is tracked and delivered. VDOT has implemented two phases of the program and is currently working on a Phase III.
Ultimately, this programmatic change has allowed VDOT to efficiently allocate resources to those locations with the greatest crash risk and those improvements that provide the greatest return on investment. This has provided a scalable program that is nimble in the face of a global pandemic and rapidly changing inflation. By taking a proactive stance and implementing systemic safety improvements, VDOT aims to prevent crashes before they happen.