No one will ever know exactly how many lives a guardrail will save during its lifetime. Or how many lives a wider stripe or a brighter sign will save.
That is because millions of American motorists pass by these—and other low-cost safety solutions—every day during their commute to work and school or when they are driving coast-to-coast enjoying vacation.
Low-cost road safety solutions work—and are available today to communities across the country that are committed to saving lives and reducing injuries on America’s roadways.
An examples will help illustrate the issue.
In Missouri, American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) member Chuck Bailey died in a June 2002 accident when a large object on the roadway was thrown into his vehicle after being struck by a truck. After the impact, Chuck crossed the median and struck an oncoming vehicle head-on. Both Chuck and that vehicle’s driver were killed. Missouri is now a leader in installing median barrier to prevent crossover crashes and deaths.
A study confirms that older drivers will be driving more at a later age, so both California and Missouri have stepped up to the low-cost safety solutions plate by establishing a program that increases the size of road signs to make it easier for older drivers—and everyone—to read them.
On Feb. 21, ATSSA President Peter Speer had the opportunity to take the low-cost message on the road by testifying before the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission during a special field hearing in Los Angeles.
Speer testified that day before U.S. DOT Secretary Mary Peters, who chairs the commission. Speer outlined ATSSA’s 2009 reauthorization policy, titled “Toward Zero Deaths,” and urged federal, state and local governments to unite with private industry toward a single overarching goal: to annually reduce fatalities until there are no deaths on America’s roadways. Speer emphasized, “efforts such as seat-belt usage and modifying driver behavior are commendable and should continue, but more can still be done.
“By increasing efforts to make the roadways as forgiving as possible, we can collectively limit the damaging effects bad behaviors can produce. ATSSA believes that the best way to improve safety in these areas is to take advantage of low-cost road safety solutions,” he told the committee.
“And while all of these solutions are proven to work,” he said, “they are all but useless unless we know where to install them.”
Last year, to help put the low-cost program in easy-to-understand terms for a large number of people, ATSSA unveiled a publication titled “Low Cost Local Road Safety Solutions.” The book was made available to all ATSSA members as well as members of the National Association of County Engineers (NACE), who partnered with ATSSA in developing the publication.
The 17 two-page studies contained in the publication were compiled by the Texas Transportation Institute, offering solutions involving signage, speed reduction, rumble strips, channelizers, roadside cable barriers and much more.
A PDF version of the publication has been downloaded nearly 8,000 times from www .atssa.com.
