The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 mandated that each U.S. state develop and implement a safety management system (SMS), a set of systematic processes used to identify opportunities to improve driver and vehicle safety in each phase of road construction projects and in development of other vehicle and transportation programs. While the original ISTEA mandate was later repealed, Washington State's Department of Transportation (WSDOT) embarked on a mission to develop a manual to help local agencies implement SMSs, known as local agency SMSs, or (LASMSs). This article describes the components of the 83-page WSDOT manual, completed in 1998, which provides local agencies with a detailed explanation of how to develop and structure an LASMS.
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