Abstract
Each year, according to FHWA data, more than 16,000 people are killed and another 1 million are injured in run-off-the-road (ROR) vehicle crashes, costing society $80 billion/year. Numerous governmental agencies are working to combat the ROR problem, which has been on the rise and made up 33% of total crashes in 1995 and 38% in 2000. By 2007, FHWA would like to reduce fatalities involving roadway departure crashes by 10%. This article describes some of the specific programs being undertaken as part of a new FHWA approach that aims to help meet this objective including research, working cooperatively with other organizations, and developing and implementing strategies such as new computer analysis tools.