This guide is a basic reference to assist State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) in selecting effective, science-based traffic safety countermeasures for major highway safety problem areas. The guide o describes major strategies and countermeasures that are relevant to SHSOs; o summarizes their use, effectiveness, costs, and implementation time; and o provides references to the most important research summaries and individual studies. The guide is not intended to be a comprehensive list of countermeasures available for State use or a list of expectations for SHSO implementation. For a description of an optimal State countermeasure program, SHSOs should refer to the Highway Safety Program Guidelines, which delineate the principal components of each of the major program areas. States should identify problem areas through systematic data collection and analysis and are encouraged to continue to apply innovation in developing appropriate countermeasures. The evaluations summarized in this guide allow SHSOs to benefit from the experience and knowledge gained by others and to select countermeasure strategies that either have proven to be effective or that have shown promise. States choosing to use innovative programs can contribute to the collective knowledge pool by carefully evaluating the effectiveness of their efforts and publishing the findings for the benefit of others. What’s included: The guide contains a chapter for each problem area. Each chapter begins with a brief overview of the problem area’s size and characteristics, the main countermeasure strategies, a glossary of key terms, and a few general references. Next, a table lists specific countermeasures and summarizes their effectiveness, costs, use, and implementation time. Each countermeasure is then discussed in approximately one page. The guide provides an overview and starting point for readers to become familiar with the behavioral strategies and countermeasures in each program area. It has attempted to include countermeasures that have the most evidence of effectiveness as well as those that are used most regularly by SHSOs. Only those countermeasures that could be supported by traditional highway safety grant programs have been considered. In addition, updates to the guide are based only on published research. Unpublished programs and efforts are not included in this edition. Some countermeasure areas are covered in more depth than others due to the availability of published research. For example, impaired driving has a long and rich research history while other topics, such as driver distraction and drowsiness, have received less attention. This difference in the availability of published research findings is due to a number of factors, including the relative scale of the problem areas, the availability of reliable data on the frequency and characteristics of some safety problems, and the challenge of conducting scientifically valid studies in certain behavioral areas. References are provided for each countermeasure. When possible, summaries of available research are cited, with web links where available, so users can find most of the evaluation information in one place. If no summaries are available, one or two key studies are cited. There has been no attempt to list all research, current studies, or program information available on any countermeasure. Readers interested in any problem area or in specific countermeasures are urged to consult the references. Although all web links in this guide were accurate at the time of publication, please note that web links may change periodically. For broken links to NHTSA documents, we recommend searching NHTSA’s behavioral safety research reports (ntlsearch.bts.gov/repository/ntlc/nhtsa/index.shtm). For broken links to other reports or documents, refer to the website for the agency that produced the report. What’s not included: Since the guide is intended as a tool for SHSO use, it does not include countermeasures for which SHSOs have little or no authority or responsibility, or that cannot be supported under typical highway safety grant programs. For example, the guide does not include vehicle- or roadway-based solutions. Also, it does not include countermeasures that already are in place in every State, such as .08 grams per deciliter blood alcohol concentration laws. Finally, the guide does not include administrative or management topics such as traffic safety data systems and analyses, program planning and assessments, State and community task forces, or comprehensive community traffic safety programs. What the effectiveness data mean: The effectiveness of any countermeasure can vary immensely from State to State or community to community. What is done is often less important than how it is done. The best countermeasure may have little effect if it is not implemented vigorously, publicized extensively, and funded satisfactorily. Evaluation studies generally examine and report on high-quality implementation because there is little interest in evaluating poor implementation. Also, the fact that a countermeasure is being evaluated usually gets the attention of those implementing it, so that it is likely to be done well. The countermeasure effectiveness data presented in this guide probably shows the maximum effect that can be realized with high-quality implementation. Many countermeasures have not been evaluated well, or at all, as noted in the effectiveness data. Effectiveness ratings are based primarily on demonstrated reductions in crashes; however, changes in behavior and knowledge are taken into account in the ratings when crash information is not available. NCHRP Guides: The National Cooperative Highway Research Program is developing a series of guides for State Departments of Transportation to use in implementing the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Strategic Highway Safety Plan. This guide draws heavily on the published NCHRP guides and on several draft guides. It differs from the NCHRP guides because it is written for SHSOs, contains only behavioral countermeasures, and is considerably more concise. Readers are urged to consult the NCHRP guides relevant to their interests. They are available at http://safety.transportation.org/guides.aspx. NCHRP has also developed a framework for estimating the costs and benefits associated with behavioral countermeasures. Each of the countermeasures included in Countermeasures That Work was reviewed, and the potential savings of the countermeasures were projected. The subsequent report was designed to help States in selecting countermeasures that will result in the greatest reduction in crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Readers can find a copy of the report at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_622.pdf. Cochrane Reviews: In several of the chapters, Cochrane Reviews are cited. The Cochrane Collaboration is a nonprofit organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions. The database of reviews is published quarterly as part of the Cochrane Library. More information about Cochrane Reviews can be found at www.cochrane.org/. This edition of Countermeasures That Work was prepared by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center. Researchers who contributed to this edition include Arthur Goodwin, Libby Thomas, Bevan Kirley, William Hall, Natalie O’Brien, and Kate Hill. The original Countermeasures That Work was prepared in 2005 by James H. Hedlund, Ph.D., of Highway Safety North, with the assistance of Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association. The chapters on pedestrian and bicycle safety were added in the Second Edition by William A. Leaf of Preusser Research Group. All chapters have been revised and updated for this edition. Information and research studies through May 31, 2014, have been reviewed and included as appropriate. Data has been updated to include information from 2013 FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System). (Author/publisher)
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