Statistics show that highway safety has improved significantly over the past 2 decades, with fatalities decreasing by 19% during a period when the number of drivers increased by 47% and the level of travel increased 76%. However, highway-related injuries and fatalities remain at an unacceptably high level. In order to be successful in improving road safety, the entire highway safety community must improve the coordination of research, development, and technology programs. In December 1997, AASHTO adopted a "Strategic Highway Safety Plan," designed to help raise the level of coordination among highway safety stakeholders to leverage the limited funding available for research, to accommodate the full spectrum of multidimensional driver-vehicle roadway interactions, and to improve the likelihood of successful technology best practices implementation and adoption. This article provides an overview of this AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
Samenvatting