| Project Safety Management System |
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| Overview |
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In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) mandated that states develop and maintain six transportation management systems, one of which was a Safety Management System (SMS). As defined by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) a SMS is "a systematic process which increases the likelihood of reaching safety goals by ensuring that all opportunities to improve highway safety are identified, considered, implemented as appropriate, and evaluated in all phases of highway planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations"
In response to the mandate, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) began to develop a SMS. The National Highway Designation Act of 1995 made development of this management system optional, but ODOT recognized the benefits and has continued to develop a Safety Management System, comprised of the Project Safety Management System (PSMS).
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), enacted in 2005, further increased federal funding for safety improvements through the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). SAFETEA-LU further requires all states to develop a Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) and identify a strategic approach to addressing the states most severe safety concerns. In addition SAFETEA-LU requires states to submit an annual report to FHWA describing not less than 5% of their highway locations exhibiting the most severe safety needs, potential remedies to the hazardous locations, estimated costs of the remedies and any impediments to implementation of the remedies (other than cost).
These management systems take different forms in different states but each has the goal of reducing deaths and injuries due to vehicle crashes. The Traffic-Roadway Section administers Oregon Department of Transportation’s Project Safety Management System (PSMS). A goal of the Traffic-Roadway Section is to provide leadership and direction to improve the safety of Oregon’s Transportation system. The PSMS is designed to improve the safety of the transportation system by assisting decision makers to allocate transportation safety resources.
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| System Information |
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Oregon has a long history of effective transportation safety programs. The system is a formalized systematic decision making process and policy direction provided by the Oregon transportation Commission’s approval of the Transportation Safety Action Plan.
The Oregon DOT's Project Safety Management System is a comprehensive data analysis and reporting system designed to improve the safety of Oregon's transportation system and reach all safety goals. The PSMS will help reduce the traffic fatality rate in Oregon from the 2003 rate of 1.36 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, to the goal in our Oregon Transportation Plan of 0.99 by the year 2010. The PSMS and associated tools give highway project leaders and designers pertinent PC-based and internet based crash, safety, roadway and traffic mitigation information to perform safety analyses and make safety investments where they will count the most.
The PSMS consists of three major elements:
1) Highway Safety Program (HSP)
2) Safety Priority Index System (SPIS)
3) Safety Investment Program (SIP)
The above elements consist of on-line and software evaluation tools, databases, and funding options. These assist project leaders, designers, and other transportation professionals in evaluating and improving the safety of the Oregon roadways, and are discussed in detail in the following sections.
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| Biennial Status Reports |
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