Oregon Application of the Highway Safety Manual
Unlike other engineering standard documents, the Highway Safety Manual is not formally adopted by a state. The manual does not establish a legal standard of care for highway safety. Rather it should be implemented with other highway safety policies of the state or local jurisdiction.
The Oregon Department of Transportation has evaluated the concepts included in the Highway Safety Manual and initiated activities related to the ideas presented in the manual.
The greatest barrier to implementing Highway Safety Manual concepts is the need for better crash and road inventory data that can easily integrate into associated tools, providing system-wide highway safety analysis. Much of the research activities and discussions in which ODOT is engaged center on these issues.
Data Needs Assessment for Part B of the Highway Safety Manual
Oregon State University conducted an additional study to assess the deficiencies in Oregon's crash and roadway inventory data to fully implement the methodologies found in Part B of the Highway Safety Manual.
The
Safety Investigations Manual is a resource for ODOT traffic investigators with highway safety project screening and evaluations. It contains some Highway Safety Manual concepts and is a good resource for practitioners who regularly investigate highway safety issues and perform highway safety assessments.