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their respective agencies. Changes in culture can be driven
by a) establishing executive orders and policy directives that
provide the foundation for integrating performance-based
processes throughout the agencies' programs and departments;
b) implementing a process for leading change; c) establishing
an HSM implementation team and/or plan; and d) making
safety analyses simpler and more accessible to internal and
external staff.

Topic No. 6: Information Dissemination
1.	 Agencies should use a variety of approaches (i.e., top-down,
bottom-up, peer-to-peer) to communicate internally to
implement HSM methods and PBASAPs.
2.	 When communicating safety analysis results to external
stakeholders, agencies should use simple language; present
information using visual aids such as maps; target the
discussion to the specific audience; avoid discussing crash
costs; and discuss all aspects of the project including safety,
operations, design, environment, and context.
3.	 Staff whose primary responsibility is safety should periodically
meet with their agency's legal counsel to understand liability
concerns associated with HSM methods and PBASAPs.

Topic No. 7: Achieving Performance
1.	 Agencies should set clear goals and objectives for HSM implementation and establish measures for tracking the success of
their HSM implementation.

Conclusions
The HSM provides safety knowledge and tools to facilitate improved
decision making based on safety performance and can help transportation agencies provide the highest level of safety performance
within the financial resources available to reduce the number of
traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. By following
one or more of the recommended actions listed above, transportation agencies will be able to further enhance the implementation
of the HSM and other PBASAPs within their agencies to improve
safety across the nation's streets and highways.

Acknowledgments
The scan was conducted under NCHRP Project 20-68A: US
Domestic Scan Program, Scan 16-01 (Leading Practices in the
Use of the Highway Safety Manual for Planning, Design, and
Operations). Scan planning and logistics were managed by Arora
and Associates, P.C. Harry Capers, P.E. was the Principal Investigator. Members of the Scan Team included:
John Milton, Ph.D., P.E., PTOE, RSP2I (M), Washington State
Department of Transportation, AASHTO Chair
Michael Vaughn, P.E., Kentucky Transportation Cabinet

Samuel Sturtz, Iowa Department of Transportation
Dave Duncan, P.E., (M), Tennessee Department of
Transportation
Dennis Emidy, P.E., Maine Department of Transportation
Jerry Roche, P.E. (M) Federal Highway Administration
Darren Torbic, Ph.D. (M) MRIGlobal, Subject Matter Expert
The Scan Team would like to thank all staff from the states that
participated in the scan.
The final report from the scan titled Leading Practices in the Use
of the Highway Safety Manual for Planning, Design, and Operations
is available online at onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/docs/
NCHRP20-68A_16-01.pdf.4 The final report provides more details
about the transportation agencies that participated in the scan and
provides examples of policy statements, implementation tools, etc.
that these agencies have developed to implement the HSM within
their respective agency.

References
1.	 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO). 2010. Highway Safety Manual. American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC.
2.	 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
(AASHTO). 2011. Roadside Design Guide. American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC.
3.	 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). 2009. Manual on Uniform Traffic
Control Devices. U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC.
4.	 Milton, J.C., D. Emidy, D. Duncan, J. Roche, S. Sturtz, M. Vaughn, and
D.J. Torbic. Leading Practices in the Use of the Highway Safety Manual for
Planning, Design, and Operations, NCHRP Project 20-68A, Scan 16-01,
Scan Team Report, Transportation Research Board (2018).

Darren Torbic, Ph.D. (M) recently joined the Texas
A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) as a research
scientist. Prior to joining TTI, Dr. Torbic worked
as a principal traffic engineer at MRIGlobal
and a research assistant at The Pennsylvania
Transportation Institute at The Pennsylvania State University.
Dr. Torbic has more than 26 years of research experience in the
areas of highway safety, geometric design, traffic engineering,
and bicycle and pedestrian transportation. He has served as
principal investigator (PI) on 20 research projects for NCHRP,
FHWA, and AASHTO. Dr. Torbic is the author or co-author of
more than 70 technical papers or research reports.

w w w .i t e.or g

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http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/docs/NCHRP20-68A_16-01.pdf http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/docs/NCHRP20-68A_16-01.pdf http://www.ite.org

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