Road safety – performance measures

The Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments (CWCOG) Board of Directors recently approved safety performance measures for the Longview/Kelso/ Rainier Metropolitan planning area. The federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) legislation set requirements for state Departments of Transportations (DOT) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) to establish performance measures including safety. As the MPO for the Longview/Kelso/Rainier Metro area the CWCOG is responsible for setting performance targets. This is the sixth-year safety performance targets have been established.

Each of us make decisions each day that impact our safety and the safety of those around us. Somehow, we need to find a way to lower the number of accidents caused by a number of factors, that lead to serious injuries and fatalities. Distracted driving, speed and alcohol continue to be major factors in the struggle to improve road safety. Public agencies continue to work to improve road safety with engineering solutions and what are called safety countermeasures yet we are seeing increases in accidents resulting in serious injuries or fatalities.

Because our MPO is a bi-state organization the CWCOG is required to address the safety performance measures in both Washington and Oregon. CWCOG staff, with the support and recommendation for approval from the Cowlitz Area Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), recently recommended to the CWCOG Board of Directors (MPO board) that the organization support the safety performance measures of each state rather than creating specific MPO targets. This recommendation follows the previous actions taken by the CWCOG Board of Directors.

The purpose for establishing safety performance measures is to help state DOTs and MPOs make investment decisions intended to significantly reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads. State DOTs and MPOs are required to establish targets for five safety performance measures.

The safety performance measures required by MAP-21 are:

Safety Plan (SHSP).

The Washington SHSP is called Target Zero (http://www. targetzero.com). The goal of Target Zero is to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries on Washington's roadways to zero by year 2030. Washington also prepares an annual Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) report which includes information on the State's progress in meeting safety performance targets. Click the link for information on the process – https://wsdot. wa.gov/business-wsdot/support-local-programs/fundingprograms/highway-safety-improvement-program

MPOs in Washington worked with WSDOT to establish safety performance targets statewide and at the metropolitan planning area (MPA) level. The MPA targets are provided to inform regional planning and programming, not as sub-targets. Oregon DOT chose to establish safety performance targets at the state level and for their transportation regions. Oregon DOT did not provide safety performance targets for MPAs.

2022 All Roads in County – Distracted Drivers

Details on two of these measures for the area are included below. MPOs will report progress on meeting safety targets annually to State DOTs who must prepare a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) report annually. The purpose of the HSIP report is to show progress toward meeting the safety targets. States are also required to develop a Strategic Highway

For more CWCOG, see page 13