Highway Safety Improvement Program Funds: Protecting Vulnerable Road Users

The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), was put into law as an effort to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities happening on our roadways. In the past decade, of the 370,000 people who died in transportation accidents, almost 95% passed on a U.S. street, road or highway. With these high numbers, our country is facing a crisis. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) within the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) is dedicated to ending these issues and working towards zero roadway fatalities.

Vulnerable Road User Safety Special Rule

An increasing number of fatalities are those categorized as vulnerable road users (VRUs), people who are at a greater risk of injury due to the lack of a protective, outer automobile frame. This group includes individuals such as walkers, runners, people with disabilities, the elderly and road workers. Funds from the HSIP are dedicated to improving safety efforts to protect VRUs, especially work zone safety improvements.

The purpose of HSIP funding is primarily for infrastructure solutions, but the BIL specifically allows states to invest annually on safety projects that advance their Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). If more than 15% of roadway deaths are vulnerable road users, the law mandates a state must spend/allocate at least 15% of their HSIP funds on remediation strategies.

If the VRU Safety Special Rule applies to a State, 23 U.S.C. 148(g)(3) requires the State to obligate in the next fiscal year not less than 15 percent of the amounts apportioned to the State under 23 U.S.C. 104(b)(3) for the following fiscal year for highway safety improvement projects to address the safety of vulnerable road users. The FHWA Office of Safety will update the Division Offices for each State where the Special Rule applies.

HSIP Funding

In order for states to access the funding provided by the HSIP, all safety improvement projects must be consistent with their SHSP. States’ plans are created through a data-driven process to reach their maximum potential of reducing roadway injuries and fatalities. In addition, the safety countermeasures must be proven and effective before implementation. The outlined Safe System approach should be considered during the planning and execution of safety projects. The approach is as follows –

• aims to eliminate death and serious injury for all road users;

• anticipates and accommodates human errors;

• keeps crash impact energy on the human body within tolerable levels;

• proactively identifies safety risks in the system;

• builds in redundancy through layers of protection so if one part of the system fails, the

other parts provide protection; and

• shares responsibility for achieving the vision zero goal among all who design, build, manage and use the system.

The BIL calls out the special importance of the safety of VRUs and investing in efforts that will protect them, requiring states to develop a vulnerable road user safety assessment that will assist the development of a strategy. Funding should prioritize transit options that increase safety, equity, accessibility and connectivity. This can include projects that physically separate road users in time and space, increase visibility and force vehicles to travel at an appropriate speed for their environment. In particular, countermeasures should be taken to protect workers in highway work zones should be made.

States’ Safety Measures

States across the nation are implementing remediation strategies and countermeasures to protect all their road users and work towards zero roadway deaths. For example, in Chicago, biking is a major form of transportation for their residents, and the city has more than 200 miles of bike lanes. But bicyclist fatalities and injuries have continued to increase yearly, making Chicago an unfriendly place for bikers. That is why the city is adding barriers and buffers to their bike lanes that physically separate bikers and motor vehicles in an effort to make their roadway network safer. As part of Florida’s HSIP Implementation Plan, they further emphasize work zones as an area for improvement. Their research found that work zone deaths make up roughly two percent of all fatalities and two percent of serious injuries in the state. Additionally, lane departures constitute a significant cause of work zone crashes and create further disruptions until the crash can be cleared. A few of their solutions include education, targeted enforcement within the work zones and implementation of smart work zone applications. Engineered solutions can be retroreflective pavement markers, improved lighting and sight distance and advanced warnings of work zones. In Louisiana, motor vehicle crash fatalities increased 17% from 2020 to 2021, the highest recorded increase in the state’s history. This devastating statistic has led the state to revisit and update their SHSP to make their public roads a safer place, setting a goal to reduce crashes and severe injuries by 50% by 2030. The planned strategies to achieve this goal include identifying, developing and deploying engineering solutions along corridors that experience numerous severe crashes while simultaneously increasing education and accountability efforts across the state.

Even individual cities are taking it upon themselves to combat the number of roadway fatalities and injuries. Vulnerable road users in Brookhaven, Georgia are protected by an additional ordinance in their city to maximize their protection. Fines and license suspensions are being issued to vehicle operators who fail to keep a safe distance or yield to VRUs.

States are facing a crisis and now is the time to act as funding for safety measures has never been higher. The HSIP has specifically identified remediation strategies such as roundabouts, pavement markings, centerline and shoulder rumble strips and stripes and traffic signs installations as eligible for 100% Federal share. States must prioritize roadway safety as the nation works toward a transportation system with zero deaths.