F.Y.I. Recommendations for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization..

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.Recommendations for the SurfaceTransportation Reauthorization....
The undersigned organizations support thefollowing recommendations for the highwaysafety portions of the next surface transportationreauthorization legislation: Establish National Performance Goal and State Targets. The State Highway Safety Alliance urges Congress to establish anational goal of halving motor vehicle fatalities by 2030 and authorize a federal program that enables state and local governmentsto attain that goal. State highway safety-related agencies should set state performancetargets in their federally-funded highway safety plans that would enable them to move toward attainment of the national goal.The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal MotorCarrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) should work cooperatively with state safety-related agencies to identify performance measures with which to measure state progress. At the end of each federal fiscal year, states should report results using agreed-upon performance measures. Rather than penalizing states if they are unable to reach their safety targets within a fixed time period, the federal safety agencies and their state agency counterparts should cooperatively identify creative strategies for enhancing results at the state level.Increase Safety Funding Although progress has been made in highway safety, more than 37,000 people—more than 100 a day—were killed and 2.4 million were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2008. Most of these crashes were preventable. Increased funding must be authorized to enable states to reverse these troubling statistics and meet national safety goals and state highway safety targets. The State Highway Safety Alliance urges Congress to double federal highway safety program funding. Increased highway safety funding for the grant programs administered by FHWA, NHTSA and FMCSA would enable states to improve safety on the roadways, address hazardous driving behavior and ensure that unsafe commercial motor vehicles are taken off the road.Streamline Program Administration and Enhance Flexibility The Alliance urges Congress to consolidate separate categorical highway safety programs to the greatest extent possible. Federal programs should have a single application and application deadline.Congress should identify eligible activities for the consolidated funding, but states should have the flexibility to determine how much funding should be used for each eligible activity so that funding is targeted toward the most critical highway safety problems. Requirements on states related to Maintenance of Effort (MOE), if not dispensed with altogether, need to be simplified and made so they incentivize state and local safety activities. They also should be based on activity levels or outputs and not purely on funding.Strengthen Strategic HighwaySafety PlanningThe Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) requirements of the Sec.148 Highway Safety Improvement Program have been a positive force for addressing safety in the states. The State Highway Safety Alliance supports those requirements and recommends that they be strengthened. States should continue to convene broad committeesto oversee the state highway safety planning effort. At a minimum,these committees should consist of representatives of state and local agencies responsible for engineering, education, enforcement,emergency medical systems, licensing, and commercial vehicle safety. The SHSP should address highway safety issues on all public roads, target funding to areas of highest need as identified bystate and local data, and set statewide safety performance targets.Any separate federally-funded safety implementation plans (e.g.,the Highway Safety Plan, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan, theState Transportation Plan) should support the SHSP performance targets, and states should update their SHSPs at least once duringthe reauthorization period.Support Enhanced Data Collectionand AnalysisThe collection of performance data is central to the effective functioning of federal performance-based programs. In order to track and analyze performance, states need to be able to collect morecomplete, reliable and accurate data, have automated and linkeddata systems, exploit emerging data collection technologies and utilizebetter data analysis tools. Data improvements are complex and expensive. Federal funds for these improvements have been inadequate.This is a priority for states and the State Highway SafetyAlliance urges Congress to fund state data improvements at significantly higher levels than current ones.Increase Investment in Safety Researchand DevelopmentState highway safety programs are stronger and more effective ifthey are built around evidence-based strategies. Research to producethe evidence of countermeasure effectiveness has been difficult because federal funding for highway safety research is so limited. transportaton safety.  JULY 2010 More countermeasure research is urgently needed. Research is also needed to evaluate emerging safety technologies, demonstrate and evaluate new strategies for reducing highway deaths and injuries,develop model laws and model programs and identify and document best practices. Additional driver and vehicle-related research is needed to enhance the safety of drivers and vehicles and to strengthen federal regulations. The State Highway Safety Alliance strongly supports increased funding for federal highway safety research.Prepare the Safety Work force for the FutureThe highway safety workforce at the state level is aging, and institutional knowledge about highway safety issues and programs will be diminished when the current workforce retires. There have been few efforts to attract young professionals into the field or enhance the professional capabilities of the current workforce. Members of the State Highway Safety Alliance are extremely concerned about this trend and urge Congress to allow states to obligate their highway safety grant funds (those administered by FHWA, NHTSA and FMCSA) for workforce development, training and education with a100% federal share. Congress should more adequately fund federal highway safety training for states, and a Center for Highway Safety Excellence should be established to facilitate the developmentof innovative safety workforce training (such as peer-to peer training programs) and support better integration of highwaysafety training of the three federal safety agencies.Choose Incentives Over SanctionsThe Alliance submits that incentives are preferable to sanctions and transfer penalties. Incentives give states the flexibility and resourcest o find creative, results-oriented solutions that meet safety goals and fit state and local needs. States are currently sanctioned for at least seven different safety-related purposes. An over-reliance on sanctions moves federal highway safety programs away from a cooperative federal-state partnership and generates increased state resistance toward the very safety issues that Congress wishes states to address.Recommendations for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization AAMVA Neil Schuster, President and CEO AASHTO Larry L. "Butch" Brown Sr., President Executive Director, Mississippi Department of Transportation ASTHO Dr. Paul Halverson, President Director, Division of Health, Arkansas Department of Human Services CVSA Francis (Buzzy) France, President Maryland State Police GHSA Vernon F. Betkey, Jr., Chairman Chief, Maryland Highway Safety Office IACP Michael J. Carroll, President Chief of the West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, Police Department The State Highway Safety Alliance is comprised of the three major recipients of the United States Department of Transportation grants as well as other state-based safety stake holders.The Alliance represents state agencies with roles in improving highway safety through infrastructure, driver behavior, licensing, incident response, and enforcement approaches.The IACP, while not a member of the alliance, shares its goals, concerns, and priorities with respect to these recommendations for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization. NASEMSO Steven L. Blessing, President Director, State of Delaware EMS