The Safe System Approach: What is it and why is it getting so much attention?

COURSE OVERVIEW

The Florida LTAP Center is pleased to partner with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Resource Center to bring you this virtual workshop on The Safe System Approach: What Is It and Why Is It Getting So Much Attention?

Achieving the vision of eliminating deaths and serious injuries from our Nation’s roads may seem daunting since traffic fatalities in the United States have plateaued between 32,000 and 38,000 annually for over a decade. To make meaningful progress, we need to change the way we think about the traffic safety problem and apply an approach centered around creating a road system that accommodates inevitable human mistakes.

The Safe System approach is a recognized international road safety best practice that is rapidly gaining awareness and application in the United States. Other countries that also had their road safety improvements plateau were able to achieve significant reductions in roadway deaths by adopting Safe System principles. Working to create a Safe System requires strengthening all elements of the system and leveraging collaborative partnerships.

In this training you will learn about the six foundational principles of the Safe System approach and the five elements of the system that must work together to achieve the vision of zero roadway deaths. The session will also explain the important distinctions that make a Safe System approach different from traditional approaches to road safety. References for additional information on the Safe System approach will also be provided.

TARGET AUDIENCE: All roadway transportation professionals

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the completion of this session, participants will be able to:

• Describe the foundational principles of the Safe System approach
• List the elements of a Safe System
• Describe how the Safe System approach differs from traditional road safety approaches
• Identify strategies for assessing project design consistency with the Safe System approach

This webinar will award a certificate to those fully attending and completing the webinar. Professional Development Hours will be provided to those that request these during registration. A total of 1.5 PDHs can be earned for fully attending the webinar. Florida local agencies are given priority!

Instructor Bio:

Mark Doctor, PE provides technical assistance and training to advance the application of innovative and performance-based safety and design practices on a national level. Mark began his career with the FHWA in 1988 and gained engineering experience through several positions in the FHWA Florida Division Office and the FHWA Tennessee Division Office. Mark has served in his current position with the FHWA Resource Center Safety and Design Team since 2005 where he provides technical services in the areas of geometric design, intersection safety, innovative intersections, freeway interchange design, and the Safe System approach. Mark received a BS degree in civil engineering from Clemson University and an MS in transportation engineering from the University of Florida. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Georgia.