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Board workshop focuses on highway safety plans

The Idaho Transportation Board traveled to District 6 for its monthly business meeting and a tour of state highways last week. The meeting included a Thursday (Aug. 16) workshop on highway safety. Efforts are under way to encourage and support a culture of traffic safety throughout Idaho. That includes research to develop media messages and public outreach tools. The Office of Highway Safety has been working with Jay Otto, director of the Center for Health and Safety Culture at the Western Transportation Institute of Montana State University to reduce fatal car crashes involving alcohol.

Otto presented the Positive Community Norms framework that is guiding the effort to improve ITD’s highway safety messages with a focus on impaired driving. The intent is to encourage and support a culture of traffic safety through engaging community leaders, creating effective communication campaigns, and strategically allocating and integrating prevention resources.

A two-year pilot project to reduce impaired driving through messages that engage bystanders will be implemented in Blackfoot, Lewiston and Twin Falls this fall.

Other board discussion

Highway Safety Report
The 2011 Idaho Traffic Crashes report was presented. In calendar year 2011, there were 167 fatalities and 10,866 injuries as a result of traffic crashes in Idaho. The state’s fatality rate of 1.08 was slightly lower than the national rate of 1.09 fatalities per 100 million annual vehicle miles traveled.

Some of the findings in 2011 include:

A traffic crash occurred every 25 minutes in Idaho
62 percent of all motor vehicle crashes happened on urban roadways; however, 80 percent of the fatal motor vehicle crashes occurred on rural roadways
Aggressive driving was a contributing factor in 49 percent of the motor vehicle crashes, resulting in 64 fatalities
10 pedestrians and no bicyclists were killed
The number of motorcyclists killed declined from 28 in 2010 to 17 in 2011

Highway Safety Performance Plan FY13
The board approved the FY13 Highway Safety Performance Plan. It is prepared annually in accordance with federal requirements to identify and address Idaho’s most critical behavior-related highway safety problems.

Federal grant funds for state and local activities are estimated at $7.2 million for FY13. Some of the money will purchase equipment for local agencies, including extrication equipment, in-car video cameras and speed monitor trailers. Other projects include funding overtime for law enforcement to focus on impaired, aggressive and distracted driving; educational materials and training related to child restraints and motorcyclists; and paid advertising.

129,000-pound Trucks Pilot Project
In 2003, the legislature authorized a 129,000-pound trucks pilot project. It was designed to test the use of 129,000-pound trucks on a limited number of state highways. ITD is required to report to the legislature on impacts of the pilot project – including impacts to safety, bridges, and pavement on the designated routes – every three years during the pilot project. The final report is due by Jan. 31.

ITD staff members summarized the project for newer board members since the pilot project is concluding and efforts are under way to prepare the final report.

A small percentage of trucks are operating at the 129,000-pound limit, making it difficult to differentiate the 129,000-pound truck data from the non-participating trucks. One reason for the low participation is that operators were reluctant to invest in converting trucks to haul at the higher weight limit for a pilot project.

District 6 report
District 6 Engineer Blake Rindlisbacher provided an overview of district activities and accomplishments in the past year. The 165 employees are responsible for 2,300 lane miles and 352 bridges in nine counties. Some of its focus areas have been on improving work-zone signs, reducing contract time, closing out projects in a timely manner and disposing of unneeded surplus property.

A concerted effort is under way to inspect one-third of the district’s guardrail, fences and culverts annually to better maintain and operate the system. It is important to know the condition of the assets so they can be maintained, Rindlisbacher explained.

Some of the District’s highlights and accomplishments included:

Partnering with the city of Driggs to improve Idaho 33
Completing a project to identify and plan for transportation system alternatives in the greater Idaho Falls area, and
Constructing the U.S. 20, Menan-Lorenzo interchange to improve safety and economic opportunities