Report back to NLTAP safety program from the TRB - ANB25 committee summer meeting

Report back to NLTAP safety program from the TRB - ANB25 committee summer meeting (June 2014)

Provided by Tim Colling, Michigan LTAP:

I wanted to update you on the outcomes from the TRB safety performance committee (ANB 25) midyear meeting that I attended on behalf of NLTAPA.

The prime focus of the summer meeting was related around gearing up for the second addition of the Highway Safety Manual (HSM).  To that end  it was suggested by some TRB committee members  by that I  volunteer to be on the NCHRP committee 17-71 that is in charge of the project to develop the second addition of the HSM to bring a local voice to the publication, which I did.  If selected as part of this committee travel to the NCHRP 17-71 meetings will be paid by the NCHRP project, so NLTAPA will get representation for "free" so to speak (free is good).  I will let you know when I hear back about committee selection and if I made the cut. 

As one of the things I have been working on for ANB 25 User Liaison and Technology Facilitation (ULTF)  sub-committee is a flyer that is targeted at local agencies encouraging the use and adoption of quantitative safety analyses.  Janet I understand that Andy ran this by you earlier on. This flyer is in draft form and is being reviewed in concept by the ULTF so the draft can be released to NLTAPA folks who want to contribute and comment.  ANB 25 would like NLTAPA to discuss and comment on the flyer at the national meeting this summer.  I will forward a PDF of the draft flyer and a short document that outlines the purpose for the flyer in a week or two when I can get tweaks made to it.  It would be appreciated if this could be announced as part of the safety committee meetings at national conference and if centers could forward the flyer for review to representative local agencies for written comment.  The goal is to get a final flyer in place with revisions done by October 1. 

Another item of interest to LTAP/TTAP centers is the ULTF is requesting that FHWA work to create a brief paper outlining the use of federal funds for safety training.  The brief will be targeted at FHWA division office safety staff, DOT safety engineers and LTAP/TTAP directors.  The brief will provide a guide for  setting up a safety training program using federal funds.  The intent would be to generate another source of options for funding traffic safety training at LTAP centers and to dispel some of the misunderstanding regarding how this funding can be used.  The committee feels if other states see the success that some states have had using this money for safety training, they will follow suit.

The last piece of the discussion that is relevant to LTAP centers is the  discussion on the training (Local safety in a date limited environment) that was presented as a pre-conference workshop  in 2013.  The ULTF is looking for another group or agency to take over that material and to develop it including a user’s guides and more developed slides.  Discussion centered around the material becoming a NHI course so that people at LTAP centers will have access to it.  I’m not sure where that is going or if FHWA not consider this since there are other safety related training materials being re-developed (NHI Safety Basics Class).

Overall this continues to be a worthwhile group for us to interact with, they genuinely want to see local agencies adopt safety practices, and want to do what they can to promote the process.  I’m amazed how many times local agencies come up at the meeting.