ATSSA Signal November December 2020

American Traffic Safety Services Association 24 Innovation Pandemic road statistics renew ‘Toward Zero Deaths’ focus By Emily Freehling for The Signal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics for June looked optimistic. During the first three months of 2020, NHTSA data projections showed traffic crash fatalities down 1% over 2019 as Americans traveled 5.4% fewer vehicle miles. But departmentsof transportation (DOTs) across the country were already seeingbehaviors that toldadifferent story. AsearlyasApril16,theGovernorsHighway Safety Association issued a news release stating that governors inmultiple states were alarmed at the drastic increase in excessive speeding on roads that had recently emptied of drivers amid stay-at- homeorders intended toslowthe spread of the coronavirus. Police in Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska, and Utah had clocked drivers exceeding 100mph. In addition, New York City’s automated speed cameras issuednearly double the tickets on March 27—when the city was shut down—than theaveragedaily rate in February. In September, the city reduced speed limitsby 5mphonnineof themost dangerousstreets tohelpreduce fatalities. Other states raised similar red flags. This year’s uptick in excessive speeding drives home the need for the national TowardZeroDeaths (TZD) initiative,which was instituted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2009 to elimi - nate fatal crashes on U.S. roads. Missouri Department of Transportation DirectorPatrickMcKenna,whoalsoserves as president of theAmericanAssociation of State Highway Transportation Offi- cials (AASHTO), said the nation needs a renewed focus on transportation safety as a public health crisis. “We can never allow the loss of life to be consideredacceptableorunavoidable,”he said. “We must focus on working to influ - encehumanbehavior toensure thesafety of all drivers, as well as those who work to build andmaintain our vital thorough- fares. While the coronavirus pandemic has certainly consumed a great deal of our time and energy in recent months, we can’t let it distract us from our goal of stemming the loss of life experienced annually on our nation’s roads.” Missouri saw the same trendof speeding drivers but had the added concern of a surge in work zone crashes. By late August, theMissouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) reported that vehicles had struck 39 truck-mounted attenuators (TMAs) in work zones state- wide, comparedwith19at the samepoint in 2019. Those were recorded despite a nearly 50% decrease in traffic volume during the COVID-19 shutdown. Missourilawenforcementagenciesreported multiple instances of drivers traveling in excessof 100mph, and theStateHighway Patrol in Julyhad recordeda56% increase in tickets issued for traveling 26 mph or moreabove thespeed limit in2020versus the first sevenmonths of 2019. “MoDOT isveryconcernedabout this rising trend,” McKenna wrote in response to questions fromATSSA. Hebelievesdrivers tookmore risksduring the shutdown because there were fewer cars on the roads, and some may have perceived that law enforcement officers were not making asmany traffic stops at that time. Nate Smith, vice president of Govern- ment Relations for ATSSA, said that, in general, the culture around road safety in theUShas improved in recent decades. The on-the-ground perspective ATSSA members provide on the safety chal- lenges onU.S. roads is an invaluable part of helpingmaintain focus on road safety. ATSSA was the first membership organi - zation tosupport theTowardZeroDeaths initiative. Developing products, technol- ogies, and procedures that can make roads safer is at the heart ofmany ATSSA members’ businesses. That is why the statistics from this spring andsummer, including inworkzones,were especially alarming. Patrick McKenna, MoDOT director and president of AASHTO