Safety
Safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all is our core driving philosophy in developing transportation safety plans and programs.
Safety
Safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all is our core driving philosophy in developing transportation safety plans and programs.
When we create safety plans and strategies in partnership with our clients, we identify data-driven improvements that are both responsive and proactive in equitably addressing safety across a community. We embrace the role of shared responsibility in a safe system, and look for enhancements to roadway design, user behavior, crash response, and community care. Our designers and planners work at the national and international forefront of constantly evolving safety technology, policies, and design guidelines to push safety practice forward. Over 20 of our safety staff members are certified Road Safety Professionals (RSPs), bringing dedicated and specialized safety expertise to our projects. Recognizing the impact systemic plans can have on safety, our team supports local communities in developing these plans, including Local Roadway Safety Plans (LRSPs), Systemic Safety Analysis Reports (SSARs), and Vision Zero plans. We also understand that developing a safety plan is the first step in creating safer communities, and work with clients to prepare competitive grant proposals for funding safety projects. After plans are implemented, our team partners with clients on evaluation and safety accountability efforts, developing a nuanced understanding of what makes the biggest difference for local safety needs.
We employ an innovative, data-driven approach.
Through our partnerships with innovative tech firms, we build robust, contextual databases, allowing us to identify top risk factors that contribute to systemic transportation safety issues and concerns. We use in-house tools created through our research and development program to streamline safety analysis so that we can spend more time interpreting results and developing recommendations for our clients.
We commit to community safety goals.
We partner with our clients to develop authentic engagement programs, identify opportunities for equitable investments in safety, and help communities build safety programs and projects that meet their diverse needs. We bring together multi-disciplinary stakeholders to learn from local experience, and then develop plans that are responsive to the context and address safety for people of all ages and abilities.
We support the Safe System approach.
Understanding that humans make mistakes, we recommend strategies that reduce the chance that mistakes lead to deaths or severe injuries. We base our recommendations on the types and locations of collisions with the highest kinetic energy, and the risk factors contributing to those collisions. Learn more about the Safe System approach.
Safe System
The Federal Highway Administration’s Safe System approach is a multidisciplinary strategy in support of the Vision Zero goal: eliminating deaths and serious injuries on the road system. As defined by FHWA, the Safe System approach addresses five elements: safe road users, safe vehicles, safe speeds, safe roads, and post-crash care, and fosters data-driven collaboration and accountability across these elements. We supported FHWA as they developed and formalized their rollout in support of Vision Zero.
Safety Impact Analysis
Caltrans recently released instructions to Caltrans personnel, lead agencies, developers, and consultants for conducting safety impact analysis for proposed land use projects and plans in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). We were proud to support Caltrans in developing this guidance as a major commitment to institutionalizing safety in the everyday practice of transportation planners and engineers. Now, we help leaders understand the Caltrans guidance and translate it into impact analysis practices in their communities.
Fehr & Peers currently leads an international effort for the Institute of Transportation Engineers to develop a safety impact assessment framework and methodology selection guide. The guide, which uses a Safe System lens to present the available planning, design, and funding options associated with Safety Impact Assessment, is expected to be available in early 2021.
Vision Zero
Our experience with Vision Zero runs deep. In addition to coauthoring the Vision Zero Core Elements Guide, our data-driven and equity-centered Vision Zero work has been featured in conference presentations and has garnered numerous awards and honors. We helped multiple communities launch and maintain successful Vision Zero safety programs by developing a process of critical steps for practical implementation and providing support and technical assistance along the way. Visit our Vision Zero page to discover more about our process, approaches, and client partners.
Take critical steps in transportation safety by contacting our certified experts for insights on how you can address your community’s needs.
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