Planning Tools

State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) submit annual Highway Safety Plans (HSPs) and Annual Reports (ARs) to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and assist their state DOTs in the development of the state's Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP).

These resources will help states in the development and implementation of their plans.

Performance Measures

GHSA has worked with NHTSA to identify the following performance measures for SHSOs to use in their HSPs and ARs.

Traffic Safety Performance Measures

Traffic Safety Performance Measures for States and Federal Agencies [557 KB, 46 pgs.] covers the minimum set of performance measures to be used by states and federal agencies in the development and implementation of behavioral highway safety plans and programs. Fourteen measures are outlined: ten core outcome measures, one core behavior measure, and three activity measures.

NHTSA's State Traffic Safety Information (STSI) provides state-by-state FARS data that states will need for their traffic safety performance measures.

Frequently Asked Questions [159 KB, 4 pgs.]

State Traffic Records Systems Performance Measures

Model Performance Measures for State Traffic Records Systems [675 KB, 46 pgs.] is a collection of 61 voluntary model measures to help states monitor and improve the quality of the data in their traffic records systems. It covers all six traffic records systems: crash, driver, vehicle, roadway, citation/adjudication, and EMS/injury surveillance; and provides basic definitions for the six critical performance attributes: timeliness, accuracy, completeness, uniformity, integration, and accessibility.

Attitudes Survey

States began conducting this annual attitude survey in FY 2010. The survey contains nine questions on occupant protection, impaired driving and speeding.

Survey Recommendations for the NHTSA-GHSA Working Group [294 KB, 84 pgs.]
- Summary [9 KB, 1 pg.]
- Questions Template [31 KB, 2 pgs.]
Web-based Surveys: an Assessment [111 KB, 11 pgs.]
White Paper: Driver Surveys: Information and Options for SHSOs [18 KB, 4 pgs.]
Jan. 19 Webinar PowerPoint Handouts [77 KB, 7 pgs.]

Guides & Templates

DISCLAIMER: GHSA’s guidance documents have not been updated yet to take into consideration the MAP-21 Interim Final Rule.

These guides help SHSOs incorporate the performance measures info their HSPs and ARs.
To use these files, first download this Highway Safety Planning spreadsheet Excel icon [378 KB, 9 pgs.]. Be sure to enable the macros.

The crash data contained in this spreadsheet is hypothetical. States should input their own data; the corresponding charts will update automatically. GHSA recommends that states cut and paste the charts into the appropriate sections of their HSPs and/or ARs.

These templates were reviewed by the GHSA Executive Board and NHTSA and adopted by the GHSA membership.

Highway Safety Performance Plan
- Recommended Goal Statements [60 KB, 5 pgs.]
- Guidelines for Developing HSPs [595 KB, 25 pgs.]
- HSP Narrative Template [277 KB, 32 pgs.]
  (Save file to your computer's hard drive, and then open in Word.)
Annual Report
- Instructions [1.9 MB, 8 pgs.]
- Narrative Template [1.6 MB, 7 pgs.]
  (Save file to your computer's hard drive, and then open in Word.)
Other Tools
- Mid-Year Template [19 KB, 1 pg.]
  For states to evaluate projects or programs mid-year
- Ohio Motorcycle Safety Strategic Plan [51 KB, 8 pgs.]

Additional Planning Resources

The following planning resources are available via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website.

	Countermeasures That Work: A Highway Safety Countermeasure Guide for State Highway Safety Offices An annually-updated reference guide to help SHSOs select effective, science-based countermeasures for major highway safety problem areas.
	The Art of Appropriate Evaluation: A Guide for Highway Safety Program Managers Covers what type of evaluation is reasonable for different programs, how to maximize the success an evaluation, and where to go for help; contains a glossary of basic evaluation terms.
	Uniform Guidelines for State Highway Safety Programs Offers direction to states in formulating their plans for highway safety efforts supported with section 402 and other grant funds, providing a framework for developing a balanced highway safety program and tools to assess program effectiveness.
	Partnering with State Highway Safety Offices: Tips and Tactics for Success Resource for community groups wishing to partner with State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) that explains how SHSOs develop their programs and provides examples of how community groups can be effective partners.
	Understanding and Messaging to At Risk Drivers [1.1 MB, 187 pgs.] Reveals five segments of drivers at risk for drunk driving and ways to reach them. State Highway Safety Offices should use this report in crafting their strategic communication strategies for reducing impaired driving.