GHSA Chairman Chris Murphy speaks at the Dec. 18 press event.
Learn More:
Drunk Driving
Last year,15,121 were killed in alcohol-related crashes where the highest blood alcohol concentration was over the legal limit of .08. GHSA is committed to combating this crisis. Below are two major anti-drunk driving initiatives in which GHSA is involved:
Over the Limit. Under Arrest.
Too many innocent lives are lost to drunk drivers over the holidays. In fact, in December 2006, 1,076 people were killed in crashes involving a driver with a BAC level of .08 or higher. To combat these needless killings, GHSA and its members are joining with NHTSA, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to crack down on drunk driving through this national campaign.
Throughout the 2007 holidays, law enforcement across the country were out in full force conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. The campaign also included hard hitting national advertising to reinforce the message that drunk driving is a serious and violent crime, with serious consequences.
Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving
GHSA has joined MADD and other highway safety groups to support its national Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. The Campaign has four key components: technology, tougher enforcement, stronger laws, and grassroots mobilization. The Campaign's goal is to "completely eliminate drunk driving...making it the public health equivalent of polio." Learn More >>
Occupant Protection
Click It or Ticket
May 19 - June 1, 2008
Click It or Ticket is a national campaign to boost seat belt use and reduce highway fatalities.
The 2008 Click It or Ticket mobilization took place May 19 - June 1. State and local law enforcement agencies were out in force to make sure citizens are buckling up. The mobilization was augmented by national and state media campaigns and public outreach. Learn More >>
CPS Law Enforcement Materials
To help police officers provide parents with the most up-to-date child passenger safety information for their state, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is partnering with GHSA to provide some great new resources for State Highway Safety Offices and their law enforcement grantees. Learn More >>
Teen Driver Safety
Driving Skills for Life
Driving Skills for Life is a campaign
working to build strong national recognition and interest in the growing problem
of teen drivers. With multi-year funding from Ford Motor Company Fund, Driving
Skills for Life is an innovative skills development program for new teen drivers
that addresses the factors most involved in teen crashes. Learn More >>
National Teen Driver Safety Week
October 19-25, 2008
Last year, Congress passed a joint resolution making the third week in October National Teen Driver Safety Week. Its mission is to bring teens, community leaders, educators, and parents together to take action and increase awareness to help prevent teen crashes, the leading cause of death for American teens.
State Highway Safety Offices are very involved in teen driver safety, and some plan activities specific to NTDSW. Others have year-long programs focusing on teen belt use, graduated licensing and underage drinking. Learn More >>
The 2008 awards will be presented on Tuesday, September 9th at
GHSA's Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Highway Safety Awards
Each year, GHSA recognizes various organizations and individuals for achievements in the field of highway safety. Awards are presented at GHSA's Annual Meeting. GHSA presents the following awards:
- The James J. Howard Highway Safety Trailblazer Award
GHSA's highest award, honoring an individual for sustained outstanding leadership in endeavors that significantly improve highway safety. Learn More >>
- The Peter K. O'Rourke Special Achievement Award
Recognizing notable achievements in the field of highway safety by up to five individuals or organizations each year. Learn More >>
- The Kathryn J.R. Swanson Public Service Award
Honoring an individual for notable improvements in a highway safety program or policy or outstanding service to GHSA, federal safety agencies or other national highway safety organizations. Learn More >>
2007 Award Winners >>
State Highway Safety Showcase
GHSA features State Highway Safety program successes and best practices on its website. The current showcase is:
Utah’s Teen Driving Task Force
Utah Highway Safety Office
Utah’s Teen Driving Task Force was formed in October of 2006 to coordinate activities and develop a statewide program to improve the safety of teen drivers and passengers. For the first time, local, state and private organizations are working together to solve this public safety concern. Learn More >>
To submit your state's program or best practice, download the submission form 
, complete and e-mail it to Kara Macek at kmacek@ghsa.org. Contact Kara with questions.
Past Showcases >>
GHSA Policies and Procedures Manual (PPM)
This Policy Manual serves as a guide to assist staff in administering the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) traffic safety grant program in compliance with applicable State and Federal laws and regulations. It is intended for use by State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) personnel, Department of Transportation employees, state and local government officials, and anyone interested in the procedures which are followed by the State Highway Safety Offices. Download Policy Manual >>
GHSA Monitoring Advisory
State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) implement behavioral highway safety programs with federal highway safety grant funds largely by sub-allocating federal funding to other state agencies, local agencies (including law enforcement) and nonprofits. SHSOs must monitor these grants to ensure that sub-grantees are spending their funds in the manner intended.
To enhance the state monitoring processes, GHSA examined state monitoring efforts, identified best practices and published a Monitoring Advisory. The Advisory was reviewed by the GHSA Executive Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and adopted by the GHSA membership in September 2006. Download Monitoring Advisory >>
GHSA Planning Tools
To receive federal highway safety grant funds, State Highway Safety Offices must submit an annual Highway Safety Performance Plan (HSPP) to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). States plans vary in both the preparation process and content. States also must submit an Annual Report (AR) indicating how the state spent its federal highway safety grant funds for the previous fiscal year. You can access these plans and reports on NHTSA's website at the following URL: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/whatsup/SAFETEAweb/index.htm.
To encourage greater uniformity in these documents, GHSA developed templates for the HSPP and the AR. Additional guidelines for setting performance goals were developed to help steer SHSO's through the annual planning process.
Both the HSPP and AR templates were reviewed by the GHSA Executive Board and NHTSA and were adopted by the GHSA membership at two Annual Meetings.
- Annual
Report Templates
- Best Practices
|
- Highway Safety Performance Plan
- Guidebook
- Template (NOTE: Save file to your computer's hard drive, and then open in Word.)
- Mid-Year Template for states that wish to evaluate projects or programs
mid-year
- Other Planning Tools and Samples
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Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria
Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) are voluntary guidelines originally developed in response to requests by states interested in improving and standardizing their state crash data. By providing states with a "minimum" set of data elements, MMUCC helps them collect reliable crash data, effectively guide enforcement planning, and shape sound traffic safety policy.
GHSA is currently coordinating an effort to update the guidelines.
Crash
Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES)
GHSA
implements a federal contract to administer CODES, a methodology
for linking crash data with medical outcome data such as hospital
discharge data, emergency medical system run report data, morbidity
and mortality data. The CODES data can then, among other things,
be used to evaluate the effectiveness of highway safety countermeasures. To learn more, visit the CODES website.
The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running
The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running is dedicated to reducing the
incidence of red light running in the United States and the fatalities and injuries
it causes. The Campaign has assembled a team of leaders from the fields of law
enforcement, transportation engineering, healthcare and emergency medicine,
and traffic safety, to tackle this crucial safety issue. Barbara Harsha, GHSA
executive director, serves on the Campaign's Advisory Board. For more information, check out www.stopredlightrunning.com.
Safe Routes to School
The Safe Routes to School helps communities enable and encourage children to walk and bike to school safely. The National Center for Safe Routes to School offers a centralized clearninghouse of information on how to start and sustain a Safe Routes to School program, case studies of successful programs and other training and technical assistance resources. The Center is maintained by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. GHSA is a cosponsor of the Safe Routes to School clearinghouse. Go to www.saferoutesinfo.org to learn more.
