Iowa highway safety advocates release "toolbox" of life-saving strategies

AMES, Iowa - The Iowa Safety Management System - a multi-disciplinary partnership of public and private highway safety entities – has released its comprehensive SMS Toolbox of Highway Safety Strategies.

The purpose of the toolbox is to assist Iowa's highway safety professionals, policy makers, and citizens in implementing ways to reduce death, injury, and economic loss on Iowa roadways.

In our state, we experience 450 or more crash fatalities every year, along with more than 35,000 injuries and millions of dollars in property damage. The emotional and economic loss to Iowans is immeasurable. Compared with the rates of other forms of death and injury, vehicle crashes should be considered an epidemic-level public health issue in Iowa.

The 28-chapter SMS Toolbox of Highway Safety Strategies is a comprehensive compilation of national and Iowa highway crash data, issue descriptions, and potential safety improvement strategies. The 300-page document provides a wide range of strategies to identify, implement, and evaluate opportunities for highway safety improvement. Some chapters address engineering topics such as intersections, cross-median crashes, and work zone safety. Other chapters confront driver-focused concerns such as impaired drivers, aggressive drivers, and the age-related challenges of younger drivers and older drivers. Data analysis, program planning, evaluation, and local safety teams are also addressed as “tools” to use in reducing deaths and injuries in Iowa’s roadways.

Earlier this year, Governor Vilsack, Lt. Governor Pederson, and six of Iowa’s state government agency directors joined in signing an endorsement of the SMS Toolbox and the group’s stated effort “to reduce the number and severity of crashes on Iowa’s roadways by promoting collaboration, innovation, and citizen participation in efforts to reduce motor vehicle crash losses.” Signers were representatives of the Iowa Departments of Education, Elder Affairs, Justice, Public Health, Public Safety, and Transportation. Iowa leaders of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA), and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration also endorsed the document.

The complete document and other information about the Iowa Safety Management System is available online at www.IowaSMS.org