Roadway Safety Data Interoperability Between Local and State Agencies (2014)

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49 NCHRP TOPIC 44-05 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE—FOR STATE AGENCIES The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is preparing a synthesis on Roadway, Traffic and Crash Data Interoperability between Local and State Agencies Relative to Roadway Safety (Topic 44-05). This is being done for NCHRP, under the sponsorship of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). In order to utilize the evolving safety analysis tools and methodologies to more efficiently and effectively address road- way safety issues and meet the MAP-21 requirements, agencies will be looking to improve their data for safety—particularly roadway, traffic, and crash data—on all public roads. The largest challenge will be the collection, storage, maintenance, and integration of safety data for local (non-state) maintained roadways. As agencies move toward improving the quality of data on the local roads, they will be looking for examples from other agencies that have been successful in doing so. The project team is familiar with the recent FHWA Roadway Safety Data Capabilities Assessment; the questions in this questionnaire will not duplicate, but rather expand upon the Capabilities Assessment effort. For any multiple choice questions, please choose the answers that best represent your state practices. This questionnaire is being sent to U.S. state departments of transportation. Your cooperation in completing the question- naire will ensure the success of this effort. If you are not the appropriate person at your agency to complete this questionnaire, please forward it to the correct person. Thank you very much for your time and expertise. Please complete and submit this survey by 03/08/2013. We estimate that it should take less than 30 minutes to complete. If you have any questions, please contact our Principal Investigator Nancy Lefler by phone: (919) 334-5604 or e-mail: nlefler@ vhb.com. Any supporting materials can be sent directly to Nancy Lefler by e-mail or at the postal address shown at the end of the survey. The following definitions are used in this questionnaire: Crash data: Data contained in the crash reports submitted after a collision (e.g., date, time, location, crash type, severity). Curves—Data pertaining to the physical and location attributes of vertical and horizontal curves (e.g., curve degree, curve radius, percent of gradient). Intersections—Data pertaining to the physical and locational attributes of intersections, including general intersection descriptors (e.g., number of legs, traffic control) and intersection approach descriptors (e.g., number of right turn lanes, length of right turn lanes). Intersection turning movement counts—Data pertaining to the turning movements at intersections (e.g., left turn volume, right turn volume). Local roads: Non-state maintained roadways. MAP-21: Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century transportation legislation (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/map21). MAP-21 data requirements: “As part of the state highway safety improvement program, a state shall—(A) have in place a safety data system with the ability to perform safety problem identification and countermeasure analysis—(i) to improve the timeliness, accuracy, completeness, uniformity, integration, and accessibility of the safety data on all public roads, including non-state owned public roads and roads on tribal land in the state; The term ‘safety data’ means crash, roadway, and traffic data on a public road” (MAP-21 §1112; 23 USC 130 and 148). APPENDIX A State Questionnaire

50 Roadway data—Data pertaining to the physical and locational attributes of a roadway; general categories include segments, curves, intersections, interchanges/ramps. Segments—Data pertaining to the physical and locational attributes of a section of roadway; includes location/linkage ele- ments, classification, cross section, and roadside descriptors. Segment traffic flow data—Data pertaining to the traffic volume on roadway segments [e.g., annual average daily traffic (AADT)]. Segment traffic operations/control data—Data pertaining to the operations and control of roadway segments (e.g., speed limits, one-/two-way operations, parking presence). Supplemental counts—Additional data pertaining to volume counts that is not described above (e.g., pedestrian counts, bicycle counts). Supplemental data—Additional data collected that does not fit into the above data categories (e.g., signs, signals, pedestri- ans, bridges). Traffic data—Data on the traffic volume and operations of roadways and intersections. Please enter the date: Your contact information will be kept confidential and only be used for the purposes of this project. In case of follow-up questions and for NCHRP to send you a link to the Final Report, please provide phone number and e-mail address. Please identify your contact information. First Name: Last Name: Position/Title: Agency/Organization: Address: City: State: Zip Code: E-mail Address: Phone Number: 1. MAP-21 legislation requires an integrated safety data system (roadway, traffic, and crash) with the ability to perform safety analysis on all public roads. How close are you to meeting this requirement? a. Do not meet. b. Meet somewhat. c. Are close to meeting. d. Meet. e. Do not know. f. Do not maintain any data for local roads. If you do not maintain any data for local roads, please check “f,” and you will skip to question #20. 2. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being least interoperable, and 10 being the most, how would you rate the overall compatibility/ interoperability of your state and local safety data—for crash, roadway, and traffic data? a. Crash: b. Roadway: c. Traffic:

51 The following questions pertain to how the state obtains data for local roads for crash, roadway, and traffic data, and if those data are provided back to locals. 3. How does the state obtain crash data for local roads? (check all that apply), and for each checked response please provide what percent is collected using that methodology. a. State collects: b. Locals collect and provide to state: c. Not collected at this time 3.a. If the state collects, do you provide crash data to the locals? a. Yes b. No 3.b. If the local agencies collect and provide crash data to the state, do you review/revise the data and send back to locals? a. Yes b. No 4. How does the state obtain roadway data on segments for local roads? (check all that apply), and for each checked response please provide what percent is collected using that methodology. a. State collects: b. Locals collect and provide to state: c. Not collected at this time 4.a. If the state collects, do you provide roadway data on segments to the locals? a. Yes b. No 4.b. If the local agencies collect and provide roadway data on segments to the state, do you review/revise the data and send back to locals? a. Yes b. No 5. How does the state obtain roadway data on curves for local roads? (check all that apply), and for each checked response please provide what percent is collected using that methodology. a. State collects: b. Locals collect and provide to state: c. Not collected at this time 5.a. If the state collects, do you provide roadway data on curves to the locals? a. Yes b. No 5.b. If the local agencies collect and provide roadway data on curves to the state, do you review/revise the data and send back to locals? a. Yes b. No 6. How does the state obtain roadway data on intersections for local roads? (check all that apply), and for each checked response please provide what percent is collected using that methodology. a. State collects: b. Locals collect and provide to state: c. Not collected at this time

52 6.a. If the state collects, do you provide roadway data on intersections to the locals? a. Yes b. No 6.b. If the local agencies collect and provide roadway data on intersections to the state, do you review/revise the data and send back to locals? a. Yes b. No 7. How does the state obtain supplemental data (signs, signals, pedestrian, etc.) for local roads? (check all that apply), and for each checked response please provide what percent is collected using that methodology. a. State collects: b. Locals collect and provide to state: c. Not collected at this time 7.a. If the state collects, do you provide supplemental data to the locals? a. Yes b. No 7.b. If the local agencies collect and provide supplemental data to the state, do you review/revise the data and send back to locals? a. Yes b. No 8. How does the state obtain segment traffic flow data for local roads? (check all that apply), and for each checked response please provide what percent is collected using that methodology. a. State collects: b. Locals collect and provide to state: c. Not collected at this time 8.a. If the state collects, do you provide segment traffic flow data to the locals? a. Yes b. No 8.b. If the local agencies collect and provide segment traffic flow data to the state, do you review/revise the data and send back to locals? a. Yes b. No 9. How does the state obtain segment traffic operations/control data for local roads? (check all that apply), and for each checked response please provide what percent is collected using that methodology. a. State collects: b. Locals collect and provide to state: c. Not collected at this time 9.a. If the state collects, do you provide segment traffic operations/control data to the locals? a. Yes b. No 9.b. If the local agencies collect and provide segment traffic operations/control data to the state, do you review/revise the data and send back to locals? a. Yes b. No

53 10. How does the state obtain intersection turning movement counts for local roads? (check all that apply), and for each checked response please provide what percent is collected using that methodology. a. State collects: b. Locals collect and provide to state: c. Not collected at this time 10.a. If the state collects, do you provide intersection turning movement counts to the locals? a. Yes b. No 10.b. If the local agencies collect and provide intersection turning movement counts to the state, do you review/revise the data and send back to locals? a. Yes b. No 11. How does the state obtains supplemental counts (pedestrian and bicycle) for local roads? (check all that apply), and for each checked response please provide what percent is collected using that methodology. a. State collects b. Locals collect and provide to state: c. Not collected at this time 11.a. If the state collects, do you provide supplemental counts to the locals? a. Yes b. No 11.b. If the local agencies collect and provide supplemental counts to the state, do you review/revise the data and send back to locals? a. Yes b. No If your state doesn’t obtain roadway data and traffic data from local agencies, and you didn’t select answer “b” from ques- tion 4 to question 11, you will skip to question #20. 12. For the data types the locals collect, do you provide any resources to the local agencies for collection of these data? (check all that apply) a. Funding. b. Training. c. Guidance—data dictionaries, format requirements, collection guidebooks, etc. d. Software/tools. e. Other, please describe: 13. Are edits to the state database made based on feedback by local agencies? a. Yes b. No 14. How are the crash data merged (i.e., located) once you receive data from the locals? a. Linear referencing system. b. GIS. c. Linear referencing system and GIS. d. Other, please describe: e. No, we don’t merge with local crash data If you don’t merge with local data, please check “e,” and you will skip to question #16.

54 15. How easily are the local crash data merged with state data? a. Data does not require merging; it is all already included in one database. b. Very easily, the data are provided in the same format used by the state. c. Easily, the data are provided in a format that can be easily transformed to the same format as the state. d. Moderately, the data require some manual labor to get them into a useable format. e. Difficult, the data require extensive manual labor to get them into a useable format. f. Not at all, the data are unusable in the current format they are submitted in and cannot be transformed into a useable format. 16. How are the roadway data merged (i.e., located) once you receive data from the locals? a. Linear referencing system. b. GIS. c. Linear referencing system and GIS. d. Other, please describe: e. No, we don’t merge with local roadway data If you don’t merge with local roadway data, please check “e,” and you will skip to question #18. 17. How easily are the local roadway data merged with state data? a. Very easily, the data are provided in the same format used by the state. b. Easily, the data are provided in a format that can be easily transformed to the same format as the state. c. Moderately, the data require some manual labor to get them into a useable format. d. Difficult, the data require extensive manual labor to get them into a useable format. e. Not at all, the data are unusable in the current format they are submitted in and cannot be transformed into a useable format. 18. How are the traffic data merged (i.e., located) once you receive data from the locals? a. Linear referencing system. b. GIS. c. Linear referencing system and GIS. d. Other, please describe: e. No, we don’t merge with local roadway data If you don’t merge with local traffic data, please check “e,” and you will skip to question #20. 19. How easily are the local traffic data merged with state data? a. Very easily, the data are provided in the same format used by the state. b. Easily, the data are provided in a format that can be easily transformed to the same format as the state. c. Moderately, the data require some manual labor to get them into a useable format. d. Difficult, the data require extensive manual labor to get them into a useable format. e. Not at all, the data are unusable in the current format they are submitted in and cannot be transformed into a useable format. 20. Which of the following types of support do you provide to local agencies for safety improvement efforts (analysis, implementation, etc.)? (check all that apply) a. Guidance. b. Funding. c. Staff. d. Training. e. Software. f. None. g. Other, please describe: If you do not provide any safety support to local agencies, please check “f,” and you will skip to question #24.

55 21. How are safety improvements implemented on local roadways? (check all that apply) a. State identifies locations, prioritization, countermeasures, and implements improvements on local roadways. b. State identifies locations for improvements, prioritization, and potential countermeasures and provides funding for local agencies to implement the countermeasures. c. State identifies potential locations for improvements, prioritization, and funding, but local agency is responsible for identifying countermeasures and installing the improvements. d. State identifies potential locations for improvements, and prioritization, but local agency is responsible for identify- ing countermeasures, securing funding, and installing the improvements. e. Locals identify locations for improvements, prioritization, and potential countermeasures, and submit applications to the state for funding. f. Locals are responsible for safety improvements on roadways in their jurisdiction; state is not involved in safety improvement implementation on local roadways. g. Other, please describe: 22. (For those that checked a–d on Question 21) How are safety improvements identified for urban and rural roadways? (check all that apply) Methodologies Urban Rural Crash-based analysis of frequency, rate, or similar. Crash-based comparison of expected crashes to observed using Safety Performance Functions or similar methods. Risk-based method that considers the location (e.g., inter- section, segment, curve, etc.) characteristics instead of crashes such as an intersection index or risk score. Road safety audits or other proactive review of a location. Concerns of citizens, law enforcement, or other members of the community. Other method, please describe: 23. Do you have adequate resources (staffing, technology, funding) to manage and maintain your safety data? a. Yes, please describe. b. No, please describe. 24. Are crash data accessible/available for use for legal or liability concerns? a. Yes, the crash data are available to lawyers and other legal professionals upon request. b. No, we do not provide access to crash records to lawyers and other legal professionals. Please feel free to provide any additional feedback on this question. Thank you for taking our survey. Your response is very important to us!