Implementing GIS-Based Highway Safety Analyses: Bridging the Gap

Author: Richard Smith
Organization: GIS/Trans, Ltd.

Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike, HRDS, T-212
McLean, VA 22101-2296
USA

Phone: 202-493-3285
Fax: 202-493-3374
rsmith@gistrans.com

The GIS Safety Analysis Tools v1.0 CD-ROM represents a recent example of the work the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Safety Research and Development has done to promote the capabilities and potential of GIS in highway safety analyses.

One of the purposes of distributing the Safety Tools CD is to encourage users to explore the capabilities of the Tools and adapt the ideas and applications to fit their particular needs. However, due to the variety of implementations of GIS by the state DOTs, developing capabilities in highway safety analyses at the state level requires special considerations and an understanding of the requirements of GIS by all persons within an agency who wish to participate in this GIS application.

To help with a better understanding of state DOT capabilities, FHWA recently conducted a survey to determine the status of GIS for the states that participate in FHWA's Highway Safety Information System program. The results of the HSIS states GIS survey provided insight into the states' capabilities in using GIS for highway safety analyses.

From the results of the GIS Survey and through our experiences working with the participating HSIS States, we have recognized there are barriers in implementing GIS-T applications. This paper discusses the results of our survey and addresses the considerations in bridging the gap between the desire to implement highway safety analyses within an organization and the development of a GIS-T infrastructure that will support that effort.