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The Connector — May 2013

Note from the Secretary

By WisDOT Secretary Mark Gottlieb, P.E.

Improved traffic safety has been one of the great public health success stories of the last few decades. As recently as 1980, the rate of traffic deaths in the U.S. per mile traveled was over three times what it is today. This improvement is largely attributable to safer vehicles and roads, less impaired driving, more effective law enforcement and better emergency medical care.

But we still have a long way to go. Last year over 600 people died on Wisconsin roads, and many of those deaths were preventable. This month's Connector newsletter discusses some of the things we are doing at WisDOT to move toward our goal of zero preventable traffic deaths: "Zero in Wisconsin."

WisDOT announces 'Summer of Safety' initiatives to prevent traffic crashes

Summer often is the deadliest season on Wisconsin roads. On average, August is the state's highest traffic fatality month followed by July and September. June is the fourth highest.

Preventing serious injury and fatal crashes is particularly challenging in warm weather months as traffic volumes and vehicle speeds increase. To help meet this challenge, WisDOT will soon begin enforcement, education, and engineering initiatives to make the upcoming months a "Summer of Safety" in Wisconsin.

The WisDOT Summer of Safety initiatives will include:

• Approximately 400 law enforcement agencies throughout Wisconsin participating in the annual The Click It or Ticket safety belt enforcement mobilization from May 20 to June 2 backed by a public awareness and education campaign.
• Statewide efforts to combat drunken driving such as the new Zero In Wisconsin "Drive Sober" mobile app for smart phones and the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement campaign from Aug. 16 to Sept. 2. WisDOT also is working with local law enforcement to deploy multi-jurisdictional OWI (operating while intoxicated) Task Forces. As part of their high-visibility enforcement, OWI task force efforts often are announced in advance for a deterrent effect.
• Aerial enforcement by the State Patrol Air Support Unit, which will fly approximately 80 missions in 2013 to crackdown on speeding, aggressive driving and other traffic violations particularly in construction work zones.
• Rumble strip installation to reduce the number and severity of roadway departure crashes. Other engineering safety features will be implemented such as wider or more visible pavement markings, tree removal in clear zones, high-friction road surface treatments, median cable barriers, passing lanes and dynamic curve warning signs.

WisDOT Secretary Mark Gottlieb has made the reduction of traffic fatalities and injuries a critical priority for the entire department. Preventing traffic crashes is a key component of the WisDOT Mobility, Accountability, Preservation, Safety and Service (MAPSS) Performance Improvement Program. "Our department has been at the forefront of statewide traffic safety efforts for many years," Secretary Gottlieb says. "Based on our past successes, we're ready and eager to do even more to prevent needless deaths and injuries on all Wisconsin roadways."

MAPSS unites the department around safety goals

Because safety is one of the strategic goal areas of the entire agency, it becomes everyone's responsibility — from traffic enforcement to highway maintenance and design, to driver education and licensing. MAPSS provides an agency-wide spotlight on measuring performance in safety.

Safety measures identify areas for improvement

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has collected detailed transportation safety statistics for many years. Among other things, the department uses this data to target safety improvements and safety program funding to the neediest areas.

In Wisconsin, there have been steady improvements in decreasing the rate of traffic injuries and the number of serious injury crashes since 2007. Despite this, there has seen a very unfortunate increase in traffic fatalities since 2011. The MAPSS program tracks not only traffic fatalities, which mirror the department's ultimate goal of zero preventable deaths in Wisconsin, but also measures several factors that influence safety outcomes:

• seat belt use
• crash rate
• injury rates
• aerial speed enforcement
• safety and weight enforcement for commercial motor vehicles

There are a number of factors that influence traffic crashes and fatalities, including seasonal fluctuations and the economy, but safety data shows that approximately 90 percent of traffic fatalities can be related to human behavior.

One area where Wisconsin needs to improve is seat belt use. Approximately 50 percent of traffic fatalities in Wisconsin are unbelted. Because wearing a seat belt is a personal decision, these deaths are largely preventable. The MAPSS program, especially the drill-down features of the new Internet visualizations, highlights efforts to reach groups with the highest risk. For example, seat belt use has been disproportionately low among pick-up truck drivers and passengers. As part of a High Risk Population Countermeasure Program, the Division of State Patrol's Bureau of Transportation Safety (BOTS) directs safety belt grant funds to counties and municipalities with the highest rates of pick-up truck vehicle registration.

Using data to allocate scarce resources and demonstrate impacts

Each year, the department awards over 600 grants to counties and local law enforcement agencies for highway safety outreach. In allocating these funds, it assesses a variety of metrics to identify the counties with the highest need for safety improvements. Staff calculates a weighted score that accounts for crash rates, fatalities, serious injuries and property damage crashes, and compiles a targeting list for alcohol, speeding and seat belt outreach. By basing grant allocations on safety data, BOTS helps to ensure that it spends public funds in the most effective, efficient way possible.

High-quality safety data can also be used to demonstrate the impact of outreach efforts on safety outcomes. In cases where local forces achieve significant reductions in crash rates, they may be taken off the state priority list for grant funds based on their performance results.

The department hopes its data will help demonstrate the impact of new interventions to discourage distracted driving behavior. Recent legislation in Wisconsin prohibits nearly all cell phone use for novice drivers and prohibits texting for all drivers. It's too early to tell how effective these approaches will prove, but through the MAPSS program and integrated crash data collection, WisDOT may be able to quantify results over time.

New MAPSS measures track safety enforcement activities

Two new MAPSS safety measures made their debut in April 2013: aerial speed enforcement deployments and safety and weight enforcement facility operations.

Approximately 30 percent of traffic fatalities in Wisconsin are speed related. This has motivated the department to launch a new MAPSS measure focusing on speed enforcement. Starting in April 2013, the program is reporting the number of Division of State Patrol Aerial Support Unit (ASU) deployments for speed enforcement, including the number of speeding citations and warnings resulting from those deployments. As pilots gain more experience during speed enforcement deployments, they become more efficient and communicate with ground officers more effectively.

During the first quarter of 2013, the ASU had three deployments, logged a top speed of 95 mph, and coordinated over 115 contacts between ground officers and speeders. The department plans to conduct at least 80 deployments in 2013, with the majority taking place during the summer months.

A new collaborative effort with WisDOT's Division of Transportation System Development (DTDS) will use traffic monitors to identify corridors with the highest incidence of speeding and target those areas for deployments. DTSD will average travel speeds before and after deployments to measure the effect of enforcement activities.

The second new MAPSS safety measure is Safety and Weight Enforcement Facility (SWEF) operations. While this measure is primarily aimed at helping to prevent serious crashes involving commercial motor vehicles, the SWEFs also play a role in preservation and mobility. Overweight vehicles are a burden for roadways, and can precipitate damage to the state's transportation infrastructure. When incidents occur, they affect traffic mobility. WisDOT has a role to play in facilitating the movement of freight to promote a thriving economy. The SWEFs ensure a level playing field for freight providers by enforcing weight regulations.

Be sure to check out the latest MAPSS Quarterly Report and new web visualizations.

Enjoy a safe Memorial Day weekend

To the extent possible, road construction activity across Wisconsin will be put on hold over the upcoming three-day Memorial Day weekend. Those heading out on the highways over the holiday should expect peak travel periods to occur between noon and 8 p.m. Friday (5/24) and during the same time period on Monday (5/27). Travelers should buckle up, be especially alert in construction zones, and check the 511 Travel Information System for the latest on any incidents or delays.

Title and register your vehicle with new online eMV Public system

Spring is a time when many people sell their old vehicle and buy something newer. The Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles says anytime you sell or trade in your vehicle, you can transfer your license plates to your new vehicle as long as it's a vehicle within the same general class. If you sell your vehicle privately, always remove your license plates — they belong to you, not the vehicle. To legally operate a newly-purchased vehicle, the new owner has two business days to get their vehicle properly titled and registered. Before heading to a DMV customer service center, motorists should consider using the new online "eMV Public" system that allows people to title and register a vehicle and even print off a temporary license plate.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation's MAPSS Performance Improvement Program reviews performance measures for five key goal areas that guide us in achieving our mission — mobility, accountability, preservation, safety and service. To check out the latest online reports, simply click on the MAPSS logo.

The WisDOT Connector is produced by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Connect with us at opa.exec@dot.wi.gov or www.dot.wisconsin.gov

Questions about the content of this page:
Office of Public Affairs, opa.exec@dot.wi.gov
Last modified: May 21, 2013