Traffic Safety Strategies

The Safe System Approach

PSRC is using a Safe System Approach as a set of guiding principles to develop the Regional Safety Action Plan. The Safe System Approach prioritizes the elimination of crashes that result in fatality and serious injury by creating a system with redundancies to protect everyone. There are six main principles of the Safe Systems Approach:

  • Death and serious injuries are unacceptable
  • Humans make mistakes
  • Humans are vulnerable
  • Responsibility is shared
  • Safety is proactive
  • Redundancy is crucial

The Safe System Approach also refocuses transportation system design and operation on anticipating human mistakes and reducing crash severity to save lives. To make meaningful progress, changes are needed regarding how to think about the traffic safety problem and the approaches to solve the problem.

To learn more about the Safe System Approach, visit the U.S. Department of Transportation’s website.

Graphic illustrating the five elements and six main principles of the Safe System Approach. The five elements include: Safer People, Safer Vehicles, Safer Speeds, Safer Roads, and Post-Crash Care. The six main principles include: Death and serious injuries are unacceptable, Humans make mistakes, Humans are, vulnerable, Responsibility is shared, Safety is proactive, and Redundancy is crucial.

Graphic illustrates the five elements of the Safe System Approach: Safer People, Safer Vehicles, Safer Speeds, Safer Roads, Post-Crash Care.

Click image to enlarge.

Credit: U.S. Department of Transportation

Photo of a cyclist and a person running along protected lanes on a bridge, with a car driving by on the other side of a barrier.

Pedestrians and cyclists enjoy separated path on bridge shared with vehicles.

Proven countermeasures

Working towards zero deaths and serious injuries, the Safe System Approach is focused on infrastructure, human behavior, safer vehicles, and emergency response.

For infrastructure, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Proven Safety Countermeasures are a collection of 28 countermeasures and strategies effective in reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries on our nation’s highways through their design and operation.

These strategies are designed for all road users and all kinds of roads—from rural to urban, from high-volume freeways to less traveled two-lane State and county roads, from signalized crossings to horizontal curves, and everything in between. They are intended to mitigate human mistakes and minimize the severity of crashes, to encourage safer behaviors, and to facilitate safe travel by the most vulnerable users.

Shown here are key examples of intervention strategies to address different types of safety conditions and issues. More information on each type can be found on FHWA’s Proven Safety Countermeasures page.

Pedestrian & bicyclist

Graphic illustrating a person walking on a sidewalk.

Sidewalks and pathways

Graphic illustrating a bicycle lane

Bicycle lanes

Graphic illustrating a person crossing the street at a well-marked crosswalk.

Safe crossings for pedestrians

Roadway treatments and intersections

Graphic illustrating a roundabout.

Roundabouts

Graphic illustrating arrows splitting off into three directions.

Turning lanes, reduction of turning conflicts

Graphic illustrating a curved roadway.

Addressing roadway curves, rumble strips, median barriers, etc.

Speed management

Graphic illustrating a speed limit sign.

Setting speed limits to reduce risk

Graphic illustrating a car driving past a speed safety camera.

Using speed safety cameras

Other strategies

Graphic illustrating a car driving on a road with street lighting.

Street lighting

Graphic illustrating a plan to improve local safety.

Local safety planning

Strategies in action

City of Poulsbo, SR 305 / Johnson Parkway, Noll Road Corridor South Segment

As an example of proven countermeasures in action, the City of Poulsbo addressed mobility and safety at two intersections with a history of injury accidents. The City constructed a roundabout at the intersection of Johnson Road and SR 305 and an accessible, illuminated bicycle and pedestrian tunnel crossing of SR 305. Also included in the project were upgraded transit stops near the roundabout and Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB’s) to provide safer transit access. In addition, a 14' wide shared-use path was built alongside Johnson Parkway, providing a safe connection to schools, transit and local centers.

A photo of a roundabout at the intersection of Johnson Parkway and SR 305 in Poulsbo, Washington.

Roundabout at Johnson Parkway & SR 305