Technical Memorandum
DATE: February 2, 2023
TO: Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM: Samuel Taylor, Boston Region MPO Staff
RE: Roadway
Safety Targets, Calendar Year 2023
The United
States Department of Transportation (USDOT) requires states and metropolitan
planning organizations (MPO) to establish annual targets for federally required
roadway safety performance measures, which pertain to fatalities and serious
injuries from motor vehicle crashes. The Boston Region MPO has voted to support
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ federally required annual targets for these
roadway safety performance measures each year from 2018 through 2022. The
Commonwealth has set its roadway safety targets for calendar year (CY) 2023,
and the MPO is required to establish its CY 2023 targets by February 27, 2023,
by either agreeing to support the Commonwealth’s targets or setting its own.
MPO staff recommends that the MPO vote to support the Commonwealth’s CY 2023
targets for these federally required measures, and requests that the MPO take
action to do so at its February 2, 2023, meeting.
The National Performance Management Measures: Highway Safety Improvement Program rule identifies five performance measures related to crashes involving motor vehicles for which targets must be set:
1. Number of fatalities
2. Rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled (VMT)
3. Number of serious injuries
4. Rate of serious injuries per 100 million VMT
5. Number
of nonmotorized fatalities and nonmotorized serious injuries
The USDOT requires states to establish and report targets for these measures for the next calendar year by August 31 each year. MPOs have 180 days—no later than February 27 of the applicable calendar year—to establish their own targets using one of the following methods:
· Supporting state targets. Should the MPO select this option, it would agree to plan and program projects so that they contribute to accomplishing the Commonwealth’s targets.
· Setting quantifiable targets specific to the MPO region. Should the MPO select this option, it would need to estimate VMT for all public roads in the MPO region and report the methods used to produce those estimates.
In either case, the MPO will need to coordinate with the Commonwealth when setting targets. It will also need to incorporate goals, objectives, measures, and targets from the Commonwealth’s safety plans and processes into the MPO’s planning process.
Table 1 shows the Commonwealth’s CY 2023 roadway safety performance targets for the federally required performance measures. It also notes the Commonwealth’s long-term goal to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on Massachusetts roadways. The targets in Table 1 reflect a 2019–23 rolling annual average, as required by US DOT.
Table 1
Proposed Roadway
Safety Targets (CY 2023)
|
Performance Measure |
CY 2023 Target |
Long-Term Target |
|
Number of Fatalities |
355 |
0.00 |
|
Rate of Fatalities per 100 Million VMT |
0.59 |
0.00 |
|
Number of Serious Injuries |
2,569 |
0.00 |
|
Rate of Serious Injuries per 100 Million VMT |
4.25 |
0.00 |
|
Number of Nonmotorized Fatalities and Nonmotorized Serious Injuries |
437 |
0.00 |
*This target value is expressed as a five-year rolling annual average.
CY = Calendar Year. VMT = Vehicle-Miles Traveled.
Sources: Federal Highway Administration, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Boston Region MPO
Staff.
For more information about previous state and MPO roadway safety performance targets, see the MPO staff memo titled “Federally Required Calendar Year 2022 Roadway Safety Targets.”[1] Appendix A includes data and details about how the Commonwealth set its CY 2023 roadway safety performance targets.
MPO staff recommends that the Boston Region MPO vote to support the Commonwealth’s CY 2023 roadway safety performance targets. This option would satisfy federal requirements and would reflect the way the MPO will need to collaborate with the Commonwealth on safety strategies to reduce fatalities and injuries in the Boston region, which include education campaigns and driver behavior laws as well as infrastructure investment. Staff requests that the MPO take action to do so at its February 2, 2023, meeting. Should the MPO select this target-setting approach, staff will present and describe these targets in the performance chapters of the federal fiscal years 2023–27 TIP document and Destination 2050, the MPO’s next Long-Range Transportation Plan. Going forward, the Boston Region MPO, Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the region’s municipalities, and other stakeholders will need to work together on planning and investment activities that will support improvements in roadway safety outcomes.
Appendix A: MassDOT CY23 Safety Performance Measure Targets (PM1)
|
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) operates its programs, services, and activities in
compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws including Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the Civil Rights Restoration Act of
1987, and related statutes and regulations. Title VI prohibits discrimination
in federally assisted programs and requires that no person in the United
States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin
(including limited English proficiency), be excluded from participation in,
denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any
program or activity that receives federal assistance. Related federal
nondiscrimination laws administered by the Federal Highway Administration,
Federal Transit Administration, or both, prohibit discrimination on the basis
of age, sex, and disability. The Boston Region MPO considers these protected
populations in its Title VI Programs, consistent with federal interpretation
and administration. In addition, the Boston Region MPO provides meaningful
access to its programs, services, and activities to individuals with limited
English proficiency, in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation
policy and guidance on federal Executive Order 13166. The Boston Region MPO also complies with the
Massachusetts Public Accommodation Law, M.G.L. c 272 sections 92a, 98, 98a, which
prohibits making any distinction, discrimination, or restriction in admission
to, or treatment in a place of public accommodation based on race, color,
religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or
ancestry. Likewise, the Boston Region MPO complies with the Governor's
Executive Order 526, section 4, which requires that all programs, activities,
and services provided, performed, licensed, chartered, funded, regulated, or
contracted for by the state shall be conducted without unlawful
discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, ancestry,
national origin, disability, veteran's status (including Vietnam-era
veterans), or background. A complaint form and additional information can be
obtained by contacting the MPO or at http://www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination. To
request this information in a different language or in an accessible format,
please contact Title VI Specialist By Telephone: For people with hearing or speaking
difficulties, connect through the state MassRelay
service: ·
Relay Using
TTY or Hearing Carry-over: 800.439.2370 ·
Relay Using
Voice Carry-over: 866.887.6619 ·
Relay Using
Text to Speech: 866.645.9870 For more information, including
numbers for Spanish speakers, visit https://www.mass.gov/massrelay. |
[1] Boston Region MPO Staff. “Federally Required Calendar Year 2022 Roadway Safety Targets.” February 3, 2022. Available at https://www.ctps.org/data/pdf/programs/performance/CY2022-Roadway-Safety-Targets.pdf.