Safe Road Maps
Welcome to Safe Road Maps! This website is a ground-breaking tool that combines information
from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System with Google Maps to give you a visual representation of traffic
safety across the entire nation. With this system, you can enter an address and view the roads
that have the highest number of traffic fatalities in a specified area. You can also view dynamically
generated maps that show how public policy has been implemented to improve transportation safety by region.
Our hope is that this site brings both increased safety and awareness to transportation policy makers
and private citizens.
Using This Site
The valuable resources offered through this website can be accessed via the orange menu bar, above. The following list summarizes what is available within each section.
- Maps: You can set search criteria and view statistical data by street or state, view traffic fatality videos and view area maps to learn where certain laws are in effect.
- Tutorials: In this section, you can view a video demonstration of how the Safe Road Maps Mashup works or you can watch a video on how Google Earth can be used to dynamically create interactive maps.
- Data: The statistics used by this site come from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Visit this section to find out more about how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration manages this data repository.
- Resources: This section contains educational tools related to Geographic Information Systems and U.S. Highway Safety policy legislation.
- Videos: Visit this section to watch informative videos on the importance of safe driving.
- Press Room: Here is where you will find the latest videos and articles about Safe Road Maps.
The Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS)
The Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS) facilitates citizen-centered research, training, and outreach activities related to rural transportation safety. The Center’s research activities explore policy, behavior, and technology innovations through projects addressing safety conscious planning, ITS and rural emergency response, integrated policy approaches, and related human factors, societal trends, and stakeholder needs analysis.
Key Facts
• Half of the 42,000 crash-related fatalities in the United States
each year occur on two-lane rural roads.
• Sixty-two percent of all alcohol-related fatalities involving
passenger vehicles occur on rural roads.
• Crash victims are five to seven times more likely to die if arrival
to a hospital exceeds 30 minutes. The average time between a crash and
hospital arrival is 52 minutes in rural areas.
The Center is a joint program between the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs State and Local Policy Program and the Center for Transportation Studies, and sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration. Congress created the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety in July 2005 as part of a broader, multiyear, multimillion-dollar directive establishing four national centers for surface transportation excellence in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) transportation funding legislation.
About Safe Road Maps
Safe Road Maps is a GIS-based (Geographic Information
System) Mashup
to communicate public health issues
related to rural and urban road transportation safety through a
publicly accessible website. This GIS
integrates a range of spatial data regarding motor vehicle crashes,
transportation policy legislation, and driver behavioral data. It
is anticipated that this GIS will help raise awareness and change
fundamental perceptions regarding the magnitude, risk factors, and
impacts of motor vehicle crashes.
Announcements
Director
Lee Munnich
Director, Center for Excellence in Rural Safety
Research Director
Thomas A. Horan
Research Director, Center for Excellence in Rural Safety
Training and Outreach Director
Robert Johns
Training and Outreach Director, Center for Excellence in Rural Safety
Research Manager
Keith Knapp
Research Manager, Center for Excellence in Rural Safety
