2008 AASHTO NTPAW Skills Awards Entry Form
(Entry form may not exceed two pages.)
ENTRY INFORMATION
Division No. 1- Excel
Category No. 1a – Over 50,000 with consultant
Title of Entry Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety
CONTACT INFORMATION
Entrant/Organization Name Missouri Department of Transportation
Contact Name Shane Peck
Title Community Relations Director
Street Address 105 W. Capitol Avenue
City Jefferson City
State MO
ZIP/Postal Code 65102
Phone 573-751-1375
E-mail shane.peck@modot.mo.gov
1) Situation, goals and objectives of public relations activity
Motor vehicle crashes are a serious health, economic and social issue across the nation and in Missouri. To help
save lives and reduce the risk of being injured in a traffic crash, several Missouri safety agencies around the state
joined together in 2001 to form the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety. This group represents efforts among
state and local agencies, law enforcement, planning organizations, non-profit organizations and other safety
advocates throughout the state. Time has proven this was a life-saving decision for Missouri travelers, and the
success of the coalition has yielded amazing results.
By 2003, there were more than 180,000 traffic crashes and 1,232 deaths on Missouri roadways. Missouri also
ranked 14th in the nation in fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled that year. Reasons for these crashes
included exceeding posted speed limits, driving too fast for roadway conditions, driving impaired, and not wearing
seatbelts. The more than 150 safety partners banded together to research and study the situation and come up with a
solution to this problem. Missouri’s Blueprint for Safer Roadways was created to reduce fatalities and injuries on
Missouri roads.
Through the Blueprint, Missouri set a life-saving goal: 1000 or fewer fatalities by the end of 2008. Using
engineering, enforcement, education and emergency medical services, safety partners worked together to come up
with eight essential strategies to reduce vehicle fatalities and meet this goal:
1. Pass a primary safety belt law and maintain and enhance existing safety laws
2. Increase enforcement on roadways with high numbers of crashes.
3. Increase public education and information on traffic-safety issues.
4. Expand the rumble strip installation (strips warn motorists if they leave their lane of traffic).
5. Expand, improve and maintain roadway visibility features (i.e. markings, signs, lighting, etc.).
6. Expand median barrier installation to help divide opposing traffic lanes.
7. Increase enforcement and prosecution of alcohol and other drug-impaired drivers and pedestrians.
8. Improve roadway shoulders and keep other areas clear of objects so drivers have more recovery time.
Ten regional coalition groups made up of engineers, law enforcement, educators, medical professionals, local
policy makers and other safety advocates, were formed to improve the specific problems in their geographical area.
The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety provided each regional group with toolkits during their first meetings
in the fall of 2004. The toolkits included a resource list, informational handouts, regional data analysis, a funding
application, PowerPoint presentations and other items to aid their outreach efforts. The coalition used $2 million
for initial implementation of its Blueprint strategies to reach its goal.
2) Target Audience
The target audience for the coalition’s outreach efforts is Missouri motorists.
3) Measurable Results
The coalition’s efforts are working. In 2006, Missouri had the largest drop in traffic-related fatalities of any state in
the nation -- down by 161 compared to 2005. In 2005, 1,257 people lost their lives in Missouri traffic crashes; in
2006 that number was down to 1,096. And by the end of 2007, Missouri had met its goal of less than 1,000
roadway fatalities -- one year early!
Through extensive data analysis, four key emphasis areas were also chosen as the best targets to reduce traffic
injuries and deaths. The coalition targeted safety efforts on serious crash types like run-off road and head-on
crashes; high-risk drivers like impaired, younger, older or aggressive drivers; special vehicles like commercial,
motorcycles or school buses; and vulnerable roadway users like pedestrians and bicyclists.
Part of the reduction is attributed to MoDOT’s engineering advances such as the installation of median guard cable
on the interstates, rumble strips, smoother pavement, better and brighter signing, striping and reflective markings to
help keep drivers on the road. Over the last four years, Interstate 70 cable installation reduced cross-median
fatalities from 24 to two. Statewide, these fatalities were reduced by nearly half. Missouri currently has nearly 500
miles of median guard cable installed. MoDOT is studying the state’s entire four-lane divided highway system to
determine additional locations where guard cable would be effective in reducing fatalities.
Educational efforts that have contributed to the coalition’s success include: Battle of the Belt, the Never Made It
campaign, Click It or Ticket, Saved By the Belt, You Drink and Drive. You Lose, the Drive Smart campaign and
many others. A new and exciting Web site at www.savemolives.com was created to spread awareness, as well as a
site just for youth: www.savemoyouth.com. The slogan “Arrive Alive” was created to spread the coalition’s
messages and now can be found on the Web site, as well as other products like t-shirts, bracelets, dog tags, air
fresheners, key chains and more.
Even though the coalition has had amazing success thus far, they are currently revising the Blueprint document to
create a plan for the upcoming years after 2008. Many strategies will be pursued, including working toward the
passage of a primary seat belt law in Missouri, which would save an additional 90 lives each year.
For more information, visit http://www.savemolives.com/.