Safety
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission works on projects that promote the safety and security of the residents of Northwest Indiana. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) developed a State Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) that outlines six emphasis areas for traffic safety in the state. They are:
- Roadway Departure Crashes
- Intersection Crashes
- Large Vehicle Conflict Crashes
- Roadway Restriction Related Crashes
- Vulnerable User Crashes
- Human Factor Contribution to Crashes
In response to the Indiana SHSP, NIRPC took the initiative to localize the plan and conducted a safety assessment for all types of vehicular crashes in the region that took place on the state system. The Northwest Indiana plan uses four building blocks:
- Engineering
- Education
- Enforcement
- Emergency Services
These, in conjunction with the emphasis areas in SHSP, have been used to create a safety framework that is compatible with the SHSP. The Transportation Safety portion of the 2040 Comprehensive Regional Plan (2040 Plan) contains this framework as well as the safety-related goals and objectives. That section of the plan can be found in Appendix C of the 2040 CRP. One of the funding programs that NIRPC uses to fund safety projects is the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), which has been continued under the new federal transportation bill: Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).
Crash and Congestion Reports
Questions should be directed to Peter Kimball at pkimball@nirpc.org.
