Future of the National Highway Safety Program

TRB Special Report 178: Future of the National Highway Safety Program describes the delibrations and conclusions of the conference and workshops on the future of the National Highway Safety Program, the basic features of the Highway Safety Act of 1966 are outlined, the Federal role in this area, and the issues and alternatives involved in the program.

The conference recommended that the present 18 highway safety standards should be replaced by 2 types of requirements for state program approval; the first requirement would deal with features in which national uniformity is considered essential and the second requirement should be for approval of the procedures used by a state to plan and evaluate its program efforts. State governors should be responsible for the administration and performance of state highway safety programs. The National Highway Safety Program should be administered as a single program on the federal level. The federal government should continue to rely on the states to aid the Highway Safety efforts to local jurisdictions and to require a minimum of 40 percent of a state's Highway Safety grant funded under section 402 of the Highway Safety Act of 1966 to be expanded by local jurisdictions. Further recommendations regarding research and manpower development, private sector involvement, funding, incentives and sanctions and also presented.