EVALUATION

Evaluation is a critical element of an effective SHSP. But how do we determine success? Do we have Zero Fatalities and serious injuries on our roads today? Obviously not, but we are making progress. Progress in terms of raising awareness, changing behavior and saving lives.

The ultimate measure of success is saving lives and reducing serious injuries. In order to track the progress of the safety areas in the SHSP, most areas are represented by a Safety Area Group in which members are area experts and advocates for safety. Within the emphasis areas, the Safety Area Groups will be able to track their progress toward meeting the goals that they have set and evaluate opportunities for improvement based on the data or information that they see.

The goal of the 2021 Strategic Highway Safety Plan was to reach fewer than 200 fatalities by the end of 2021, which is a 6.8 percent reduction in fatalities per year since 2017. Another goal was to reduce the fatality rate to 0.55 per one hundred million vehicle miles traveled (100 MVMT) by 2024, leading the nation in safety. At the end of 2018, the fatality rate was 0.79 per 100 MVMT. While these goals were not reached, we are continuing to work to lower the fatality and serious injury crash rates in Utah. The fatality rate inas of 2024 was 0.77 and our goal is 0.75 by the end of 2028. The serious injury crash rate is 5.36 in 2024 and our goal is to reduce the 3-year rolling average by 2.75 percent.

Focusing on all users of the transportation system, we are working to decrease the number of pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries. As of 2024, 16 percent of Utah’s roadway fatalities were pedestrians. Our goal is 12 percent by the end of 2028. In 2024, Utah had a pedestrian fatality rate of 0.12 per 100 MVMT. Our goal is 0.10 by the end of 2028.

The Utah Strategic Highway Safety Plan does not address every safety strategy currently being implemented in the state, but focuses primarily upon strategies with the greatest potential to reduce crashes and injuries. These strategies are implemented in locations identified using an evidence-based approach that takes into account crash history, system characteristics, environmental conditions and driver behaviors.

The SHSP acts as the guiding document that influences the development of specific goals, strategies and performance measures across organizations. It does not replace the existing documents for each group, but it should reference and guide development of other internal documents as necessary. The process continues down through the organizations, resulting in detailed programs and plans that are implemented and finally evaluated to measure the success of reducing serious injury and fatal crashes.