U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters announced a new national strategy that will bring new focus, including resources and new technology, to reducing deaths on the nation’s rural roads.

“We want to put the brakes on rural road fatalities,” said Secretary Peters. “This is a challenge that we have the experience, the ability and the resources to address. We can make our rural roads safer, we can do it now and we can do it without reinventing the wheel.”

One of the key components of this program is the Rural Safety Innovation Program, which was announced in the Federal Register this morning, and can be accessed at: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20081800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-3716.pdf. The Rural Safety Initiative will help states and communities develop ways to eliminate the risks drivers face on America’s rural roads and highlight available solutions and resources. The new endeavor addresses five key goals: safer drivers, better roads, smarter roads, better-trained emergency responders, and improved outreach and partnerships. The Secretary said approximately $287 million in existing and new funding is available to support the effort.

This program is an opportunity for local rural road owners to improve rural road safety through infrastructure and technological approaches using up to $15 million in available funds. The funding is from the Delta Region Transportation Development Program and the U.S. DOT Intelligent Transportation Systems Program. The Delta program funds can only be used in the portions of the eight States comprising the Delta Regional Authority’s region (Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee). The ITS funds can be used in all states. Projects must be consistent with the objectives of the Rural Safety Innovation program as described in the notice. They also must meet the eligibility requirements of the Delta program, or the ITS program as applicable.

The Rural Safety Innovation Program is geared toward entities responsible for rural roads and highways such as counties, towns, townships and tribal governments partnering with the state Departments of Transportation to submit applications for rural safety projects. Applications must be received within 45 days of the publication of the notice. Those applicants selected will be invited to submit more detailed project proposals. The program and application process are fully described in the Federal Register notice. The contact for questions is John Dewar in the Office of Safety, (202) 366-2218 (john.dewar2@dot.gov) as stated in the notice. Below is a brief description of the program.

For more information about the new Rural Safety Initiative, please visit www.dot.gov/affairs/ruralsafety/.