“Houston, the HSM Has Landed . . .”
Keith J. Harrison, PE Safety & Design Engineer
HSM
A Decade of Effort
• Millions of dollars invested• Thousands of hours expended• A clear and ambitious Vision• Steady progress;Occasional setbacks• A Historical First
Now Arriving at a Crater Near You
OpportunitiesAnd
Challenges
Opportunity“What gets measured gets done”
Safety
CostsEnvironment
Right-of-Way
Operations
OpportunityEvaluate Risks Among Design Choices
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/geometric/mitigationstrategies/
OpportunityFacilitate Safety Sensitive Solutions
Network
Screening
Diagnosis
Countermeasure
Selection
Economic
Appraisal
Prioritization of
Improvement Projects
4 5 6 7 8 9
Safety
Effectiveness
Evaluation
OpportunityHelp Achieve More “Sustainable” Safety
Challenges Lie Ahead
• “[Endorsement/Acceptance by the Highway Safety Community] is one of the potentially biggest issues that will need to be considered if the HSM is to achieve its intended objective..”
NCHRP Web Document 62Development of a Highway Safety Manual
March 2004
HSM
Challenge: My Safety Manual is Green
“There is risk in all highway transportation.”HSM, p. xxviii
• Not a legal standard of care• Does not supersede other policies• “May” be protected under 23 USC 409• Not (yet)* incorporated into 23 CFR 625
Challenge: TORT is a Four Letter Word!
• The new techniques and knowledge in the HSM reflect the evolution in safety analysis from descriptive methods to quantitative, predictive analyses.
• (What’s wrong with continuing to rely solely on historical data as a gauge of future performance?)
Challenge: If It’s Good Enough for CR . . .
Brand “A”
Brand “Z”
• This won’t replace your existing tools
• Choose the right tool for the job
• Be careful when combining tools
• Avoid serious injury >>> RTFM
For the designer who has everything . . .The Highway Safety Multi-function tool
Challenge: This Will Fix Everything
Challenge: Liars Figure and . . .
Misapplication or misinterpretation of HSM methods (unintentional or otherwise) can have far-reaching implications• Out of context?• Out of bounds?• Out of your mind?
“The HSM is not intended to be a substitute for the exercise of sound engineering judgment.”
Challenge: 6 + 5 = 13
So, What Is FHWA Doing to Help?
• Raise Awareness– Articles, Newsletters, Brochures– Briefings (incl non-traditional audiences)
• Promote Understanding– Distance learning– Instructor-led training
• Provide Tools– Computational aides– Online resources
Distance Learning
Instructor-Led Training
Computational Aids
• HCM has many sophisticated software apps
• What about HSM?– Safety Analyst– IHSDM– Spreadsheet
Safety Analyst
www.ihsdm.org
Interactive Highway Safety Design Model
Simple Spreadsheet
Some URLs of Wisdom for the HSM
• www.highwaysafetymanual.org• www.cmfclearinghouse.org• safety.fhwa.dot.gov• www.tfhrc.gov• www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov• www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter
A Vision for the Future(?)Brilliant feat of engineering genius !!! . . . designing this road using the HSM
Now, if I could just figure out how to STOP this thing!
Thank You!