LINCOLN — The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) has released an updated 2022-2026 Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) with the addition of a Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Assessment, as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
The SHSP is used to improve partnerships and discussions with safety organizations, local communities and law enforcement around informed advocacy and educated safety recommendations for road users, specifically those estimated to be at a higher risk of injury.
The safety of all road users is the top priority for NDOT, with a goal of zero fatalities on Nebraska’s roads.
To work toward achieving this, the SHSP aims to implement innovative safety infrastructure projects as part of a holistic Safe Systems Approach that projects to eliminate serious injuries and fatalities on roadways, for all road users.
The addition of the VRU Assessment expands upon the SHSP and provides further insight into trends of VRU crashes as compared to overall crashes, providing greater specificity of areas with the greatest opportunities for improvement. The VRU leverages stakeholder and public input along with engineering recommendations to identify strategies to reduce fatalities and serious injuries for VRUs.
“Developing real-world strategies to address the concerns of all Nebraskans helps us increase safety on our transportation system. We have a shared responsibility to achieve zero deaths on Nebraska’s roadways, and the Vulnerable Road User Assessment is another tool to help us work toward that,” said Vicki Kramer, Director of NDOT. “In 2022 we had 244 fatalities on our roadways, an increase from the 2017-2021 average of 232. I encourage all drivers and transportation practitioners to actively review the Federal Highway Administration’s and NDOT’s safety plans to better understand how you can be an advocate.”
Nebraska’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan, along with the Vulnerable Road User Assessment and more
information on the Safe Systems Approach, can be accessed at dot.nebraska.gov/safety/shsp.
