Schumer Presses NYSDOT & Federal Highway Admin To Launch Road Safety Audit Following Deadly Day On Li Roads
Press Release
Schumer Presses NYSDOT & Federal Highway Admin To Launch Road Safety Audit Following Deadly Day On Li Roads
Following a deadly day on Long Island highways that saw four accidents resulting in three fatalities, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on the New York State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to work together on a Road Safety Audit for Long Island roadways, citing federal data that Suffolk and Nassau have the first and second most traffic fatalities by county in the state. "These tragic accidents were a wake-up call to the perilous state of affairs on Long Island's roadways," Schumer said today. "With Suffolk and Nassau leading the state in traffic fatalities, they're another sad, yet all too common instance of the failure of current safeguards to protect drivers and passengers." The 18-hour spate of accidents began Sunday night with the bus crash on the Northern State Parkway that killed the driver and snarled Monday morning traffic. Other incidents included a bus and sports utility vehicle colliding in Blue Point, a tractor-trailer struck a family's vehicle idling on the shoulder of the Long Island Expressway, and a motorcycle hit a sports utility vehicle in Holbrook. Three motorists died in the four accidents. Schumer urged the NYSDOT and FHWA to conduct a Road Safety Audit (RSA) to examine the conditions on the roadways that lead to such a high level of crashed and fatalities. In order for the audit to occur, the NYSDOT must request an audit from the FHWA. An independent team would then evaluate the roadway, and make recommendations to NYSDOT for potential improvements. The audit will address the major safety issues on Long Island's roadways, where in 2005, Suffolk and Nassau led the state with traffic fatalities, with 164 and 108 fatalities respectively, out of the 1,429 in the state. According to the FHWA, RSA improvements can help produce roadway designs that reduce the number and severity of crashes. The RSA team may represent such disciplines as highway safety, traffic engineering, planning, design, construction, maintenance, human factors, and law enforcement. "The safety problem on Long Island's roads is real and it is persistent. We need the best minds in the highway safety business to take a hard look at this and develop a strategy for improving things post-haste," said Schumer. According to FHWA, RSAs are comprehensive, and consider all factors that may contribute to a crash, including driver error and visibility issues, as well as the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. RSA's are also proactive, looking at locations before the development of crash patterns to correct safety issues before accidents happen. Typical improvements suggested during an RSA include: Removal of sight distance obstructions. Improvements in illumination. Median barrier placement. Roadway shoulder and lane width modifications. Drainage improvements. Realignment of intersection approaches. Improvement to acceleration/deacceleration lane design. Modifications and improvements to signs and pavement markings. The RSA Implementation Team is a joint effort of FHWA's Office of Safety, Division offices, Resource Center, Federal Lands Highway Division, and Highways for LIFE program.
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