1. Data Impacts of Transportation Reauthorization: Data Community’s Plans and Strategies
Pat Hu
Chair, TRB National Transportation Data Requirements and Programs Committee
and
Director, Center for Transportation Analysis
Oak Ridge National Llaboratory
30th International Traffic Records Forum
July 26, 2004

2. Reauthorization of Transportation Bill
October 2002 – USDOT’s recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget
February 2003 – Presidents’ budget & reauthorization proposal to Congress
September 30, 2003 – TEA-21 expired
October 2003 – New legislation was to have been enacted
November 2003 – TRB Workshop on Data Requirements in Transportation Reauthorization Legislation
July 2004 – TEA-21 has expired for 300 days, extended four times, and no new bill

3. SAFETY is the top priority of the New Bill - Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 (SAFETEA)

4. Safety data requirements in House bill
Section 1401 – Highway Safety Improvement Program
This program is to build around a data-driven, statewide safety plan
Use data to prioritize infrastructure safety needs and behavior safety needs
Require states to improve records for traffic data collection, analysis and integration with other safety data sources

5. Safety data requirements in House bill (continued)
Section 1403 – High Risk Rural Safety Improvement Program
Program is for high-risk rural roads
“High-risk” is defined by accident rates (fatalities and incapacitating injuries)
Data requirements:
No. of fatalities
No. of incapacitating injuries
VMT
Rural population

6. Safety data requirements in House bill (continued)
Section 2004 – State Traffic Safety Information System Improvement
Grants will be available to states to adopt and implement effective programs to improve safety data in their:
Timeliness
Accuracy
Completeness
Uniformity
Integration, and
Accessibility

7. Safety data requirements in House bill (continued)
Section 4025 – Motor Carrier Safety Data Improvement Program
Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to improve SafeStat’s (motor carrier safety data)
Accuracy
Timeliness
Completeness

8. Safety data requirements in Senate bill
Motor Carrier Safety
SafeStat Program
Crash Causation Study
Commercial driver’s license program
Hazardous material transportation
A unified safety database to reduce data collection costs and to facilitate data sharing

9. Safety data requirements in Administration’s proposal
Highway Safety Improvement Program
A program to build around a data-driven, statewide safety plan
1st key component is to use real data to prioritize infrastructure safety needs and behavior safety needs
2nd key component is to require states to improve records for traffic data collection, analysis, and integration with other safety data sources
Focuses on roadside obstacles, rail-highway crossings, bicycle and pedestrian problems

10. AASHTO’s Summary of State DOT concerns
Unfunded mandates
Timeliness
Coordination with multiple levels of government and agencies
Data collection, storage, and analysis methods
Competition with other state priorities
Coordination and Resources!

11. Background/Motivations of the Workshop
TRB Data Requirement Workshop
Background/Motivations of the Workshop
In the past, data community reacted to mandates and regulations under severe fiscal pressure
States, MPOs, transit agencies, and other transportation agencies are still grappling with the data requirements in the previous legislations (ISTEA and TEA-21).
The data community recognizes that a more proactive involvement would be more effective and efficient.
A TRB workshop on November 2003 among stakeholders

12. Transportation Research Board (TRB)
A division of the National Research Council
Its mission is to promote innovation and progress in transportation through research
Engaging more than 8,000+ engineers, scientists, and practitioners from private and public sectors and academia
Supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies, and others.

13. Workshop Objectives Identify data issues
TRB Data Requirement Workshop
Workshop Objectives
Identify data issues
Inform State and MPO data communities of potential new responsibilities
Investigate opportunities for cross-program collaboration
Identify time frames and resource needs to meet new data mandates
Develop a collaborative coalition approach to address data needs, data provision, quality, and use.

14. Organizing Committee Safety Data, Analysis, and Evaluation Committee
TRB Data Requirement Workshop
Organizing Committee
Safety Data, Analysis, and Evaluation Committee
National Transportation Data Requirements and Programs Committee
Urban Transportation Data and Information System Committee
Statewide Transportation Data and Information Systems
AASHTO Standing Committee on Planning’s Data Task Force

15. Workshop participants were diverse
TRB Data Requirement Workshop
Workshop participants were diverse
23 Federal Agencies
9 State Agencies
5 MPO and Transit
14 Private Sector
8 Universities and Research
3 Congressional Staff
62 Total

16. Workshop discussion summary
TRB Data Requirement Workshop
Workshop discussion summary
Propose a post-authorization conference to deal collectively with data initiatives in the final reauthorization legislation.
Information sharing vs. recommendations
Broad participation, including regulation writers and Congressional staff
Attention to data system interoperability
Timing: soon after reauthorization (tentatively scheduled for December 2005)

17. Workshop discussion summary (Cont’d)
TRB Data Requirement Workshop
Workshop discussion summary (Cont’d)
Post-authorization conference agenda will be built around the matrix
Goal of data
Modified data needs
Additional data needs
All new data needs
Safety
Security
Planning/Policy
Operations
Finance/revenue …

18. Safety Data Track of the Post-Authorization Conference
Dick Paddock is the organizer
Focuses on addressing potential impacts on state and local safety data systems, depending on the final content of the reauthorization
Views from different perspectives will be presented:
FMCSA
NHTSA
FHWA
State and local

19. Reauthorization of Transportation Bill
February 2003 – Presidents’ budget & reauthorization proposal to Congress
September 30, 2003 – TEA-21 expired
October 2003 – New legislation was to have been enacted
November 2003 – TRB Workshop on Data Requirements in Transportation Reauthorization Legislation
July 2004 – TEA-21 has expired for 300 days, extended four times, and no new bill
December 2005 – Post-Authorization Conference

20. Input to Dick Paddock Traffic Safety Analysis Systems & Services, Inc.
(614)
Pat Hu
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(865)