Road Safety Meeting Has DOT Offering Help To County Road Department
A recent crash in Mahaska County. (file photo)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Transportation has developed a program where they help counties identify and lessen hazards on county roadways.
Molly O’Brien with Kimley Horn, led the discussion on Thursday for the Iowa DOT Local Road Safety Plan Project.
Also present was Chris Poole with the Iowa DOT Office of Traffic and Safety.
Mahaska County Engineer Dave Shanahan said the purpose for Mahaska County and participating in the project was to become more proactive in identifying “things we would miss” and also provides some verification “on why we do things.”
“Every county engineer is trying to work towards no deaths in their county,” said Shanahan of traffic deaths on county roads. Those roads are both paved and gravel.
Poole explained that the Local Road Safety Plan Project is a new initiative set up by the Iowa DOT, and the program is now in its second round of the project, with southeast Iowa gaining much of the focus this year.
According to Poole, nationwide, more than half of fatal crashes occur on rural roads, which is home to a small portion of the population. “The rate of fatalities on county roads is much higher… compared to state highways,” added Poole.
Poole said the plan will feature a more proactive approach, which will gauge risk factors that might lead to a higher propensity for crashes.
The crash data for county roads, which are those only under the county’s control, and do not include city or state roads, shows that 55.9% of all 690 crashes were on the county-paved roads, while 44.1% were on unpaved roads.
Of the most serious crashes on county roads, 154 were on straight sections of the roadway, while eighty-seven happened on curves. Fifty-eight crashes happened at two-way stops, while forty-nine happened at one-way stops. Seven crashes occurred at all-way stops, while two happened at uncontrolled intersections. Twenty-nine crashes are classified as other and unknown.
The discussion covered the five E’s of Safety, which include: Education, Enforcement, Emergency Response, Engineering and Everyone.
The Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office updated the policy planners on their current enforcement program, and what projects they have underway to help mitigate crashes within the county.
Mahaska County has had twenty-one fatal crashes in the past ten years, while Wayne County had four, through 2015.
For Mahaska County, 43% of serious and fatal crashes are attributed to younger drivers, while 41% are speed related.
Statewide, 35% of serious and fatal crashes are attributed to younger drivers, and 50% are attributed to speed.
The road safety plan for Mahaska County is scheduled to be delivered at the beginning of 2017.
