Families and Individuals

• Always demonstrate positive driving behaviors: 

  • Buckle up and ensure all passengers are properly restrained. 

  • Put down your phone and other electronic devices. 

  • Obey speed limits and maintain plenty of space. 

  • Never drive drowsy or under the influence of any substance, including prescription medications. 

• If walking or riding your bike, use roads and facilities appropriately: 

  • Use sidewalks, shared use paths and bike lanes, if available. 

  • Cross the street at visible, marked locations. 

  • Put your phone in your pocket and keep headphone volumes low. 

  • At night, be sure to wear clothing that is highly visible. 

  • If riding a bike, always wear a helmet. 

• If you find yourself stranded along the roadway: 

  • Make yourself visible by turning on vehicle hazard lights. 

  • Remove your vehicle from the travel lanes if involved in a non-injury crash. 

  • Remain in your vehicle with your seat belt on until help arrives. 

• Have conversations with children early on about the importance of car seats, booster seats and seat belts. Explain the risks and potential consequences associated with excessive speed, distraction and impaired driving.
• Request your child's school promotes traffic safety and participates in available traffic safety programs.
• Monitor the driving skills of family members as they age or face changes in physical and cognitive abilities. Be prepared to have a conversation and intervene when necessary.
• Take advantage of highway safety courses and workshops in your community, many of which are free. Visit www.savemolives.com for a full listing. Stay in touch with teen culture to better communicate driving safety.
• Purchase the safest vehicle practicable.

Businesses and Corporations

• Adopt a corporate policy requiring seat belt use for all employees on company time.
• Adopt a corporate policy restricting the use of handheld electronic devices while driving on company time.
• Provide traffic safety information to customers explaining how they can help create safer roads. Visit www.savemolives.com for available resources.
• Provide incentives or discounts for customers participating in safe driving behaviors in all vehicles.
• Take the Buckle Up Phone Down challenge and host a BUPD day/week, encouraging all employees to participate (www.modot.org/bupd).
• Promote traffic safety during workplace safety meetings.
• Adopt a corporate speed policy and monitor and enforce it through telematics.
• Provide appropriate training (e.g., occupant protection, safety features, safe operation, etc.) to buyers of new vehicles.
• Encourage proper client training before insuring UTV/ATV.
• Train employees on safe use of UTV/ATV.

Schools (All Levels)

• Participate in available traffic safety programs geared toward youth, many of which are free. Visit www.savemolives.com for a full listing.
• Task a student organization (FCCLA, SADD, Student Council, etc.) with raising awareness and initiating changes in driver behavior among students and staff.
• Host a Buckle Up Phone Down day/week, encouraging all students, parents and staff to take the BUPD pledge (www.modot.org/bupd).
• Partner with Parents as Teachers, preschools and elementary schools to provide families with information on child passenger safety.
• Provide traffic safety information to all students during freshman/sophomore orientation and promote awareness during health classes.
• Promote the MCRS Smart Riders program for elementary-aged students (www.savemolives.com).
• Conduct regular child seat safety checks at daycares, preschools and elementary schools.
• Promote driver safety programs available to college students. Visit www.savemolives.com for a full listing.
• To the extent possible, reinstate drivers' education programs
• Add a UTV/ATV aspect to hunter safety courses, agriculture classes, or organizations like 4H or FFA.
• Host traffic gardens where even the youngest students can begin learning traffic safety and operation in a mock roadway setting.
• Keep contacts lists for school administrators up to date to help traffic safety organizations establish and maintain efficient working relationships with schools.
• Incorporate real CMV content into existing drivers’ education programs to teach students how to safely interact with these vehicles.

Civic Organizations and Community Groups

• Take the Buckle Up Phone Down challenge and promote it to members and the community (www.modot.org/bupd).
• Work with schools, community leaders and elected officials to adopt public policy and/or deliver infrastructure improvements to increase safety.
• Conduct safety outreach:
  • Host or sponsor presentations, workshops, training, and other events to promote traffic safety for various driver groups and vehicles.
  • Partner with groups like Show Me Farm Safety to communicate proper UTV/ATV operation.
• Study the example of other jurisdictions that practice traffic safety well and emulate them.
• Conduct rallies or meals for officers before targeted enforcement patrols or saturation events.

Counties and Cities

• Provide critical highway safety information and training to newly elected officials, administrators, department heads and other positions of leadership.
• Adopt policies and ordinances that reinforce a culture of safety:
  • Adopt a policy requiring seat belt use for all county/city officials and employees when conducting official business.
  • Adopt a policy restricting the use of handheld electronic devices while driving for all county/city officials and employees when conducting official business.
  • Enact a primary seat belt ordinance allowing enforcement of seat belt use as a stand-alone violation.
  • Enact an ordinance restricting the use of handheld electronic devices for all drivers.
• Make a commitment to vigorous, visible traffic enforcement.
• Upgrade computer-aided dispatch systems and protocols to ensure responders are sent to the correct location the first time and receive critical information to provide an appropriate level of care.
• Launch a 911 system accessible to all residents, preferably a Smart 911 system.
• Implement safety improvements in infrastructure projects.
• Adopt design standards that encourage alternate modes of travel and enhance safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and other active transportation users.
• Use traffic offender programs to educate first-time or repeat offenders on the risks and societal impacts of poor driving decisions.
• Research the use of DWI and drug courts for treating repeat impaired driving offenders.
• Take advantage of external safety grant opportunities.
• Provide reliable elder transit services.
• Require a written safety test before issuing a permit for operating UTV or ATV on county roads.
• Develop and implement a local road safety plan (LRSP).

Law Enforcement Agencies

• Make a commitment to vigorous, visible traffic enforcement using data-driven deployment.
• Develop new mobilization campaigns that specifically focus on speeding and aggressive driving. Prioritize enforcement on corridors with high levels of pedestrian activity or with a high frequency of crashes related to speeding and aggressive driving.
• Expand and strengthen the Drug Evaluation and Classification program by training more officers in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement and Drug Recognition Experts.
• Train all officers in identifying signs of impaired and distracted driving and prioritize disrupting these behaviors during routine patrols.
• Participate in statewide enforcement campaigns such as Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.
• Support public policy initiatives proven to increase safety for all road users.
• Implement electronic reporting of motor vehicle crashes and submit reports to the Statewide Traffic Accident Records System within 30 days.
• Adopt an agency policy requiring seat belt use for all officers.
• Adopt an agency policy restricting the use of handheld electronic devices while driving for all officers except in emergency situations.
• Adopt a zero-tolerance policy when enforcing seat belt use, including child safety seats and booster seats.
• Proactively enforce seat belt use in jurisdictions with a primary seat belt ordinance. Develop mobilization and awareness campaigns to promote the ordinance.
• Proactively enforce the primary seat belt component of Missouri's graduated driver license and for drivers of Commercial Motor Vehicles.
• Develop and implement blood draw policies for suspected impaired drivers by coordinating with hospitals, prosecutors and law enforcement officers certified as phlebotomists.
• Participate in outreach efforts to raise community awareness of highway safety.
• Warn drivers about secondary offenses (seatbelts, distraction, etc.) if tickets cannot be written.
• When needed for older drivers, conduct the driver orientation screen for cognitive impairment (DOSCI)
• Use school resource officers (SRO) to bring traffic safety practices directly to teens.
• Stress graduated drivers' licensing stipulations to new drivers at the time of licensing.
• Volunteer to become trained in Stop the Bleed practices. Carry and use tourniquets.

Prosecutors and Courts

• Research the use of DWI and drug courts for treating repeat impaired driving offenders.
• Collaborate with law enforcement agencies to expedite the issuance of search warrants for suspected DWIs.
• Collaborate with law enforcement agencies on proper protocols, standards and documentation needed for suspected DWIs.
• Participate in law enforcement saturation patrols to gain further insight into DWI investigations.
• Consider limits on diversion and plea agreements for repeat offenders.
• Continue education by attending webinars on traffic safety topics like occupant protection, ignition interlocks, and phlebotomy.

Health Professional, Providers and Emergency Responders

• Upgrade computer-aided dispatch systems and protocols to ensure responders are sent to the correct location the first time and receive critical information to provide an appropriate level of care, including:
  • Support of in-vehicle, crash reporting technology (e.g., OnStar).
  • Proper use of emergency lights.
• Participate in traffic incident management courses and/or training exercises.
• Educate citizens on emergency preparedness and properly responding to emergency vehicles:
  • Moving over and slowing down.
  • Getting safely away from the scene or remaining in vehicle with seat belts on.
  • Having emergency medical information on hand (ICE, File of Life/ Car seat ID).
• Arrange for EMS and fire departments to teach pedestrian and bicycle safety to children by conducting safety rodeos and traffic gardens
• Encourage EMS agencies to adopt NHTSA Office of EMS Provider and Patient Safety in Ambulance.
• Work with family physicians and public health departments to educate patients on safe driving habits and identifying indicators of declining driving skills amongst family members.
• Provide all first responders with high visibility roadside apparel.
• Adopt an agency policy requiring seat belt use for all employees conducting official business.
• Adopt an agency policy restricting the use of handheld electronic devices while driving for all employees except in emergency situations.
• Provide adequate restraints for patients and responders during transport.
• Certify hospital staff to educate new parents on child passenger safety and to perform child seat safety checks prior to leaving the hospital.
• Conduct regular safety check events for the public (car seats, helmets, etc.).
• Train and encourage non-medical responders like police and firefighters to provide basic first aid like tourniquet application.
• Strive to transport patients from crash to emergency room within 60 minutes—the so-called golden hour.
• Train and employ more EMT staff and dispatchers—as young as 18—to assuage short-staffing and burnout.
• Administer whole blood in the pre-hospital setting.
• Train firefighters and responders to adapt to new technology (e.g., EV battery fires, triangulating locations from cell signals, auto crash detection, etc.).

Public Works and Engineering Departments

Safety Planning and Prioritization

• Use data-driven safety analysis to identify, prioritize and quantify safety impacts of roadway improvements.
  • Conduct road safety assessments.
  • Establish safe, reasonable and consistent speed limits for specific roadway segments.
  • Prioritize safety improvements based on expected reductions in fatal and serious injury crashes.
  • Adopt a “safe system” mindset, evaluating all projects for safety improvements.
  • Implement a Safety Circuit Rider program to assist local agencies with data analysis.

Lane Departure Crashes

• Reduce lane departure and run-off-road crashes through engineering countermeasures, such as:
  • Chevrons and curve warning signs.
  • Centerline and edge line markings.
  • Centerline and edge line rumble strips.
  • Enhanced roadside delineation.
  • High friction surface treatment in curves.
  • Safety EdgeSM design for all paving operations.
  • Shoulder areas or widened clear zones adjacent to the roadway.
  • Removing, relocating or shielding fixed objects and potential obstacles.

Intersection Crashes

• Reduce intersection crashes by improving visibility, simplifying driver decisions and reducing conflict points:
  • Warning signs for inconspicuous intersections.
  • Retroreflective backplates on signals.
  • Dedicated turn lanes.
  • Restricted turning movements (right-in, right-out only; roundabouts; J-turns).
  • Improve sight distance at intersections, including rail crossings.
  • Keep vegetation trimmed so that signs and intersections are visible.
  • Protected left turn signal phasing for high-volume conflicting movements.
  • Increased spacing between intersections.
  • Implement yellow change intervals for all signalized intersections based on location specific details.
  • Advanced signal systems that dynamically adjust timing plans based on conditions.
  • Acceleration lanes for at-grade entrances onto high-volume or high-speed roadways.
  • Expand current light and gate projects at rail crossings.
  • Close rail crossings or create grade separated intersections at rail crossings.

Pedestrians and Non-Motorized Users

• Provide safer facilities and accommodations for vulnerable road users even if it is not the primary scope. Remember agencies are responsible for all modes of transportation—not just motor vehicles—within their jurisdictions:
  • High-visibility and/or raised crosswalks.
  • Refugee islands at wider crossings.
  • Pedestrian safety beacons, such as rectangular rapid flashing beacons or pedestrian hybrid beacons signals.
  • Pedestrian intervals at signalized intersections.
  • Pedestrian countdown heads at signalized intersections.
  • Road diets and/or traffic calming features.
  • Bicycle lanes/facilities.
  • Roadway lighting.
  • Enhanced signing and marking.
  • Seek specialized grants to fund additional VRU improvements.
  • Provide border connectivity with active transportation facilities in neighboring states.

Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO)

• Adequately communicate information for construction projects and new designs.
  • Design work zones to ensure advance warning, visibility and safe passage for all road users, including the use of “smart work zones” when appropriate (dynamic message signs, queue warning systems, intrusion alerts, etc.).
  • Require the use of high-visibility signs in good condition and high-visibility, reflective personal protection equipment in work zones.
  • Provide educational materials and/or simulations to explain new designs considered complex, intimidating or less safe by the public.
• Take advantage of technology solutions to reduce the likelihood of crashes.
  • Use intelligent transportation systems to detect and warn of high-risk or adverse conditions.
  • Support ongoing implementation of crash avoidance systems in vehicles by maintaining retro reflectivity levels for signs and markings and by sharing traveler information and traffic control data with mobile providers.
• Integrate safety into routine planning processes.
• Implement strategies for older drivers included in the Handbook for Designing Roadways for the Aging Population.
• Install transportation systems management and operations strategies that can improve roadway safety for work zones and traffic incident management areas.
• Resist the temptation to remove safety improvements from projects because of budget concerns or public pressure.
• Design from the users' perspective. If possible, ride along the route in a CMV, or traverse the segment in a wheelchair to experience design deficiencies firsthand.
• Deploy clear communication and build informed consent for innovative or unknown countermeasures that may be perceived as unpopular.

Metropolitan and Regional Planning Organizations

• Establish an interdisciplinary safety committee to lead organizational actions for incorporating safety into all transportation related functions.
• Promote proven engineering countermeasures (see Public Works on page 36) and include safety as a scoring criterion in project prioritization and selection.
• Encourage cities to adopt a Vision Zero (www.visionzeronetwork.org) approach to addressing transportation safety, including Complete Streets or Livable Streets.
• Make safety an overarching theme and core element of transportation plans, including regional Metropolitan Transportation Plans.
• Emphasize safety when prioritizing improvements among various modes of transportation, considering how increased multimodal alternatives and operational projects can reduce the likelihood of crashes.
• Participate in Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety meetings and activities. Visit www.savemolives.com for more information.
• Educate member agencies on the significance of highway safety and how their agencies can contribute to a safer road system.
• Seek or provide safety grant-writing assistance for communities that may lack the personnel.
• Provide visible leadership that prioritizes safety at the highest levels and promotes a goal of achieving zero roadway fatalities by 2030. Keep the conversation active.
• Establish a legislative task force to consider laws most poised to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries in Missouri. Consider:
  • Primary seat belt law for all drivers and all passengers.
  • Increased fines and/or points for violating seat belt and child safety seat laws.
  • A primary hands-free law prohibiting all drivers from using handheld electronic devices.
  • An all-rider helmet requirement for bicyclists and motorcyclists.
  • Child passenger safety laws requiring rear-facing car seats until age two and combined age, height and weight criteria for booster seats.
  • Enhanced graduated driver license requirements.
  • First offender ignition interlock program.
  • Safe passing law to increase vehicle clearance from bicyclists.
  • Increased penalties for operating vehicle without proper endorsements.
  • Basic speed law wherein drivers can be cited for driving too fast for conditions.
• Provide critical highway safety information to newly elected officials during orientation.
• Consider additional requirements and proficiencies for obtaining or renewing a driver license.
  • Ensure prospective drivers are equipped with updated information for obtaining or renewing their license (e.g., Missouri’s Driver Guide).
  • Develop and distribute a guide specifically for older drivers.
  • Re-testing older driver for skills before license renewals.
  • Educate examiners on indicators of declining driving skills.
  • License endorsement for UTV/ATV.
  • More rigorous motorcycle licensing
  • Tiered licensing per various motorcycle sizes.
• Commit agency resources to participate in highway safety efforts. Consider:
  • Supporting new public policy.
  • Participating in safety advocacy groups.
  • Educating employees on highway safety.
  • Distributing safety information to more Missourians.

State Officials and State Agencies

• Foster an environment of increased public-private partnerships to leverage additional expertise, resources and opportunities for advancing safety messaging and supporting technologies.
• Explore new ways to support rural and local agencies in identifying safety needs and implementing low-cost, effective countermeasures.
• Collaborate with universities on continued research needs for highway safety advancements.
• Allocate adequate funding for educational, enforcement, engineering and emergency services programs designed to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries.
• Provide a consistent brand and messaging for all highway safety partners statewide.
• Develop an annual state of highway safety report for public dissemination.
• Promote recent and existing laws related to highway safety.
• Work to expand the availability of 911 for all residents, preferably Smart 911 systems.
• Adopt an agency policy requiring seat belt use for all state officials and employees while conducting official business.
• Adopt an agency policy restricting the use of handheld electronic devices while driving for all state officials and employees while conducting official business.
• Develop and present clear, concise, and positive outreach and messaging on all critical traffic safety issues.
• Hire and retain dedicated traffic safety professionals and fund their activities outside of regular working hours.
• Re-tool cost share programs to make the process more user-friendly and efficient.
• Consider an active transportation advisory committee to inform departments of transportation on alternate modes.
• Increase monitoring and audits on CDL examiners.