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This rulemaking would create national performance management measures and standards to be used by the States to meet the national transportation goals identified in section 1203 of MAP-21. This rulemaking would also establish the process to be used by States to set performance targets that reflect their performance measures. The FHWA anticipates publishing up to three separate rulemakings to address the different areas covered by this section. This rulemaking, the first, will cover safety.

Overall Description of Deadline: Section 1203 of MAP-21 requires the Secretary to promulgate a rulemaking within 18 months after the date of enactment.

Statement of Need:

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) transforms the Federal-aid highway program by establishing new requirements for performance management to ensure the most efficient investment of Federal transportation funds. Performance management refocuses attention on national transportation goals, increases the accountability and transparency of the Federal-aid highway program, and improves project decisionmaking through performance-based planning and programming. This rulemaking is the first of three that would propose the establishment of performance measures for State DOTs and MPOs to use to carry out Federal-aid highway programs and to assess performance in each of the 12 areas mandated by MAP-21. This rulemaking would establish performance measures to carry out the Highway Safety Improvement Program and to assess serious injuries and fatalities, both in number and expressed as a rate, on all public roads. In addition this rulemaking would establish the process for State DOTs and MPOs to use to establish and report safety targets, and the process that FHWA will use to assess progress State DOTs have made in achieving safety targets.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

Section 1203 of MAP-21 requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish performance measures and standards through a rulemaking to assess performance in 12 areas.

Alternatives:

N/A

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

Preliminary estimates show that the total costs for a 10 year period is $66,695,260 (undiscounted), $53,873,609 (7% discount rate), and $60,504,205 (3% discount rate). The DOT performed a break-even analysis that estimates the number of fatalities and incapacitating injuries the rule would need to prevent for the benefits of the rule to justify the costs. Preliminary estimates show that the proposed rule would need to prevent approximately 7 fatalities over 10 years, or less than one avoided fatality per year nationwide, to outweigh the anticipated costs of the proposed rule. When the break-even analysis uses incapacitating injuries as the reduction metric, preliminary estimates show that the proposed rule must be responsible for reducing approximately 153 incapacitating injuries over 10 years, or approximately 15 per year, to outweigh the anticipated costs of the proposed rule. In other words, the proposed rule must result in approximately 7 fewer fatalities, which is equivalent to approximately 153 fewer incapacitating injuries, over 10 years, for the proposed rule to be cost-beneficial.

Note: These are preliminary agency estimates only. They have not been reviewed by others outside of DOT. The estimates could change after interagency review.

Risks:

N/A