Transportation Safety Programs

Highway Safety Programs

The Highway Safety Office (HSO) coordinates the highway safety grant management initiatives for the problem identified areas of impaired driving, distracted driving, speed and aggressive driving, public information and education, bicycle and pedestrian safety, teen driving, highway safety related legislation, police traffic services, Drug Evaluation and Classification Program (DECP), occupant protection and child passenger safety; administers the Transportation Safety grant program, which requires research, needs analysis, literary and regulatory review and evaluation to identify problems and develops effective countermeasure priorities to comply with federal regulations, state needs, for prioritization of activities and concentration of efforts and resources.

In addition, the HSO coordinates the Connecticut Rider Education Program, a statewide motorcycle safety training program, which includes planning and development of program policies, training schedules, instructional procedures, and curriculum planning.

The HSO collects and analyzes data for program areas, develops objectives, goals and evaluates standards for projects and program areas; facilitates the grant process by providing technical support and offers assistance to grantees; reviews and evaluates proposals from prospective grantees to assure appropriate fund allocation and conformance with federal and State regulations, objectives and goals and makes funding recommendations; monitors projects for conformance with reporting requirements, budgetary parameters and program efficiency.  

The HSO is also responsible to collect and analyze crash data for all crashes occurring on state and local roadways. This data is available to the public via access through the University of Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center (CTSRC) Crash Data Repository (CDR). The HSO also collects and analyzes fatal crashes for the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) program database as required by NHTSA. This data provides NHTSA, Congress and the American public access to the fatal motor vehicle crashes for their use.

The functions of the Highway Safety Office are imperative for the Department to secure Highway Safety funds. It is part of our mission to save lives, prevent injuries and road traffic crashes through education, research, safety standards and enforcement activities.

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