Highway Safety: Factors Contributing to Traffic Crashes and	 
NHTSA's Efforts to Address Them (22-MAY-03, GAO-03-730T).	 
                                                                 
From 1975 through 2002, annual traffic fatalities decreased from 
44,525 to 42,850, while the rate of fatalities per 100 million	 
vehicle miles traveled decreased from 3.35 to 1.51. However,	 
decreases in fatalities have leveled off since the early 1990s.  
Since 1999, the number of alcohol-related fatalities has risen.  
In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century	 
funded a series of highway safety programs. These programs,	 
administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety		 
Administration (NHTSA), increased funding to the states for	 
activities designed to encourage, among other things, the use of 
seat belts and to prevent drinking and driving. The states	 
establish highway safety goals and initiate projects to help	 
reach those goals. NHTSA provides advice, training, and technical
assistance to states and can use management reviews and 	 
improvement plans as tools to help monitor and strengthen the	 
states' performance. This testimony is based on two recent GAO	 
reports that discuss the causes of motor vehicle crashes and	 
related research, provide highway saftey trend data and 	 
information on federal highway safety funds and the states' uses 
of those funds, and review NHTSA's oversight of state highway	 
safety programs.						 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-03-730T					        
    ACCNO:   A06922						        
  TITLE:     Highway Safety: Factors Contributing to Traffic Crashes  
and NHTSA's Efforts to Address Them				 
     DATE:   05/22/2003 
  SUBJECT:   Highway safety					 
	     Traffic accidents					 
	     Traffic violations 				 
	     Federal aid for highways				 
	     Federal aid for transportation			 
	     Transportation safety				 
	     Safety standards					 
	     Safety regulation					 

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GAO-03-730T

Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Competition, Foreign Commerce, and
Infrastructure, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U. S.
Senate

United States General Accounting Office

GAO For Release on Delivery Expected at 2: 30 p. m. EDT, Thursday, May 22,
2003 HIGHWAY SAFETY

Factors Contributing to Traffic Crashes and NHTSA*s Efforts to Address
Them

Statement of Peter Guerrero, Director Physical Infrastructure Issues

GAO- 03- 730T

Most motor vehicle crashes have multiple causes. Experts and studies have
identified three categories of factors that contribute to crashes* human,
roadway environment, and vehicle factors. Human factors involve the
driver*s actions (speeding and violating traffic laws) or condition
(effects of alcohol or drugs, inattention, decision errors, and age).
Roadway environment factors include the design of the roadway, roadside
hazards, and roadway conditions. Vehicle factors include any failures in
the vehicle or its design. Human factors are generally seen as
contributing most often to crashes, followed by roadway environment and
vehicle factors. To improve highway safety through programs that primarily
address the

human factors that contribute to traffic crashes and fatalities, about $2
billion was provided to states over the last 5 years for highway safety
programs under the act. About $729 million was provided under Section 402,
the core highway safety program, and about $936 million was provided
through seven incentive programs, mainly for efforts to influence driver
behavior. Another $361 million was transferred from state highway
construction to state highway safety programs under provisions that
penalized states for not complying with federal requirements for passing
laws to reduce drinking and driving.

GAO found that NHTSA*s oversight of state highway programs could be
improved. NHTSA regional offices have made inconsistent use of management
reviews and improvement plans because NHTSA*s guidance does not specify
when to use them. As a result, some states do not have

improvement plans, even though their alcohol- related fatality rates have
increased or their seat- belt usage rates have declined. Without
improvement plans NHTSA may not fully realize its goals in working with
the states to improve highway safety. GAO recommended in an April 2003
report that NHTSA provide guidance to its regional offices on when it is
appropriate to use these oversight tools. NHTSA is taking steps to improve
this guidance.

Traffic Fatality Statistics, 1975- 2002

From 1975 through 2002, annual traffic fatalities decreased from 44, 525
to 42, 850, while the rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles
traveled decreased from 3.35 to 1. 51. However, decreases in fatalities
have leveled off since the early 1990s, as shown in the figure. Since
1999, the number of alcoholrelated

fatalities has risen. In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21 st
Century funded a series of highway safety programs. These programs,
administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), increased funding to the states for activities designed to
encourage, among other things, the use of seat belts

and to prevent drinking and driving. The states establish highway safety
goals and initiate projects to help reach those goals. NHTSA provides
advice, training, and technical assistance to states and can use
management reviews and improvement plans as tools to help monitor and
strengthen the

states* performance. This testimony discusses (1) the factors that
contribute to motor vehicle crashes, (2) the funds provided to the states
for highway safety programs, and (3) NHTSA*s oversight of state programs.
The testimony is primarily based on two GAO reports on these topics issued
in March and April 2003.

www. gao. gov/ cgi- bin/ getrpt? GAO- 03- 730T. To view the product, click
on the link above. For more information, contact Peter Guerrero at (202)
512- 2834 or guerrerop@ gao. gov.

Highlights of GAO- 03- 730T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on
Competition, Foreign Commerce, and Infrastructure, Committee on Commerce,
Science, and

Transportation, U. S. Senate

May 22, 2003

HIGHWAY SAFETY

Factors Contributing to Traffic Crashes and NHTSA*s Efforts to Address
Them

Page 1 GAO- 03- 730T

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: We appreciate the
opportunity to testify today on the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration*s (NHTSA) efforts to reduce traffic fatalities. Highway
safety is a major concern for the country, given that over 1.2

million people have died on our roadways over the last 25 years. Since
1982, about 40 percent of traffic deaths were from alcohol- related
crashes, and traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people
ages 4 through 33. In addition to the tragic loss of life, the economic
cost of fatalities and injuries from crashes totaled almost $231 billion
in 2000 alone, according to NHTSA.

In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA- 21)
funded a series of highway safety programs, administered by NHTSA, that
increased funding to the states to encourage, among other things, the use
of seat belts and child passenger seats and to prevent drinking and
driving. The states implement these programs by establishing highway
safety goals and initiating projects to help reach those goals. NHTSA
reviews state goals and provides oversight of state highway safety
programs.

My testimony today will discuss (1) the factors that contribute to traffic
crashes, (2) the funds provided to the states for highway safety programs,
and (3) NHTSA*s guidance provided to states and oversight of the states*
programs. My statement is primarily based on two GAO reports on these
topics. The first report, issued in March 2003, dealt with the factors
that contribute to traffic crashes. 1 To complete that effort, we analyzed
three Department of Transportation databases that contained data through
2001; interviewed experts from academia, insurance organizations, and
advocacy groups as well as department officials; and reviewed studies on
various aspects of motor vehicle crashes. In addition, NHTSA recently
released 2002 traffic fatality data, which we used to update some of the
information contained in the March 2003 report for this testimony. The
second report, issued in April 2003, provides information on TEA- 21 funds
for state highway safety programs, how the states have used those funds,
and NHTSA*s oversight of the state programs. 2 To conduct this effort, we

1 U. S. General Accounting Office, Highway Safety: Research Continues on a
Variety of Factors That Contribute to Motor Vehicle Crashes, GAO- 03- 436
(Washington, D. C.: Mar. 31, 2003).

2 U. S. General Accounting Office, Highway Safety: Better Guidance Could
Improve Oversight of State Highway Safety Programs, GAO- 03- 474
(Washington, D. C.: Apr. 21, 2003).

Page 2 GAO- 03- 730T

visited six states and the NHTSA regional offices responsible for them to
determine how these states were using the funds and to review NHTSA*s
oversight of the states* programs. We also interviewed representatives of
the Governors Highway Safety Association and other highway safety
organizations to obtain their perspectives.

In summary:  Many factors combine to produce circumstances that may lead
to a motor

vehicle crash* there is rarely a single cause of such an event. Experts
and studies have identified three categories of factors that contribute to
crashes* human factors, roadway environment factors, and vehicle factors.
Human factors involve the actions taken by or the condition of the

driver of the automobile, including speeding, being affected by alcohol or
drugs, violating traffic laws, inattention, decision errors, and age.
Roadway environment factors include the design of the roadway, roadside
hazards, and roadway conditions. Vehicle factors include any failures that
may exist in the automobile or design of the vehicle. Human factors are
generally seen as the most prevalent contributing factor of crashes,
followed by roadway environment and vehicle factors.

 About $2 billion has been provided to states over the last 5 years for
highway safety programs under TEA- 21. About $729 million went to the core
highway safety program, Section 402, to carry out traffic safety programs
designed to influence drivers* behavior in such areas as seat belt use,
drinking and driving, and speeding. About $936 million went to seven

incentive programs also designed to encourage state efforts to improve
seat- belt use, reduce drinking and driving, and contribute to improvement
of state highway safety data. In addition, about $361 million was
transferred from state highway construction to state highway safety
programs under provisions that penalized states that had not complied with
federal requirements for passing repeat offender or open container laws to
reduce drinking and driving.  To oversee state highway safety programs,
NHTSA focuses on providing

advice, training, and technical assistance to the states, which are
responsible for setting and achieving highway safety goals. NHTSA can also
use management reviews and improvement plans as tools to help ensure that
the states are operating within guidelines and achieving the desired
results. However, we found that NHTSA*s regional offices have made
inconsistent use of management reviews and improvement plans because
NHTSA*s guidance to the regional offices does not specify when to use
them. As a result, some states do not have improvement plans, even though
their alcohol- related fatality rates have increased or their seat- belt

Page 3 GAO- 03- 730T

usage rates have declined. We recommended that NHTSA provide guidance to
its regional offices on when it is appropriate to use these oversight
tools. NHTSA is taking steps to improve this guidance.

Since 1975, progress has been made in reducing the number of fatalities on
our nation*s roads, but in recent years improvement has slowed and some
downward trends have been reversed. As figure 1 shows, from 1975 through
2002, annual fatalities decreased from 44,525 to 42,850, or by about 4
percent. Annual fatalities reached a low of 39,250 in 1992 and have been
edging up since then. During the same period, the fatality rate per 100
million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), a common method of measurement,
dropped from 3.35 in 1975 to 1.51 in 2002, or by about 55 percent. Since
1992, the decline in the fatality rate has slowed.

Figure 1: Fatality Statistics, 1975 . 2002

Alcohol- related crashes account for a large portion of traffic
fatalities. 3 Between 1982, when NHTSA began tracking alcohol- related
fatalities, and 2002, about 430,000 people died in alcohol- related
crashes. In 1982,

3 Alcohol- related fatalities represent crash victims killed with blood
alcohol concentrations at any level above 0.01. At this concentration, a
person*s blood contains 1 one- hundredth of 1 percent alcohol. Background

Page 4 GAO- 03- 730T

NHTSA reported 26,173 alcohol- related deaths, representing 59.6 percent
of all traffic fatalities. Alcohol- related fatalities declined to 39.7
percent of all traffic fatalities in 1999, but rose to 17,970* 41.9
percent of fatalities*

in 2002. (See fig. 2.)

Figure 2: Number of Alcohol- Related Fatalities, 1982 . 2002

As figure 3 shows, alcohol- related fatality rates declined steadily
(except in 1986) from 1982 through 1997. However, there has been almost no
further decline in rates since 1997, when the rate was 0.65 fatalities per
100 million VMT. In 2002, the rate was 0.64 fatalities per 100 million
VMT.

Page 5 GAO- 03- 730T

Figure 3: Rate of Alcohol- Related Fatalities, 1982 . 2002

The overall decline in fatalities over the past quarter century is
attributable to many actions. For example, during this period, a number of
countermeasures were developed and installed in new vehicles. Seat belts
and air bags are credited with saving thousands of lives* seat- belt use
rates have grown from about 14 percent in 1983 to over 75 percent
nationwide today. In addition, federal and state programs have resulted in
improvement in some areas. For example, increased enforcement and greater
public awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving have, according to
NHTSA officials, reduced the incidence of casual drinkers becoming traffic
fatalities. Having made improvements in reducing casual drinking and
driving, NHTSA and the states are now faced with more

challenging problems such as alcohol dependency, which has hindered
progress in reducing alcohol- related fatalities.

Multiple factors typically combine to produce circumstances that lead to a
motor vehicle crash* there is rarely a single cause for such an event. For
example, it would be challenging to identify a single cause of a crash
that occurred on a narrow, curvy, icy road when an inexperienced driver,
who had been drinking, adjusted the radio or talked on a cell phone. In
examining the causes of motor vehicle crashes, a number of experts and
studies identified three categories of factors that contribute to crashes:
A Variety of Factors

Contribute to Motor Vehicle Crashes

Page 6 GAO- 03- 730T

human factors, roadway environment factors, and vehicle factors. Human
factors involve the actions taken by or the condition of the driver of the
automobile, including speeding, being affected by alcohol or drugs,
violating traffic laws, inattention, decision errors, and age. Roadway
environment factors include the design of the roadway, roadside hazards,
and roadway conditions. Vehicle factors include any failures that may
exist in the automobile or design of the vehicle. Human factors are
generally seen as the most prevalent contributing factor of crashes,
followed by roadway environment and vehicle factors.

Two examples of human factors that have a significant impact on traffic
crashes are speeding and alcohol. Speeding* driving either faster than the
posted speed limit or faster than conditions would safely dictate*
contributes to traffic crashes. Speeding reduces a driver*s ability to
steer safely around curves or objects in the roadway, extends the distance
necessary to stop a vehicle, and increases the distance a vehicle travels
when a driver reacts to a dangerous situation. According to our analysis
of NHTSA*s databases, from 1997 through 2001, speeding was identified as a

contributing factor in about 30 percent of all fatal crashes, and almost
64,000 lives were lost in speeding- related crashes. From 1997 through
2001, 36 percent of male drivers and 24 percent of female drivers 16 to 20
years old who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of

the crash. The percentage of speeding- related fatal crashes decreases as
drivers age. 4 (See fig. 4.)

4 It should be noted that in addition to the factors discussed, other
elements, such as nonuse of seat belts or other occupant- protection
measures, might have affected the number of fatalities.

Page 7 GAO- 03- 730T

Figure 4: Speeding Drivers in Fatal Crashes, by Age and Gender, 1997 .
2001

Alcohol consumption is a significant human factor that contributes to many
motor vehicle crashes. It is illegal in every state and the District of
Columbia to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of, impaired
by, or with a specific level of alcohol or drugs in the blood. Only
Massachusetts lacks a law that defines the specific concentration of blood
alcohol at which it becomes illegal to drive. 5 As of January 2003, 17
states had set the standard at 0.10 percent blood alcohol concentration
(BAC) (the level at which a person*s blood contains 1/ 10th of 1 percent
alcohol) and the remaining states had set the standard at 0.08 percent
BAC. 6 NHTSA recently reported that in 2002, 42 percent of all fatal
crashes were

alcohol- related, and nearly 18,000 people died in alcohol- related
crashes. BACs of 0.08 or greater were reported for about 87 percent of the
alcohol

5 BAC of 0. 08 percent in Massachusetts is evidence of alcohol impairment,
but it is not illegal per se. 6 Louisiana, New York, and Tennessee have
0.08 percent BAC laws that will be effective during the latter half of
2003.

Page 8 GAO- 03- 730T

related fatalities in 2002. According to our analysis of NHTSA data, from
1997 through 2001, for each age category, more male than female drivers
were involved in fatal alcohol- related crashes (see fig. 5).

Figure 5: Drivers in Alcohol- Related Fatal Crashes, by Age and Gender,
1997 . 2001 There is also a strong relationship between a driver*s age and
the likelihood of being involved in a crash. While age, in itself, would
not be the cause of the crash, some of the characteristics displayed at
various ages can lead to a higher probability of being involved in traffic
crashes. Younger drivers* crash rates are disproportionately higher mainly
because of a risky driving style combined with driving inexperience. Older
drivers also pose greater risks; fatal crash rates are higher for the
elderly than for all but the youngest drivers.

The roadway environment* factors that are external to the driver and the
vehicle that increase the risk of a crash* is generally considered the
second most prevalent contributing factor of crashes. Roadway environment
factors that contribute to, or are associated with, crashes include the
design of the roadway, including features such as medians, narrow lanes, a
lack of shoulders, curves, access points, or intersections;

Page 9 GAO- 03- 730T

roadside hazards or features adjacent to the road that vehicles can crash
into such as poles, trees, or embankments; and roadway conditions (for
example, rain, ice, snow, or fog). However, the contribution of these
factors to crashes is difficult to quantify. NHTSA*s crash databases
contain limited data on roadway design features at the crash location or

immediately preceding the crash location. In addition, the significance of
adverse weather, including both slippery roads and reductions in driver
visibility, is not fully understood because there are no measurements (for
example, VMTs under adverse weather conditions) available to compare crash
rates under various conditions.

Vehicle factors can also contribute to crashes through vehicle- related
failures and vehicle design characteristics (attributes that may increase
the likelihood of being involved in certain types of crashes). While such
recent events as the number of crashes involving tire separations have
highlighted the importance of vehicle factors, data and studies generally
show, and experts believe, that vehicle factors contribute less often to
crashes than do human or roadway environment factors. For example, our
analysis of NHTSA*s data found that of the 32 million crashes from 1997
through 2001, there were about 778,000 crashes (about 2 percent) in which
police determined that a specific vehicle- related failure might have
contributed to the crash. In addition, vehicle design has been shown to
affect handling in particular types of maneuvers. For example,
highperformance sports cars have very different handling characteristics
from those of sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Recent changes in the
composition of the nation*s vehicle fleet, in part attributable to the
purchase of many SUVs, have resulted in an overall shift toward vehicles
with a higher center of gravity (more top- heavy), which can roll over
more easily than some other vehicles. Rollover crashes are particularly
serious because they are more likely to result in fatalities. Our analysis
of NHTSA*s 2001 data shows

that passenger cars were the vehicle type least likely to roll over in a
crash; passenger cars rolled over in about 2 percent of all crashes and
rolled over nearly 16 percent of the time in fatal crashes. In comparison,
our analysis shows that SUVs were over three times more likely to roll
over in a crash than were passenger cars; that is, they rolled over in
almost 6 percent of all crashes. In addition, the proportion of SUVs that
rolled over in fatal crashes was over twice as high as the proportion of
passenger cars. NHTSA recently reported that in 2002, fatalities in
rollover crashes

involving SUVs and pickup trucks accounted for 53 percent of the increase
in traffic deaths.

Page 10 GAO- 03- 730T

About $2 billion was provided to the states for highway safety programs
for the first 5 years under TEA- 21, from fiscal years 1998 through 2002.
TEA- 21 funded state programs three ways as follows:

 The core Section 402 State and Community Safety Grants Program provided
$729 million for behavioral highway safety programs.

 Seven incentive programs provided $936 million. States could use funds
from two of the incentive programs for behavioral highway safety programs
or highway construction. As a result, states allocated about $789 million
of the incentive funds to behavioral programs and $147 million to highway
construction.

 Two penalty transfer programs provided $361 million in fiscal years 2001
and 2002. These programs transferred funds from highway construction to
highway safety programs to penalize states for not complying with federal
requirements for passing laws prohibiting open alcoholic beverage
containers in cars and establishing specific penalties for people
convicted of repeat drinking and driving offenses. 7 States could use both
penalty transfers for either alcohol- related behavioral safety programs
or highway safety construction projects. As a result, states allocated
about $113 million of the transfer funds to behavioral programs and $248
million (about 66 percent) to highway construction programs to eliminate
road safety hazards.

Funding for states* behavioral safety programs nearly doubled from fiscal
year 1998 through fiscal year 2001. (See fig. 6.)

7 TEA- 21, as amended through the TEA- 21 Restoration Act, established
these two penalty provisions. Funding for State Highway Safety

Programs Has Grown

Page 11 GAO- 03- 730T

Figure 6: NHTSA Highway Safety Funding to States, Fiscal Years 1998 . 2002

Funding for the core Section 402 State and Community Grants Program has
been fairly level, in constant dollars, since 1991. Four major program
categories account for most of the states* use of the $729 million in
Section

402 State and Community Grants funds provided between 1998 and 2002:
police traffic services, impaired driving, seat belts, and community
safety programs. Combined, these four categories account for about 72
percent of the grant funds. Figure 7 shows how the states used their
Section 402 State and Community Grants funds during the first 5 years
covered by TEA- 21.

Page 12 GAO- 03- 730T

Figure 7: Uses of State and Community Grants Funds, Fiscal Years 1998 .
2002

Police traffic services 22. 1%

Impaired driving 15 . 4 %

Seat belts 14 . 5 % Community safety programs

19 . 9 % Planning and administration

6.0% Traffic records

5.9% Other

16 . 2 %

Note: *Other* includes roadway safety, pedestrian safety, emergency
medical services, speed control, driver education, motorcycle safety,
school bus safety, and paid advertising to support Section 402 programs.

The seven incentive programs under TEA- 21 also provide funds to encourage
greater seat belt use, implement programs or requirements to reduce
drinking and driving, and contribute to the improvement of state highway
safety data. The funding available for these programs grew from $83.5
million in 1998 to $257.2 million in 2002. While most of these funds were
used for funding additional behavioral safety programs, the act provided
that two programs, the 0.08 percent Blood Alcohol Concentration Incentive
(Section 163) and the Seat- belt Use Incentive (Section 157) programs,
could be used for any highway purpose* highway construction, construction
that remedied safety concerns, or behavioral safety programs. Appendix I
contains additional information on the seven incentive programs.

Under the penalty transfer programs, the states that did not adopt either
the open container or the repeat offender requirements were required to

Page 13 GAO- 03- 730T

transfer a specified percentage of their federal highway construction
funds to their Section 402 State and Community Grants Program. 8 During
fiscal years 2001 and 2002, the first 2 years that funds have been
transferred, 34 states were subject to one or both of the penalty
provisions, and about $361 million was transferred from these states*
Federal- Aid Highway Program funding. (See fig. 8.) States can keep
transferred funds in their Section 402 State and Community Grants program
when they are to be used to support behavioral programs designed to reduce
drunk driving or

the states can allocate any portion of the transferred funds to highway
safety construction projects to eliminate road safety hazards. States
varied greatly in their decisions on how to use these funds, from
allocating 100 percent of the funds to highway safety construction
projects to allocating 100 percent of the funds to highway safety
behavioral projects. Overall, the

states allocated about 69 percent to highway safety construction projects
under the Hazard Elimination Program, and 31 percent went to highway
safety behavioral projects. Twenty- eight of the 34 states with
transferred funds allocated a majority to highway safety construction
activities under the Hazard Elimination Program.

8 For the first 2 years, the transfer penalty was 1.5 percent of the funds
apportioned to the state*s National Highway System, Surface Transportation
Program, and Interstate Maintenance funding, for each penalty. This amount
rose to 3 percent for each penalty in October 2002.

Page 14 GAO- 03- 730T

Figure 8: States Transferring Funds under Open Container and Repeat
Offender Provisions, October 1, 2002

Note: Alaska (both transfers), District of Columbia (no transfers), Hawaii
(no transfers), and Puerto Rico (both transfers) are not shown.

NHTSA*s 10 regional offices focus on providing advice, training, and
technical assistance to the states, which are responsible for setting and
achieving their highway safety goals. In addition, among other things,
NHTSA uses management reviews and improvement plans as oversight tools to
help it ensure that states* programs are operating within guidelines and
are achieving desired results. NHTSA Has Not Made

Consistent Use of Oversight Tools

Page 15 GAO- 03- 730T

NHTSA regions can conduct management reviews to help improve and enhance
the financial and operational management of the state programs. In
conducting these reviews, a team of NHTSA regional staff visit the state
and examine such items as its organization and staffing, program
management, financial management, and selected programs like impaired
driving, occupant protection, public information and education, and

outreach. The team*s report comments on the state activities and may make
recommendations for improvement. For example, in some management reviews
we examined, NHTSA regions found instances of inadequate monitoring of
subgrantees, a lack of coordination in state alcohol program planning,
costs incurred after a grant was over, and improper cash advances by a
state to subgrantees. However, NHTSA has no written guidance on when to
perform management reviews. We found that the management reviews were not
being conducted consistently. For example, in the six NHTSA regions we
visited, we found goals of conducting state management reviews every 2
years, on no set schedule, or only when requested by a state.

Improvement plans are another tool for providing states oversight and
guidance. According to program regulations, if a NHTSA regional office
finds that a state is not making progress toward meeting its highway
safety goals, NHTSA and the state are to develop an improvement plan to
address the shortcomings. For example, NHTSA, working with one state,
developed an improvement plan that identified specific actions that NHTSA
and the state would accomplish to improve alcohol- related highway safety.
The plan included such actions as implementing a judicial education
program, requiring all police officers working on impaired driving
enforcement to be adequately trained in field sobriety testing, and
developing a statewide system for tracking driving- while- intoxicated
violations.

NHTSA regional offices have made limited and inconsistent use of
improvement plans. Since 1998, only seven improvement plans have been
developed. In addition, we found that the highway safety performance of a
number of states that were not operating under improvement plans was worse
than the performance of other states that were operating under such plans.
For example, we compared the performance of the three states that had
developed improvement plans for alcohol- related problems with the
performance of all other states. We found that for seven states, the rate

of alcohol- related fatalities increased from 1997 through 2001 and their
alcohol- related fatality rates exceeded the national rate in 2001. Only
one of these seven states was on an improvement plan. Furthermore, for one
state that was not on an improvement plan, the alcohol- related fatality
rate

Page 16 GAO- 03- 730T

grew by over 40 percent from 1997 through 2001 and for 2001 was about
double the national average. The limited and inconsistent use of
improvement plans is due to a lack of specificity in the criteria for
requiring such plans.

To ensure more consistent use of management reviews and improvement plans,
we recommended in our report that NHTSA provide more specific guidance to
the regional offices on when it is appropriate to use these oversight
tools. In commenting on a draft of the report, NHTSA officials said they
agreed with the recommendations and had begun taking action to develop
criteria and guidance to field offices on the use of management

reviews and improvement plans. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared
statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you or members
of the Subcommittee may have.

For further information on this testimony, please contact Peter Guerrero
at (202) 512- 2834 or guerrerop@ gao. gov. Richard Calhoon, Robert
Ciszewski, Glenn C. Fischer, Bonnie Pignatiello Leer, and Glen Trochelman
made key contributions to this testimony. Contact and

Acknowledgments

Page 17 GAO- 03- 730T

Incentive category Title of incentive Description of incentive

Section 157 Safety Incentive Grants for the Use of Seat Belts Creates
incentive grants to states to improve seat belt use rates. A state

may use these funds for any highway safety or construction program. The
act authorized $500 million over 5 years. Section 157 Safety Innovative
Grants for Increasing Seat- Belt Use Rates

Provides that unallocated Section 157 incentive funds be allocated to
states to carry out innovative projects to improve seat belt use.

Section 405 Occupant Protection Incentive Grant Creates an incentive grant
program to increase seat belt and child safety

seat use. A state may use these funds only to implement occupant
protection programs. The act authorized $68 million over 5 years. Seat
belt/ occupant

protection incentives Section 2003( b) Child Passenger Protection
Education Grants

Creates a program designed to prevent deaths and injuries to children,
educate the public on child restraints, and train safety personnel on
child restraint use. The act authorized $15 million over 2 years for
Section 2003( b). However, the Congress appropriated funds to support the
program for 2 additional years. Section 163 Safety Incentives to Prevent
the Operation of Motor Vehicles by Intoxicated Persons

Provides grants to states that have enacted and are enforcing laws stating
that a person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher while
operating a motor vehicle has committed a per se driving- while-
intoxicated offense. A state may use these funds for any highway safety or
construction program. The act provides $500 million over 6 years for the
program. Alcohol incentives

Section 410 Alcohol Impaired Driving Countermeasures Revises an existing
incentive program and provides grants to states that adopt or demonstrate
specified programs, or to states that meet performance criteria showing
reductions in fatalities involving alcoholimpaired drivers. The act
provides $219.5 million over 6 years, which is to be used for alcohol-
impaired driving programs. Data incentives Section 411 State Highway

Safety Data Improvements Provides incentive grants to states to improve
the timeliness, accuracy, completeness, uniformity, and accessibility of
highway safety data. The act

provides $32 million over 4 years. Source: GAO presentation of NHTSA data.

Appendix I: Highway Safety Incentive Grant Programs

(545034)

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