Check out our new Drive Well Vermont website!
Everyone is a Pedestrian
October is National Pedestrian Safety Month
Every October, NHTSA celebrates National Pedestrian Safety Month. States, local leaders, traffic safety professionals, transportation planners and engineers, other stakeholders and concerned residents are invited to join us in helping to create a transportation system for all people to easily and safely walk. NHTSA is strengthening its efforts to improve safety for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users by suggesting activities and providing sample social media posts and messages, free infographics and other resources. The personal, physical, and environmental benefits of walking can lead to healthier, quieter, cleaner, and safer streets. Walking can also improve local economies and enhance social and community engagement, which can lead to more vibrant, resilient, and livable spaces.
Unfortunately, in 2021 there were 7,388 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes, a 12.5- percent increase from the 6,565 pedestrian fatalities in 2020. This is the highest since 1981 when 7,837 pedestrians died in traffic crashes. In 2021 there were an estimated 60,577 pedestrians injured in traffic crashes, an 11-percent increase from 54,771 pedestrians injured in 2020. On average, a pedestrian was killed every 71 minutes and injured every 9 minutes in traffic crashes in 2021
To learn more, visit NHTSA.gov. For Drive Well Vermont materials, click here.
Grant Electronic Application and Reporting System (GEARS)
Click here to go to GEARS (for current subgrantees or agencies interested in applying for a grant with the SHSO).
Operations and Safety Bureau Data Dashboard
Click here to see current crash data from the OSB Data and Analysis Unit.
Our Mission Statement
Achieve progress “Toward Zero Deaths” by reducing the number of crashes, injuries, and fatalities on Vermont's roads and to provide highway safety data and fact-based analyses that will assist communities and safety advocates in implementing effective programs that will change high-risk driving behavior and increase safety on our streets and highways.
Where We Are Located
The Vermont State Highway Safety Office is located within the Agency of Transportation's Highway’s Division, Office of Operations and Safety Bureau, Dill Building, Unit A, 2178 Airport Road, Barre, VT 05641.
What We Do
The Vermont State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) awards federal highway safety grant funds to local, state and non-profit agencies for projects to improve highway safety and reduce deaths and serious injuries due to crashes. The SHSO is also involved with the Vermont Highway Safety Alliance (VHSA) which has allowed us to build upon a network of highway safety professionals, working in collaboration to increase highway safety through these federally funded programs.
The SHSO has an in-house staff of three Program Coordinators with specific subject matter areas of expertise, to include Occupant Protection, Distracted Driving, Impaired Driving, Law Enforcement (DUI and OP Enforcement) and Education Outreach programs. The staff of the SHSO manages state highway safety grant funds by providing guidance, oversight and monitoring for our partners.
The programs administered through the SHSO are federally funded through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Our programs are defined and approved each year in the SHSO Highway Safety Plan (HSP) and align with the State’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP). Through these plans, we analyze data, identify problems, define emphasis areas, and set goals in order to administer funds to programs in a responsible manner in accordance with federal guidelines.
The Vermont State Highway Safety Office programs are designed to educate drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists about highway safety. Our programs employ the use of countermeasures that focus primarily on the modification of driver’s behavior and attitude.
