Exam Format and Content

Domain 1: Foundations of Road Safety

Task 1: Define road safety by using an approved reference source (e.g., Highway Safety Manual, highway safety plans).

Task 2: Describe evidence-based road safety, including the distinction of nominal vs. substantive safety, by using road safety literature (e.g., ITE Handbook).

Task 3: Describe the complexity of road safety and list the elements that are involved in crash causation and influence the severity of the outcome.

Task 4: List road safety-relevant characteristics of different road users (e.g., drivers, pedestrians, cyclists) and how they apply to effective selection of countermeasures.

Task 5: Identify partners in road safety by listing disciplines and agency types that have a role to play in preventing crashes and reducing their severity.

Task 6: Describe different approaches to road safety management (e.g., traditional 4E, Haddon’s matrix, safe systems approach, Vision Zero).

Task 7: Describe how to balance safety with other transportation goals (e.g., environment, congestion, mobility) by evaluating
safety benefits and costs for comprehensive comparison and decision-making.

Task 8: Describe the elements of a culture that fosters road safety within an organization or discipline and how to achieve it.

Task 9: Discuss developments in policy and technology that will influence future decisions and actions in road safety.

Domain 2: Measuring Safety (0.1201)

Task 1: Identify types, applications, and users of safety data, and discuss the challenges, limitations, and ways to mitigate them by using nontraditional safety data.

Task 2: Discuss how the quality of safety data can lead to more effective programs, projects, and initiatives and investments.

Task 3: Explain how key factors (e.g., speed, volume, time of day) could affect the frequency and severity of crashes.

Task 4: Explain the primary components of quantitative safety analysis.

Domain 3: Human Behavior and Road Safety (0.2148)

Task 1: Identify key characteristics and limitations of human behavior that influence how road users interact with the roadway environment.

Task 2: Describe multidisciplinary safety strategies to modify human behavior.

Task 3: Describe the key characteristics of effective educational strategies (e.g., informational/awareness campaigns) and discuss their benefits and limitations in modifying human behavior.

Task 4: Describe the key characteristics of effective enforcement campaigns and discuss their benefits and limitations in modifying human behavior.

Task 5: Describe and give examples of how roadway infrastructure features and elements (e.g., traffic control devices, road alignment, cross section) affect human behavior.

Task 6: Describe why human factors should be considered in the process of planning, design, and operations to increase the safety of all road users.

Task 7: Describe how applying positive guidance principles to road elements can be used to affect road user behavior and improve safety performance.

Task 8: Apply the driving task model to the process of identifying contributing factors to road user error.

Domain 4: Solving Safety Problems (0.2875)

Task 1: Identify and describe the steps in a safety management process that uses effective data-driven procedures and methods to reduce fatalities and injuries caused by traffic collisions.

Task 2: Identify and describe a systemwide (countermeasure-oriented) approach.

Task 3. List reliable sources of multidisciplinary countermeasures to reduce fatalities and serious injuries.

Task 4: List tools used to diagnose safety problems and describe their specific advantages and disadvantages.

Task 5: Describe how multidisciplinary approaches can be used to deploy the most effective solutions.

Task 6: Understand collision patterns and crash contributing factors.

Task 7: Describe opportunities for user-focused interventions targeted at different populations.

Task 8: Identify how countermeasure costs and benefits can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of program and project investments.

Task 9: Identify the elements of a countermeasure evaluation by using data to determine its impacts (e.g., positive and negative impacts).

Task 10: Identify techniques for estimating and comparing the safety performance of different project alternatives.

Domain 5: Implementing Road Safety Programs (0.1324)

Task 1: Describe how strategic safety plans are prepared and used.

Task 2: List important elements of successful road safety policies and programs.

Task 3: Explain the role and value of champions in influencing road safety policies and programs.

Task 4: Identify elements of successful communication and outreach strategies that build consensus among decision-makers and lead to increased public acceptance/awareness about road safety initiatives.

Task 5: Describe how multidisciplinary teams and partnerships can achieve road safety goals.

Task 6: Describe the value of safety program evaluation and explain how results influence future program delivery.