My parents live in a neighborhood (barrio) in the mountains in Puerto Rico, an area that has been affected by natural disasters, especially in the past 5 years: Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, and Hurricane Fiona in 2022. Rain from both caused landslides impacting the two-lane rural roadway that connects my parents' barrio to the rest of the town (pueblo). This two-lane rural roadway provides access for my parents (and lots of elderly people) to healthcare, groceries, jobs, services, and the rest of the island.
Rural roadways—in the United States and around the world—not only provide access to people living in rural communities, but also connect people living in urban and suburban communities to outdoor recreation activities such as National Parks and tourist destinations. Rural roadways are also vital for freight movements serving industries such as agriculture and manufacturing, among others.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) July 2022 Fact Sheet, even though 31 percent of the total vehicles miles traveled (VMT) were in rural areas, of the 38,824 traffic fatalities in 2020, 43 percent (16,665) occurred in rural areas, which represents a 2 percent increase when compared to 2019. Twenty-eight percent of the rural traffic fatalities were speeding related crashes, and 52 percent of the rural passengers killed in 2020 were not wearing a seat belt.
In 2020, there were 10,626 fatalities in intersection crashes (28 percent in rural areas) and 19,769 fatalities in roadway departure crashes (56 percent in rural areas). In December 2014, I was involved in a roadway departure crash on a rural roadway in Florida when another driver lost control of her vehicle, crossed the center line, and hit my car almost head-on. While I was lucky to survive the crash, I was in short-term disability for a few months, and needed physical therapy.
To reach zero fatalities, we need to address rural safety. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state and local agencies have already implemented countermeasures to reduce roadway departure crashes.
A compelling example of this can be found in the feature article on page 31. The Atlanta District of the Texas Department of Transportation previously led the state in fatality rates in 2020 with 119 deaths. With a comprehensive safety plan that included measures to stop single vehicle run-off-the-road crashes, reduce speed, and increase TSMO technologies, fatalities plummeted by nearly half to 67 in 2022 (as of November).
With the rise of multimodalism and the emergence of new technologies, urban-oriented transportation issues seem to get more attention than rural ones. ITE recognizes that many of our members work in rural and small communities. We remain committed to meeting the needs of all members while continuing to engage in the leading issues of the day. To that end, we will be working to bring more attention to rural and small community issues though a variety of channels including ITE Journal, the ITE Talks Transportation podcast, and at our Annual Meeting through the continued inclusion of the National Rural ITS meeting.
ITE Sections are using a combination of virtual/in-person meetings to engage with our members in rural/distant areas. If you have an idea or suggestion as to how we can better serve our members and communities in rural areas, please let us know. Feel free to contact me on the ITE e-Community or at rosana.correa@jacobs.com.