Economics
Investment in roadway safety yields high returns.

Did you know….
  • traffic congestion costs American motorists $63.1 billion per year in wasted time and fuel costs and that Americans spend 3.7 billion hours a year stuck in traffic?
  • a billion dollar investment in roadway safety will save 1,700 lives and eliminate 83,000 injuries over the life of the project (approximately 10 years)?
  • federal legislation (SAFETEA-LU) includes roadway safety programs to aggressively counteract the direct causes of roadway injuries and deaths identifying areas where crashes occur and using relatively low-cost countermeasures to achieve benefits?
Economic Benefit Facts:
  • The overall economic benefit of investing in low cost roadway safety solutions is 10.8 times when taking into account the value of life.
  • Economic activity generated from $1 invested in roadway safety improvements is $2.47.
  • A billion dollars invested in roadway safety improvements provides economic stimulus to create approximately 47,500 new jobs for a total of $1,524 million in wages and benefits; new tax revenues at the state and local levels generate $134 million.
Funding Available for Training
Section 5204(e) of SAFETEA-LU provides authority for states to use funds from five primary core programs to support training, education and workforce development. This funding can be utilized to receive ATSSA training – specifically the roadway safety industry’s two leading courses – the ATSSA Traffic Control Technician and the ATSSA Traffic Control Supervisors courses. Nearly 40 state DOTs are taking advantage of these available funds to ensure their workers receive roadway safety training. Each state has a state-specific method of accessing the funds that are available. Click here to be transported to a SAFETEA-LU Q&A page that specifically addresses guidance for the “Use of Federal Aid State Core Program Funds for Training, Education and Workforce Development SAFETEA-LU Section 5204(e).”
31 States Tap “5204(e) Funding” for Training
Thirty one states have tapped into SAFETEA-LU’s 5204(e) for training. Be sure to take advantage of this funding in combination with the FHWA Work Zone Safety Grant. There are some great cost-savings for top quality training for Traffic Control Technicians, Traffic Control Supervisors, Flaggers, Train-the-Trainer, Nighttime Traffic Control, Utility Traffic Control, Law Enforcement, Incident Traffic Control for Responders, Work Zone Strategies, Traffic Control Design Specialists, Urban Work Zone Design, Maintenance and Short Duration Activities, and tools for work zone traffic impact analysis. Course schedules and registration information can be found at the “Education and Certification” link of ATSSA.com. To view a list of the 31 states, click here.
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