Safety Planning Assistance

MRMPO can provide assistance to local agencies upon request. Assistance includes Road Safety Audit support, providing data for grant applications and other purposes, assistance with identifying funding sources, and the development of area profiles that help identify safety issues and strategies.

Road Safety Audits

A Road Safety Audit (RSA) is an examination of the safety performance, design, and operation of a road by an independent, multidisciplinary team of professionals. Road Safety Audits are not an engineering-level study of a roadway.

Road Safety Audit RSA Responsibilities

RSAs are considered a proven safety countermeasure by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). According to the FHWA, RSA safety benefits include a 10-60 percent reduction in total crashes.1 In addition, the following benefits provided by RSAs include:

  • Reduced number and severity of crashes due to safer designs.
  • Reduced costs resulting from early identification and mitigation of safety issues before projects are built.
  • Increased opportunities to integrate multimodal safety strategies and proven safety countermeasures.
  • Expanded ability to consider human factors in all facets of design.
  • Increased communication and collaboration among safety stakeholders.
  • Objective review by an independent, multidisciplinary team.

MRMPO Staff have been trained by FHWA staff to complete RSA’s and are available to assist member agencies perform RSAs. If you would like to request assistance, please contact Tara Cok at tcok@mrcog-nm.gov. 

Most recently, at the request of the City of Albuquerque, MRMPO partnered with FHWA to perform an RSA of Lead and Coal Avenues between Broadway Blvd. and Washington Street. 

View the report.

1 Road Safety Audits: An Evaluation of RSA Programs and Projects, FHWA-SA-12-037; and FHWA Road Safety Audit Guidelines, FHWA-SA-06-06.

Crash Data Acquisition

MRMPO obtains geocoded crash data to assist member agencies and the public with understanding crash information and transportation planning issues confronting the Albuquerque Metropolitan Planning Area (AMPA), and it is also used in the development of projects for the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). MRMPO’s reports are updated with the most recent data available. However, because of the time it takes to collect and geocode crash data, the most recent data is usually from two years ago.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Bureau (NMDOT – TSB) collects the data from police departments and the University of New Mexico Geospatial and Population Studies department then geocodes the data. 

>> Request crash data from NMDOT 

>> View crash reports and statistics for the State processed by UNM 

Area Safety Profiles

MRMPO produced area safety profiles for the RTSAP and can develop additional ones for jurisdictions upon request. 

>> View the RTSAP Area Safety Profiles