ODOT outlines updated statewide safety plan as serious injuries spike, seeks October adoption

ODOT project manager Mary McGowan told the Bend Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board on July 17 that the statewide Transportation Safety Action Plan (TSAP) draft emphasizes a Safe Systems approach and aims for '0 by 2050' alongside a 30% reduction in fatal and serious injuries by 2035. The draft includes roughly 30 prioritized actions intended for implementation over the next five years.

The plan ties into the Oregon Transportation Plan and, McGowan said, federal requirements: the TSAP must be updated by October 2026 to preserve eligibility for Highway Safety Improvement Program funds. "We identify short-term actions that are focused on the next five years," McGowan said, adding that the update is a state-led but statewide effort that requires local and agency partners.

McGowan presented data showing a 44% increase in combined fatal and serious-injury crashes when comparing the 2014–2018 reporting period with 2019–2023. She described serious injuries as "debilitating injuries" that typically require ambulance transport and hospital admission. McGowan said the rise in serious injuries is evident across counties and in other datasets such as EMS and Oregon Health Authority records, suggesting the increase is not solely a reporting artifact.

The TSAP prioritizes roadway departure, intersections, speed and impairment in a top tier because those factors appear most often in serious crashes and showed the largest increases. A second tier captures motorcycles, medium/heavy freight, bikes and pedestrians, aging and young drivers, and occupant protection measures. McGowan said some of the increases reflect polysubstance impairment and a decline in enforcement capacity per capita in Oregon.

Board members pressed for clarification on implementation and funding. McGowan said an implementation plan with cost estimates and identified 'champions' for actions will follow after commission adoption, and that local safety plans should reflect statewide priorities. She also noted ODOT has prepared two-page summaries for each action and an appendix 'heat map' showing how proposed actions apply across emphasis areas.

The agency is seeking public feedback on the draft through July 31 and expects to brief the Transportation Safety Committee in September before asking the Oregon Transportation Commission for adoption in October. "Implementation is always a challenge," McGowan said. "We need to keep improving our processes for reporting out in terms of implementation after we get this plan approved." The board asked staff to consider whether enforcement should carry stronger emphasis in the implementation step and to follow up on recent federal changes to acknowledged countermeasures that could affect funding eligibility.

Next steps: public review of the TSAP continues through July 31; ODOT will incorporate comments, present an implementation plan after adoption and return to state committees this fall.