Our Goal Is Safety: Performance Measures and Targets

Safety performance measures have been required since the FAST Act (the federal transportation bill from 2016 to 2020), which aimed to improve safety on all roads at the national level. The Safety Performance Measure Final Rule identified five required performance measures that all state departments of transportation must establish safety targets for and report annually to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The Final Rule also required metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) such as NOACA to set targets to support ODOT’s progress towards meeting those federal performance measures, which are:

• Number of Fatalities
  • Rate of Fatalities per 100 million Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
• Number of Serious Injuries
  • Rate of serious injuries per 100 million VMT
• Number of Non-Motorized Fatalities and Serious Injuries

Effective with Board Resolution 2024-058, NOACA has adopted an Equal Annual Reduction method to calculate targets required to reach zero by 2050. For calendar year 2026, the Board has adopted a 4.0% reduction, effective with Resolution 2025-053. 2026 targets for each of the five federal safety performance measures are shown in the table below. The Fatality Equal Annual Reduction chart at the bottom displays an orange line showing fatalities decreasing year over year, a white line showing percentages increasing to 100%, and a curved green line showing how percentages increase as absolute numbers decrease as we approach 2050. 

• Orange Line: Projected Fatalities After the Annual Reduction
• Green Curve: Percent of Annual Reduction
• White Line: Percent of Annual Cumulative Reduction