On the Oregon Coast Bike Route, somewhere between Tillamook and Newport. (Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)
The Oregon Department of Transportation sent out a survey on the first of April that seeks to gather information about road safety. I think you should take it.
Given the high stakes of the coming legislative session where lawmakers will debate a massive new transportation spending and policy package, I feel like every opportunity to share feedback with ODOT should be seized. This is especially true because I’ve seen this same survey being shared in circles online where folks don’t believe ODOT should spend any money on things like traffic calming, road diets, or bike lanes — because things aren’t really “fixing the roads.”
The survey comes from ODOT’s Transportation Safety Office who says (on their website) that their main responsibility is to, “improve the safety of all roadway users, and all modes of travel in Oregon through education and outreach” with an overall goal to, “eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries on Oregon’s roadways.” This office is funded by grants from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and it’s focused on communication and partnerships with community groups, not on infrastructure funding.
According to Safety Office Public Information Officer Mindy McCartt, this is the first time this office has pushed out their safety survey to such a wide audience. It’s part of their effort to fulfill demographic and reporting requirements from the federal government. In the past they’ve gathered this feedback primarily from in-person meetings around the state and from a smaller survey sample online.
What’s important to keep in mind is beyond reporting back to NHTSA, this survey will inform how the Safety Office spends its funding. “We’re going to also use it to help determine how the money is spent next year and the following years,” McCartt shared with me today.” And you can bet that the responses gathered will end up on slides in future ODOT presentations to the legislature and beyond.
The questions in the survey are pretty straightforward. They include:
What makes you interested in traffic safety? How safe do you feel driving on Oregon roads? What is the number one factor that impacts how you feel about driving on Oregon roads? How safe do you feel on Oregon paths? What is the number one factor that impacts how you feel on Oregon paths? How can we best support traffic safety education in your community? What community organizations or groups do you believe could benefit from traffic safety education? How do you best receive traffic safety educational information?The most intriguing question asks what specific programs ODOT should invest traffic safety dollars in. Survey takers are given 14 options and can select up to five. Here are the options:
Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety Distracted Driving Driver Education Impaired Driving Judicial Outreach Motorcycle Safety Occupant Protection/Seat Belts/Child Car Seats Older Driver Education Programs Police Traffic Services/Emergency Responder Training Road Safety Safe Routes to School Speed Vehicle Safety Equipment Work Zone SafetyTake the survey here.
