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Strategic Highway Safety Plan

The Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) is the primary requirement and component of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). Its purpose is to significantly reduce fatalities and serious injuries from traffic crashes on public roads in the United States and its territories, as defined in the United States Code, 23 USC 148. In Puerto Rico, the HSIP receives 25% of the federal funds allocated to the Highway and Transportation Authority (ACT), which amounts to $30 million annually. These funds fall under the Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS) ZP-30 program for road safety improvement projects.

In compliance with this regulation, Puerto Rico developed and implemented the SHSP for 2014-2018, 2019-2023, and 2024-2028. The SHSP is a five-year plan created with the participation and collaboration of road safety delegates from different sectors across the country. Through this plan, the primary road safety issues and opportunities to achieve the HSIP’s purpose, as well as the goals of other transportation plans, have been identified and analyzed.
In Puerto Rico, work on road safety began in 2013 with the creation of an interim SHSP. This plan was developed by a technical team comprising the Traffic Safety Commission (CST), the Highway and Transportation Authority (ACT), and the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP). The interim SHSP was submitted to the FHWA on April 18, 2013, and was effective for one year. This was the first step toward aligning efforts for a road safety plan in Puerto Rico.

In July 2014, the first SHSP cycle (2014-2018) officially began. This plan was supported by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the country’s leading road safety agencies: DTOP, ACT, CST, the Department of Health, and the Puerto Rico Police Department. Additionally, federal agencies such as FHWA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) signed the MOU as a demonstration of their support and commitment to Puerto Rico. The SHSP 2014-2018 focused on nine (9) emphasis areas and promoted coordinated initiatives to reduce traffic crashes among road safety delegates, fostering a participatory and collaborative process. In 2016, the third sector formally joined the effort as the ALLIANCE, composed of AARP, the Independent Living Outreach Movement (MAVI), the Puerto Rican Planning Society (SPP), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and Fundación MAPFRE. This third sector aims to promote public policy and design educational campaigns to improve mobility, accessibility, and safety on the nation’s roads.


The second cycle was carried out under the SHSP 2019-2023. The purpose of this plan was to improve the safety, mobility, and accessibility of all people using Puerto Rico’s road network by working together and integrating the 4E’s efforts: Education, Enforcement, Engineering, and Emergency Care of Road Crash Victims. This plan ensured continuity with the previous cycle’s work (2014-2018) and compliance with federal regulations. The SHSP 2019-2023 was based on seven (7) emphasis areas. This reduction in emphasis areas aimed to streamline and maximize resources to focus strategies and actions more effectively to achieve the established goals.

Currently, the third cycle is being developed under the new SHSP 2024-2028. This plan introduces the adoption of the Safe System Approach (SSA), a framework that recognizes and incorporates human error into the design and operation of road infrastructure.
In compliance with the United States Code, 23 USC 148, Puerto Rico developed and implemented the SHSP 2024-2028. One of the FHWA’s requirements is that the SHSP 2024-2028 be updated before the end of the five-year cycle (by July 31, 2024). Therefore, work on what is now the SHSP 2024-2028 began at the end of 2023. The plan update process included public participation through four consultative meetings held in the municipalities of Caguas, Mayagüez, Toa Baja, and Juana Díaz. These meetings were attended by road safety delegates, and the main objectives were to present the new SHSP 2024-2028, its new emphasis areas, and the main findings from the safety evaluation concerning vulnerable users.

Purpose

Our purpose is to improve the safety, mobility, and accessibility of all individuals using Puerto Rico’s road network by working together and integrating efforts across the 5Es.
Education LawEnforcement Engineering EmergencyResponse EmergingTechnology

Our mission

At the intersection of innovation and responsibility, Puerto Rico’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) 2024-2028 emerges as an essential guide toward a safer future on our roads. In compliance with the requirements established by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and serving as a fundamental pillar of the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), this five-year plan is dedicated to the noble cause of reducing fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads in the country.
Mission Vision Goal Design and operate Puerto Rico’s road systemin a way that accepts and accommodateshuman error, while ensuring the safety ofusers. A future where fatalities and serious injuriesrelated to traffic crashes in Puerto Rico arereduced. Promote that traffic crashes, when theydo occur, do not result in fatalities orserious injuries.