One of TxDOT’s goals is to promote safety. TxDOT identifies and develops proven countermeasures, strategies, and programs to improve safety. TxDOT’s objective is to reduce crash severity and total crashes by implementing a data-driven approach to engineering solutions. TxDOT’s Road to Zero goal includes systemic safety, the integration of safety analysis into project development, and promotion of safe-by-design practices. TxDOT’s highway safety engineering programs use crash data to research, design, and implement safety projects that save lives and reduce the severity and number of crashes on roadways. The National Safety Council (NSC) developed the KABCO crash severity scale to classify crash injuries. TxDOT uses the KABCO scale to identify crash severity. The KABCO scale is summarized here:

The Texas Transportation Institute has compiled a list of safety tools that may be used for screening, evaluation, and design. A link to these tools can be found at

Appendix F, Section 3 – External References (Reference 7).

This section provides a brief overview of TxDOT’s current safety policies and programs. TxDOT’s key safety initiatives include the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), and the Statewide Systemic Safety Widening Program (SSWP).