Howard County Strategic Road Safety Plan

Strategic Road Safety Plan

Howard County is recognized as one of the best places to live in the United States and is characterized by low unemployment, a highly educated population, low crime, a nationally recognized education system, and is one of the safest jurisdictions in the state to drive, take the bus, walk, and bike. However, crashes are one of the leading causes of death and injuries for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in both Maryland and Howard County and ensuring and improving the safety and health of Howard County’s residents, visitors, and travelers is a county goal and priority.

To meet this vision, the Strategic Road Safety Plan developed:

• Data driven and achievable goals and targets
• Selection of emphasis areas with the greatest impact on safety
• Proven and effective cooperative strategies to meet the plan goals

Plan Implementation and Steering Committee

The Strategic Road Safety Plan was completed in 2020. Howard County is now moving forward on the implementing actions in the plan and is reforming the steering committee to guide this implementation. The steering committee includes representatives from:

• Howard County Police Department (HCPD)
• Howard County Fire & Rescue (HCFRS)
• Howard County Health Department (HCHD)
• Howard County Department of Public Works (DPW)
• Howard County Office of Transportation (OOT)
• Howard County Public School System (HCPSS)
• Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA)
• Maryland Highway Safety Office (MHSO)
• Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) 

High Injury Network (HIN)

One of the actions in the plan was the development of a high injury network to inform ongoing data analysis and implementation. A copy of the preliminary draft high injury network study can be found here. 

This approach results in realistic, data-driven, and achievable goals and targets to measure our plan implementation progress.

CB57-2022

In 2022, the Howard County Council passed legislation that complements and expands upon the recommendations in the Strategic Road Safety Plan. This legislation, the Howard County Vision Zero Act of 2022, requires an infrastructure review of all traffic fatalities – and serious injuries to vulnerable road users – that occur on Howard County roads, along with recommendations to improve and enhance infrastructure safety. As members of our implementation steering committee, the Howard County Department of Public Works, along with other members including the Office of Transportation, will work toward this effort that complements our goal of creating a transportation network that is safe for all of its users. 

Other Links and Resources

As the steering committee works toward the implementation of The Strategic Road Safety Plan, the County has set up other resources for citizens to be proactive in helping keep our roads safe. Additionally, our regional partner's have developed resources to better understand the complex and constantly evolving road safety data crucial to implementing the plan goals and objectives. 

Howard County Police Department

Howard County Police Department has a dedicated email address for citizen notifications of driving violations, inclusive of speeding and disregard for stop regulation, as a means of logging number/types of complaints and to aid in scheduling of targeted enforcement.

Please email: hcpdtraffic@howardcountymd.gov.

We encourage you to share the email address with any other neighbors who are also witnessing speeding and/or reckless driving.

Howard County Reportable Traffic Stops dashboard was recently developed in accordance with Maryland Transportation Article 23-1113 and shows data on enforcement efforts by the HCPD.

You can access the reportable traffic stops dashboard here. 

Howard County Department of Public Works

Howard County Department of Public Works' Traffic Engineering Division has this email address for public inquiries/comments/concerns/requests regarding the operation of Howard County roadways.

Please email: traffic@howardcountymd.gov 

Maryland's Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP)

Howard County's plan was influenced by the statewide plan and takes on the principles and overall goals of the SHSP while addressing specific concerns relative to our county.

You can find information on the State of Maryland's Strategic Highway Safety Plan here.

Maryland's Fatal Crash Dashboard

MDOT MVA’s Highway Safety Office has developed a dashboard of fatal crashes and derives its data from the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP) Data Warehouse. You are able to drill down the data via emphasis areas and criteria for each crash since 2016. The interactive map depicts the location in which the crash occurred (i.e., one point per crash, not per fatality).

You can access the fatal crash dashboard by clicking here. 

Baltimore Metropolitan Council's Crash Dashboard

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council has developed a dashboard of all crashes across the state since 2018 and derives its data from the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP) Data Warehouse. You can explore a summary of crash record behavior, deeper analysis, and an interactive mapping tool to understand how each crash trends are understood spatially. More data and functionalities are constantly being added.  

You can access the 2018-2023 crash dashboard by clicking here. 

You can access the 2024 crash dashboard by clicking here.