About the Clearinghouse

The Rural Highway Safety Clearinghouse, developed and maintained by the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS) at the University of Minnesota, is supported by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

The Clearinghouse reports on the various activities conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and other federal, state, and local partners to improve rural safety. In addition to supporting the USDOT Rural Safety Initiative and facilitating new rural safety partnerships and collaborations, the site collects and markets best practices as well as the latest findings in rural safety research.

The Clearinghouse is intended to be an easy-to-use starting point for information about safety on our nation's rural roads. The site, created as a resource especially for rural safety coalitions, provides links to safety publications and other resources grouped by safety topics including the four E's (education, emergency medical services, enforcement, and engineering). Additional topics include data and statistics, driver behavior, safety planning, seat belts, and work-zone safety.

The Clearinghouse also lists federal, state, academic, and non-profit agencies and organizations related to rural safety. The USDOT agencies listed are: the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Coordinating Organizations

Center for Excellence in Rural Safety

The Center for Excellence in Rural Safety provides citizen-centered research, training, and outreach to enhance rural safety and to meet the online and seminar training needs of rural transportation practitioners and policymakers. The Center conducts several focused research activities to explore policy, behavior, and technology approaches, such as projects addressing safety-conscious planning, ITS and rural emergency response, integrated policy approaches, and related human factors, societal trends, and stakeholder needs analysis.

Congress created the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety in July 2005 as part of a broader, multiyear, multimillion-dollar directive establishing four national centers for surface transportation excellence in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) transportation funding legislation.

The Center is led by Lee Munnich of the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. The Center for Transportation Studies, with staff leadership from Robert Johns, is collaborating with the Humphrey Institute to provide the Center's outreach and training services.

Federal Highway Administration

The Federal Highway Administration is one of eleven modal administrations within the U.S. Department of Transportation. FHWA is charged with the broad responsibility of ensuring that America’s roads and highways continue to be the safest and most technologically up-to-date.

Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs

The Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs ranks among the top 15 professional schools of public affairs at public universities in the country; our program concentration in nonprofit management ranks fifth in the nation. The Institute is widely recognized for its role in examining public issues and shaping public policy at the local, state, national, and international levels, and for providing leadership and management expertise to public and nonprofit organizations.

Center for Transportation Studies

The Center for Transportation Studies (CTS) at the University of Minnesota addresses the diverse and complex issues in the field of transportation through multidisciplinary research, education, and outreach programs. To accomplish this, the center serves as a resource and facilitator, helping University researchers develop new knowledge about transportation and then helping share that knowledge with practitioners and policymakers. Ultimately, this knowledge improves transportation decision making—meaning better and safer transportation systems, smarter investments, and a higher quality of life for Minnesota and the nation.

State and Local Policy Program

The State and Local Policy Program has been active in research and outreach since 1991 as part of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Its work focuses primarily in the areas of transportation technology and policy, as well as economic development and knowledge clusters.