Vermont Agency of Transportation emphasizes data-driven safety work, HSIP funding

Joshua Schultz, who oversees the Operations and Safety Bureau at the Vermont Agency of Transportation, told the House Transportation Committee on Jan. 16, 2025, that the bureau runs the Transportation Management Center and uses crash and traffic data to direct safety investments, including funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

Schultz said the bureau operates the statewide network of traffic cameras, weather stations and sensors that feed the Transportation Management Center, a 24/7 hub that manages message boards and alerts emergency responders when incidents occur. "If I was in an elevator, I would say that what we do is we make sure the drivers get from point A to point B safely and on time and reliably," Schultz said.

Why it matters: Schultz said the bureau's safety decisions are driven by crash data and analysis. The agency allocates Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) money to address problem corridors and intersection safety, using a Strategic Highway Safety Plan to guide priorities. HSIP funds are federal and, as the committee clarified, can be eligible for full federal funding for certain projects.

Schultz described the bureau's five sections: traffic signals and intelligent transportation systems (ITS), traffic operations (signage and pavement markings), the Transportation Management Center (TMC), the Safe Systems section, and data management. He said ITS devices provide near-real-time pavement temperature and wind-speed data and images many Vermonters use on the state's 511 site to check road conditions. The TMC runs 24/7, lights message boards and coordinates with state troopers and maintenance crews when traffic backs up onto interstates.

On safety strategy, Schultz said the bureau has adopted a Safe Systems approach that layers safer people, safer vehicles, safer speeds, safer roads and post-crash care. The bureau now combines its infrastructure-safety team, behavioral-safety team and active-transportation staff into a single Safe Systems section to improve coordination. "These are all layers that all work together," he said.

He described HSIP as a data-driven program that funds infrastructure safety projects nationwide and said Vermont uses crash reports and network screening to identify where to spend limited safety dollars. "We identify the road safety problems, and then and then we strategically identify how to best spend those HSIP funds," Schultz said. A committee member asked whether HSIP projects can be 100% federally funded; Schultz confirmed eligibility for full federal funding in some HSIP cases.

Schultz also warned of limitations in some data. He said distracted driving is likely underreported because it is difficult for crash investigators to verify whether a driver was using a cellphone at the time of a crash. He contrasted that with other crash data the bureau uses to target enforcement and media campaigns.

The presentation included recent statewide fatality figures the bureau tracks: 58 fatalities in 2024, 76 in 2022 and 47 in 2019. Schultz said those totals help identify trends but cautioned that fatalities are a relatively small statistical base; the bureau also analyzes larger crash datasets when prioritizing projects.

What the bureau does next: Schultz said staff are developing a network-screening tool to rank locations for safety investment and continue to refine crash and exposure data. He described partnerships with law enforcement, the Department of Health and other agencies to grant behavioral-safety funds for enforcement and education campaigns such as DriveWell Vermont.

Schultz accepted committee questions about signal ownership, data access and how constituents can report problems; he directed legislators and residents to an online contact form and offered his and Chief Engineer Jeremy Reid's contact information for follow-up.

The committee did not take any formal votes during the presentation.