SHSP Challenge Areas
Celebrating Challenge Area Leaders
Over the course of the SHSP development and implementation processes, Challenge Area Leaders have gone above and beyond to organize and engage their team members, identify, develop and implement safety actions, update the tracking tool with action progress, and provide timely communication about the implementation of actions to the Steering Committee. The SHSP Executive Leadership and Steering Committees acknowledge the Challenge Area Leaders’ inspiring dedication and commitment to the SHSP.
As Co-Leads and Action Leads, Challenge Area Leaders serve a vital role in leading and collaborating with a variety of interests representing federal, state, regional, local, tribal, and advocacy organizations. The Executive Leadership and Steering Committees are grateful to have support and input from a diverse pool of safety professionals and subject matter experts who share the goal of improving the safety of all public roads throughout California. Challenge Area Leaders’ knowledge of and commitment to proven as well as innovative approaches ensures the SHSP will strategically drive down fatalities and serious injuries.
The following Challenge Area Leaders from the previous 2015-2019 SHSP and the current 2020-2024 SHSP are recognized for their hard work and dedication in support of improving the safety of all public roads throughout California.*
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Sabrina Abercrombie (DMV) Emily Abrahams (Caltrans) Dennis Acuna (Riverside County) Courtney Aguirre (SCAG) Jose Alatorre (CHP) Richard Amaro (DMV) Austin August (DMV) Sri Balasubramanian (Caltrans) Eddie Ballesteros (DMV) Joel Bareng (City of Santa Clarita) Adam Baressi (CHP) Jim Baross (CABO) Wen Cheng (Cal Poly Pomona) Brian Cocagne (CHP) David Cordova (Caltrans) Kelly Cowger (DHCS) Victoria Custodio (CDPH) Adam Davis (EMSA) Jim DeCarli (PHBS/USC) Denise Dobson (CHP) Theresa Drum (Caltrans) Bill Ehart (OTS) Roxane Fidler (CDE) Pat Fyhrie (AHMCT) Mattie Gabston (DMV) Jerry Gaines (CASE) Mike Gardner (CHP) Joe Godman (CHP) Lynne Goodwin (FNL) Marvin Guinez (Caltrans) Arnold Hardy (CHP) Rick Hatfield (CHP) Arshad Iqbal (Caltrans) J. Peter Jensen (AARP) Eric Jones (CHP) Richard Ke (Caltrans) Gail Kelly (Safety Center) Kathy Kendrick (OCHD) Teri Kerns (MHN) Ghazan Khan (Sac State) Adrienne Kim (EMSA) Denny Kobza (BARF) Ken Kochevar (FHA) Monica Kress-Wooster (Caltrans) Kien Le (Caltrans) David Liu (Caltrans) Anita Lorz Villagrana (AAA) Andrew McCullough (DMV) Tom McGinnis (EMSA) Lia McVicker (DMV) Christopher Micheels (CHP) Rock Miller (Advocate) Sheri Miller (CHP) Ainsley Mitchum (DMV) Hong Zhang (Snell) |
Sabrina Abercrombie (DMV) Emily Abrahams (Caltrans) Dennis Acuna (Riverside County) Courtney Aguirre (SCAG) Jose Alatorre (CHP) Richard Amaro (DMV) Austin August (DMV) Sri Balasubramanian (Caltrans) Eddie Ballesteros (DMV) Joel Bareng (City of Santa Clarita) Adam Baressi (CHP) Jim Baross (CABO) Paul Moore (Caltrans) Caroline Moreno (Caltrans) Joe Mosinski (CHP) Jaime Nunez (CHP) Martin Oliveros (CHP) Jim Owens (OTS) Doug Panameno (LAPD) Robert Peterson (Caltrans) Mitchell Prevost (Caltrans) Stanley Price (Advocate) Lee Reis (Advocate) Vaikunthan Renganathan (Caltrans) Jill Rybar (UCSD TREDS) Devinder Sandu (Caltrans) Ken Savano (PPD) Valerie Schiro (ITD) Thomas Schriber (Caltrans) Gregory Scott (CHP) Anna Serrano (Caltrans) Nancy Sheehan-McCulloch (CAOL) Jeff Shewmaker (ATSSA) Jerrod Sieberg (DMV) Peter Siggard (CHP) John Slonaker (Caltrans) Glenn Spellman (DHCS) Vijay Talada (Caltrans) Mark Talan (OTS) Stephanie Thomas (DMV) Tressa Thompson (DMV) Trisha Tillotson (Nevada County) David Torres (CHP) Donna Trainer (CHP) Nana Tufuoh (CDPH) Mary Uhazi (CHP) Martha Vazquez (CHP) Steven Villafranca (DMV) Jeff Wiley (Caltrans) Adrienne Winuk (EMSA) Steve Wirtz (CDPH) Fried Wittman (Clew Associates) Larry Wooster (Caltrans) Mitch Zehnder (OTS) Hamid Zolfagharipour (Caltrans) |
*This list recognizes past and present Challenge Area Leaders as of January 2021.
Challenge Areas
The California SHSP has identified 16 challenge areas that traffic safety efforts should focus on. These challenge areas were identified through historical data evaluations and feedback from traffic safety stakeholders across the state.
Six of the challenge areas have been identified as high priorities in California because they represent the greatest opportunity to reduce fatalities and serious injuries across the state:
- Lane Departures
- Impaired Driving
- Speed Management / Aggressive Driving
- Pedestrians and Bicyclists
- Intersections
| Challenge Area |
Percent of Fatalities |
Percent of Serious Injuries |
Description |
| Aging Drivers | 14% | 11% |
The Aging Drivers Challenge Area includes instances where the driver of a motor vehicle is 65 years or older. The previous SHSP included a Challenge Area with all aging road users; however, this Challenge area has been narrowed down to specifically look at collisions involving aging drivers. |
| Bicyclists (High Priority) |
4% | 8% |
The Bicyclists Challenge Area includes instances where a motor vehicle is involved in a collision with a bicyclist. |
| Commercial Vehicles | 10% | 6% |
The Commercial Vehicles Challenge Area includes instances where the collision involves a truck, truck tractor, school bus or other bus. |
| Distracted Driving | 5% | 5% |
The Distracted Driving Challenge Area includes instances where the driver of a motor vehicle was not paying attention or using an electronic device. |
| Driver Licensing | 25% | - |
The Driver Licensing Challenge Area includes instances where an involved driver is unlicensed or does not carry a valid license for the vehicle that they are operating. This information on driver licensing is only currently available through the FARS data; therefore, the data being reported for this Challenge Area only pertains to fatalities. |
| Emergency Response | - |
- |
The Emergency Response Challenge Area focuses on post-collision efforts to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. |
| Emerging Technologies | - | - | The Emerging Technologies Challenge Area focuses on use of technology to prevent, identify, and respond to collisions. It includes exploring technology advancements that are new or underutilized and that can potentially reduce the frequency and severity of collisions. |
| Impaired Driving (High Priority) |
40% | 25% | The Impaired Driving Challenge Area includes collisions where any evidence of drug or alcohol use by the driver is present, even if the driver was not over the legal limit. The previous SHSP included the Alcohol and Drug Impairment Challenge Area that addressed collisions where a motorist, pedestrian or bicyclist had been using alcohol and/or drugs; this SHSP’s definition has been updated to only include collisions with drivers that had been using alcohol and/or drugs. |
| Intersections (High Priority) |
20% | 24% |
The Intersections Challenge Area includes collisions identified by the responding officer as occurring at an intersection or involving a train or rail vehicle. The previous SHSP included a Challenge Area that included collisions at intersections, interchanges, and other roadway access; this Challenge Area only includes intersections. |
| Lane Departures (High Priority) |
48% | 45% | The Lane Departures Challenge Area includes head-on, hit object, and overturned collisions. This includes instances where a vehicle runs off the road or crosses into the opposing lane prior to the collision. The previous SHSP had a Roadway Departure and Head-On Collisions Challenge Area; this Challenge Area has been expanded to also include hit object and overturned collisions. |
| Motorcyclists | 15% | 19% |
The Motorcyclists Challenge Area includes instances where a motorcycle or moped is involved in a collision. |
| Occupant Protection | 19% | 11% |
The Occupant Protection Challenge Area includes collisions involving misuse, non-use, or lack of vehicle safety equipment including lap belts, shoulder harnesses, passive restraints, or child restraints. |
| Pedestrians (High Priority) |
23% | 15% |
The Pedestrians Challenge Area includes instances where a motor vehicle is involved in a collision with a pedestrian. |
| Speed Management/ Aggressive Driving (High Priority) |
33% | 34% |
The Challenge Area includes several behaviors including driving too fast, tailgating, and other reckless driving maneuvers as determined by the officer on scene. The data definition has been expanded from the previous SHSP to include collisions where drivers run traffic signals and signs, and where any of the before mentioned attributes are present even if they are not the primary collision factor. |
| Work Zones | 2% | 1% |
The Work Zones Challenge Area includes instances where the collision occurs in a work zone for construction, maintenance and/or roadway repairs. |
| Young Drivers | 13% | 15% |
The Young Drivers Challenge Area includes instances where one or more of the drivers of the motor vehicles are between 15 and 20 years old. |
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