Strategic Highway Safety Plan

A statewide commitment to eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

The Colorado Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) is the state’s roadmap for creating a safer transportation system for everyone. Developed by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) in collaboration with other state and local agencies, safety advocates, private partners, and community members, the SHSP outlines a comprehensive and data-driven strategy to reduce and ultimately eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries across the state. Rooted in the Vision Zero philosophy, the SHSP establishes shared goals, performance targets, and proven safety strategies to guide safety investments and policy decisions over a five-year period.

Colorado updates its SHSP every five years to align with changing trends and best practices and to remain eligible for Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funding (a core federal-aid program to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads, including non-state and tribal roads).

What’s included in the plan?

The organization of the SHSP reflects Colorado’s adoption of the Safe System Approach which includes five Emphasis Areas. Within each of these Emphasis Areas, there are Focus Areas that describe particular contexts, behaviors, or populations that are associated with fatal and serious injury crashes. Tied to each Focus Area are specific strategies that set clear performance measures, funding sources, project-level detail, and evaluation criteria.

To learn more about each Emphasis Area’s Focus Areas and Strategies click on the links below: