The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has been awarded $2.28 million in grant funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to improve transportation safety, including a new regional safety data analysis and modeling platform, as well as continued work on its regional traffic safety and community engagement program, Go Human.

Making Roads Safer

Southern California has some of the highest rates of injuries and fatalities in the United States among pedestrians and bicyclists. An average of more than four people die and 16 people are seriously injured every day in traffic collisions in the six-county SCAG region (Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties). People walking or riding bikes account for nearly 34% of regional traffic deaths despite comprising only about three percent of all trips.

One of the two recently awarded OTS grants, for $922,456, will support the continued development and enhancement of a regional transportation safety data analysis and collision predictive modeling platform. The platform will be equipped with the ability to model predict and analyze safety risks on Southern California’s multimodal transportation system.

“Transportation safety is one of the most important issues we face as a region and is one of SCAG’s highest priorities. These new and more dynamic data resources and safety analytical methods will help us significantly enhance the safety of our multimodal transportation system,” said SCAG President Curt Hagman, a San Bernardino County Supervisor.

Using Data for Safety

The safety data platform will help reduce the number and severity of roadway collisions occurring in the region by leveraging innovative technologies and safety data resources, such as in-vehicle information systems and newly available collision modeling capacities.

OTS also granted $1.36 million for the continuation of SCAG’s Go Human program, which launched in 2015 to reduce collisions, improve safety for people walking and biking, and raise awareness of the importance of traffic safety. The newly awarded OTS grant will fund continued Go Human activities through September 30, 2025.

These activities include implementation of Go Human’s new traffic safety advertising campaign materials as the program enters its 10th year, development of an accessibility assessment to evaluate Go Human resources to improve accessibility and equitable distribution of the programs, and support of Community Expert Education Services for community-based organizations to perform work that advances traffic safety education.

OTS funded activities in 2025 will leverage a five-year, $12 million grant from the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program. The SS4A grant will expand the reach of SCAG’s Go Human work, such as Kit of Parts technical assistance, co-branded safety messaging, and the Community Streets Grant Program, which has distributed more than $1.7 million to community-based organizations since 2018.

“Go Human fosters innovative solutions that build the capacity of our region to improve safety for those most affected by traffic violence, especially pedestrians and bicyclists,” said SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise. “This funding allows us to continue our partnership with OTS in working to shift the culture around safety and accessibility in Southern California.”

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Administration.