Driving toward safer roads: 2025 Safety Targets 

Making Hillsborough County’s roads safer is always a priority. Each year, we set safety performance targets to help reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities as required under the MAP-21 legislation and renewed under the FAST Act. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires state DOTs and MPO/TPOs to adopt performance targets for five safety measures, which must be reviewed and updated annually.  

Our ultimate mission is simple: zero traffic deaths. While ambitious, it’s a goal we’re serious about. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) encourages us to set realistic, data-driven targets to keep making progress. The methodologies we use to set the targets were outlined as part of the It’s Time Hillsborough 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan and have been carried forward to today. 

2024 saw some major wins, including a 33% decrease in fatalities—a big step in the right direction. Of the seven safety targets set, we met five, falling short on reducing motorcycle fatalities and overall serious injuries. 

For 2025, we’re aiming for: 

• No more than 156 fatalities (5-year average). 

• No more than 41 motorcycle fatalities (5-year average). 

• No more than 957 serious injuries (5-year average). 

To get there, we’re focusing on: 

• Designing and prioritizing safety projects in Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs). 

• Funding safety studies through the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). 

• Fast-tracking lower-cost, “shovel-ready” safety projects in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). 

These efforts are all about making measurable progress and saving lives. While there’s still work to do, every step counts as we move toward a safer future.