Job Responsibilities

Under general supervision, reviews crash data to identify patterns with specific roadway designs and assists in developing mitigation measures. This position performs crash trend analysis to assist district staff in identifying engineering opportunities for reducing fatal and severe injury crashes in relation to state highway projects. S/He is responsible for assisting in the investigative research and development needed for the preparation of highway safety policy revisions and development.

Programs analyzed: 6+
Value of construction projects evaluated: $1.3 billion annually
Training conducted: 1 - 2 annually

This position reports to Safety Design Unit Chief. There are no subordinates reporting to this position.

This position operates in an environment where the incumbent performs crash trend analysis and conducts policy and procedure research concerning roadside safety items in order to assist in making recommendations to revise or develop policies. In addition, in-house and industry recommendations for new and/or revised policies must be reviewed with the objective of determining applicability to departmental interest and goals. The incumbent analyzes and provides training to other staff on a variety of programs including, but not limited to, the state Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), local HSIP, Road Safety Audit (RSA) program, Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP), and School Safety Busing Program. S/He stays current on innovative safety analysis techniques and software and engineering design practices.

A typical problem in this position involves the continual analysis of crash data to identify potential safety issues and statewide trends. The greatest challenge of this position is to identify areas for safety improvements to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on Illinois roadways.

Under general supervision, the incumbent is personally responsible for preparing technical correspondence and reports for safety engineering issues along with on-site reviews on an as-needed basis. The incumbent assists with recommendations to revise the standards, procedures, and policies relative to highway safety needs. S/He consults with district personnel to assist them in identifying engineering opportunities to reduce crashes in relation to state highway projects. Additionally, s/he consults with policy development staff in the Bureau of Design and Environment (BDE), other central bureaus in the department, other states, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to ensure that proposed policies are uniform.

(Job Responsibilities continued)

The incumbent is given general latitude to act independently when performing the responsibilities assigned to this position. S/He refers complex problems to the Safety Design Unit Chief for resolution. S/He is guided by state and federal policies and by the rules and regulations of the department.

The incumbent’s regular contacts within the department involve staff in the Office of Highways Project Implementation, Office of Planning and Programming and district offices. Externally, contacts are frequently made with the FHWA, local highway agencies, other state highway agencies, and research consultants. This position requires occasional statewide travel for district meetings, technical training, and on-site reviews and occasional out-of-state travel to attend technical meetings. This travel may sometimes include overnight stays.

The effectiveness of this position is measured by the ability of the incumbent to develop timely and effective crash analysis procedures and policy recommendations which result in safe cost-effective traffic operations. The effectiveness of this position can also be measured by the incumbent’s ability to innovate and recommend new concepts for development of solutions for crash patterns in specific roadway designs.

Principal Accountabilities

1. Analyzes and provides training to other staff on a variety of programs including, but not limited to, the state Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), local HSIP, Road Safety Audit (RSA) program, Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), Local Road Safety Plan (LRSP), and School Safety Busing Program.
2. Prepares technical correspondence and reports of safety issues.
3. Assists with recommendations to revise the standards, procedures, and policies relative to highway safety needs.
4. Reviews crash data to identify patterns with specific roadway designs and assists in developing mitigation measures and identifying engineering opportunities for reducing fatal and severe injury crashes.
5. Assists in the investigative research needed in the preparation of highway safety policy revisions and development.
6. Performs on-site reviews on an as-needed basis.
7. Consults with district personnel to assist them in identifying potential projects for the multiyear plan and policy development staff in the Bureau of Design and Environment, other central bureaus, other states, and the FHWA to ensure that proposed policies are uniform.
8. Performs duties in compliance with departmental safety rules. Performs all duties in a manner conducive to the fair and equitable treatment of all employees.
9. Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Position Requirements

• Education/Experience:

• Completion of a bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET accredited college OR master’s degree in engineering, OR
• Engineer Intern license in the state of Illinois
• 43 months of civil engineering experience

• Occasional statewide and out-of-state travel which may include overnight stays
• Valid driver’s license

Position Desirables

• Experience in the practice of highway safety engineering
• Working knowledge of modern methods and techniques related to safety analysis and engineering design practices
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Ability to conduct engineering research and provide recommendations for implementation of procedures and policies relative to highway safety needs