Thruway Authority Requests Public Input for Comprehensive Safety Action Plan to Advance Safety for All Who Travel the 570-Mile Highway

The New York State Thruway Authority is encouraging motorists, commercial drivers, first responders, and the traveling public to provide input on safety concerns along the Thruway and add site-specific safety issues to the interactive map on ThruwaySafety.org through April 17, 2026. Input collected will inform the development of strategies, actions, and policies to enhance safety for all travelers along the Thruway. This public input will also be incorporated into the Thruway’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan (CSAP).

The Comprehensive Safety Action Plan will employ a data‑driven, Safe System Approach to examine crash patterns, identify high-risk locations, evaluate safety protocols and design practices, and recommend strategies that protect travelers, employees, commercial drivers and emergency responders alike. The Safe System Approach builds multiple layers of protection through safer roads, people, vehicles, speeds and post-crash care to account for human error, reduce the severity of crashes and ultimately eliminate roadway deaths and serious injuries.

The Thruway Authority invites the public to contribute feedback and help shape the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan. Everyone who travels, works or depends on the Thruway system, including motorists, commercial drivers, Service Area users, residents near the Thruway corridor and community organizations, is encouraged to participate.

About the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
The New York State Thruway Authority's Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, a system‑wide initiative to improve roadway and employee safety, strengthen emergency response and reduce serious injuries and fatalities across the 570-mile Thruway system, is supported by federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. The initiative will produce a first-of-its-kind state‑wide safety action plan covering all four of the Thruway Maintenance Divisions.

The Comprehensive Safety Action Plan will address a broad range of safety concerns, including:

• Crash and trend analysis across the full Thruway corridor, identifying incident prone segments and contributing factors
• Roadway and employee safety in work zones and maintenance areas
• Emergency response coordination and communication systems, ensuring swift, effective
  response when incidents occur
• Risk factors and contextual conditions that contribute to severe crashes (e.g., weather,
  visibility, roadway design)
• Safety messaging, warnings and advanced‑technology solutions (e.g., variable message
  signs (VMS), speed management)
• Review and improvement of policies and design practices that influence roadway safety

The Comprehensive Safety Action Plan will also provide targeted strategies tailored to the
needs of each Thruway Maintenance division and region, developed in collaboration with
Thruway Authority staff, law enforcement, emergency responders, freight and commercial
operators and community stakeholders. Through the development of the Comprehensive Safety
Action Plan, the Thruway Authority will also identify opportunities for additional federal and state
safety funding to support future improvements.

Learn More
Detailed information on the Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, including opportunities for
comment or involvement, background resources, outreach calendar and project updates, is now
available at the project website: thruwaysafety.org.

The public can also subscribe to receive periodic updates about upcoming events, planning
milestones and opportunities to provide input.

About the Thruway System
For more than 71 years, the Thruway System has been essential for commerce and travel in the
Northeast. About one-third of all vehicles using the Thruway are from out of state. This 570-mile
superhighway, with 819 bridges, 118 interchanges and 27 Service Areas connect New York's
principal cities, rural areas and tourist destinations.

Year after year, the Thruway system is recognized as one of the safest highways in the nation.
In 2024, the Thruway-wide fatality rate was 0.22 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled,
one of the lowest recorded rates on the Thruway system since fatality rates have been
documented in 1954. The figure is significantly lower than the projected nationwide traffic fatality
rate for 2024 of 1.30 and the latest New York State traffic fatality rate from 2023 of 0.93.

Built in the early 1950s, Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway is one of the oldest components
of the National Interstate Highway System and one of the longest toll roads in the nation. It sets
the standard for modern highway geometric design with safe roadway characteristics including
smooth curves, wide medians and unobstructed driver’s sight distance.

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