The Transportation Safety Resource Center (TSRC) located at the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) at Rutgers University is a one-stop-shop for technical engineering, planning, training, and outreach services for local governments. It also assists the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) in their use of crash data in the development of safety programs by other Federal, State and Local agencies. The technical engineering services provided by the TSRC include, but are not limited to, needs assessment, verification and recommendations of low-cost countermeasures that enhance crash data processing, analysis services and technical support on the development of data mining applications, training and outreach for local users. These services support the interactions between various decision making agencies at federal, state, county and municipal levels.

The center strives to assist NJDOT in their efforts to improve highway safety by creating a new core program that consolidates existing efforts championed by both the Federal highway Administration (FHWA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The TSRC provides services to the NJDOT Division of Traffic Engineering and Safety Programs, along with technical support on merging specialized data sources with the New Jersey Crash Records System.

More specifically, the TSRC is partnered with the NJDOT to develop and deliver training programs and technical assistance programs to supply local agencies with preliminary analyses of crash data using advanced decision support systems. The TSRC also provides support to the New Jersey Safety Conscious Planning (SCP) Network that has been established between NJDOT and the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO). Research and technical support is provided to NJDOT with the intent of establishing a comprehensive Safety Management System (SMS) which will integrate existing and yet to be identified databases involving both traditional and non-traditional stakeholders.

The center is focused on assisting locals with developing safety solutions that meet the “tier one” or quick fix/low cost projects. By using the resources of the center, the local users will package and present their problems to NJDOT along with potential solutions. This allows for a much more efficient response from the NJDOT.