usRAP and its software, ViDA, is available free of charge for use by any highway agency. Each agency's data in the software is password-protected and cannot be accessed by other users. The usRAP team can provide training on using the software and gathering input data. ViDA can be applied to any road network under Federal, state, local, or tribal jurisdiction. A key advantage of the software is that it does not require detailed site-specific crash data as input. Thus, it is particularly well suited for highway agencies that:

• Do not have access to automated crash data;
• Want to supplement reactive, post-crash safety investments with a proactive approach that can identify safety investment needs BEFORE fatalities occur;
• Only have access to crash data that are poorly located and/or are not sufficiently accurate for site-specific analysis; and/or
• Are responsible for low-volume road networks on which crashes are too sparse for traditional high-crash location analysis.

Many State and local agencies, including counties and cities, find themselves in these situations. Agencies with all types of roads have found that site-specific crash histories are too variable from year to year to serve as a reliable basis for safety planning. As an alternative to reliance on crash history data, the ViDA uses a risk-based approach, based on crash prediction models driven by roadway design and traffic control characteristics.

Data for the key roadway and traffic control characteristics used as input to the software can be obtained from existing highway agency databases, where available. Where existing data are not available, the required input data can be coded from Internet-based roadway photos such as those available from several common and familiar tech and mapping companies. Coders who have completed a short training session and have gained some experience can obtain the data needed as input to the software with an average level of effort of 20 minutes per mile. Both students and technicians have become trained coders for usRAP data.