Nominal Safety is defined as an absolute statement about the safety of a location based only on its adherence to a set of design standards.

• A. An absolute statement about the safety of a location based only on its adherence to a set of design standards
• B. A broad safety rating derived from multiple factors including design, behavior, and enforcement
• C. An absolute statement about the safety of a location based only on its adherence to a set of design standards
• D. An assessment of roadway user behavior in traffic

Answer: (C)

Nominal safety is about making an absolute safety claim for a location solely from whether it meets a defined set of design standards. It treats safety as a binary judgment tied strictly to design compliance, without considering real-world factors like driver behavior, enforcement, maintenance, or actual crash history. That focus on design adherence alone is what makes it the best match for the description. The other ideas describe broader safety ratings that include multiple factors or focus on user behavior, which go beyond the nominal safety concept.