Road safety has emerged as a serious area of concern in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). The present study proposes a methodology for the development of a Composite Performance Index (CPI) for safety assessment of highways in a proactive manner considering its functional performance. The work has been demonstrated with respect to a 4-lane divided carriageway National Highway in India with concrete pavement surface. Pavement Condition Index (PCI) and International Roughness Index (IRI) are the two attributes utilized to develop ‘functional performance’ indicator. Six attributes related to road-geometry, abutting land-use and roadside activities are considered to develop ‘safety performance’ indicator in a proactive approach. These attributes are: roadside hazards, nature of roadside built-up area, condition of intersections and bus-stops, roadside schools/hospitals/attractions, condition of shoulder, and curvature of the road. A two-stage Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used to estimate the relative weightage of the two performance indicators, as well as the weightage of each of the attributes considered under the two indicators. Finally, the Composite Performance Index (CPI) is developed which can be utilized as a quick reference to identify the problematic stretches on a highway. In case of a restricted budget condition, which is often observed in the context of LMICs, the proposed CPI would be useful for engineers and practitioners to identify the most problematic locations for allocation of the funds for improvements on a priority basis.