ATSSA’s Victims and Survivors Project

Each year, thousands of Americans are killed or injured on our nation’s roadways. In response to the high fatality rate on America’s roadways, ATSSA has committed itself to ensuring that these numbers begin to decrease, eventually reaching zero fatalities. ATSSA’s reauthorization policy – “Toward Zero Deaths” – outlines ATSSA’s plan in great detail.

In addition, ATSSA has developed a number of case studies involving actual families and people who have either lost a loved one due to a lack of roadway safety features or who have survived, thanks to an implemented safety feature.

ATSSA firmly believes that in generating these case studies and then presenting them to members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in Congress this year, ongoing improvement of our nation’s roadways will continue to evolve. It is believed that real faces and real stories will have a much more powerful effect than raw statistics.

Developing these case studies has been a challenge. ATSSA is contacting people at a time in their lives when they have just experienced a personal tragedy. Although it has been difficult, the people who have volunteered are those who wish to see change. They are willing to allow ATSSA to use their experiences as an example, hoping that in doing so, others will not have to suffer the same pain that they had to endure. ATSSA sincerely thanks all of those who have participated and for their patience and understanding in the matter, for they have put their fellow citizens before themselves. In doing so, they have become part of a movement to reach a fatality rate of zero on our nation’s roadways, and thanks to them, this goal may very well become a reality.

Victims Case Studies

Charles "Chuck" Bailey
Judy Bird
Andrew Clark
Chris Cochrane
Debra Griffin, Zach Leeson, Dusty Leeson
Richard "Rick" Moser

Survivors Case Studies

Officer Jeffery Belsma
Kristina Bernskoetter
Congressman John Duncan
Melissa Klohn
Karen Wasielewski
Terecia Wilson