The ATSS Foundation awarded Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarships to 14 students for the 2023-24 academic year.

The Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship Program started in 2002 to provide financial assistance for post-high school education to dependents of roadway workers killed or permanently disabled in roadway work zones. The program is competitive and provides scholarships valued up to $10,000 per student each year. Since its inception, the program has awarded 126 Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarships. An additional 26 Chuck Bailey Memorial Scholarships—valued at $1,000 each—have been awarded to applicants who demonstrate a strong commitment to volunteerism. Bailey was a member of the roadway safety industry who died in 2002.

“The goal of the program is to help dependents of workers killed or permanently disabled in a work zone incident navigate a path forward,” said Foundation Director Lori Diaz.

The overreaching contractual obligation to assume responsibility for another party beyond the extent of your own negligence or willful misconduct is unreasonable and a clear and present danger to the industry.  

I recently listened while an ATSSA member shared an experience, recounting the unsettling details of a lawsuit that altogether changed his approach to every project. For this member, had it not been for a negotiated settlement in exchange for a full release, a jury award would have easily exceeded the available limits of liability insurance and forced a sell-off of corporate assets. The hard-to-swallow reality of the matter was his involvement was simply a consequence of a far-reaching contractual obligation. 

The business survived with memory of the experience serving as an endless reminder to never again roll over for blanket contractual risk-shifting.

Roadway Worker Protection Council Chair Doug Dolinar told Roadway Safety magazine it’s time for a “paradigm shift” in how the industry looks at worker safety.

The Council spent the past year laser focused on that issue, producing a Worker Protection Toolkit that provides members aids for that effort. Details on the toolkit are included in the latest issue of Roadway Safety magazine.

Plus, check out the Convention Extra supplement, packed with highlights from this year’s record-breaking Convention & Traffic Expo in Phoenix where roadway safety and innovation intersected.

ATSSA is known as the industry leader for roadway safety instruction and is looking to expand its team of master instructors.

With a continued emphasis on delivering top-notch training, ATSSA has opened the application process and is looking for individuals with experience in the roadway safety industry and who love to teach and share their expertise. A degree in civil engineering or equivalent experience or education as determined by ATSSA is needed as well as a flexible schedule and willingness to travel to deliver in-person courses.

“Our instructors are at the heart of our roadway safety mission and we are looking for a handful of exceptional individuals to join our team," said ATSSA Vice President of Education & Technical Services.

ATSSA is partnering with The Utility Expo to provide roadway safety training—including flagger certification—during its Sept. 26-28 event.

A Safety Symposium offering 30 hours of roadway safety and education training takes place the first two days of The Utility Expo. This includes six morning workshops on Sept. 26 led by ATSSA Director of Innovation & Technical Services Eric Perry, ATSSA Manager of Innovation & Technical Services Melodie Matout and ATSSA Master Instructors Bill Birdwell and Tim Luttrell. It also includes two ATSSA four-hour courses the afternoon of Sept. 26 and a choice of two eight-hour courses on Sept. 27.

“Safety has always been a front-and-center issue for The Utility Expo. From the equipment that utility professionals use onsite, to the potentially hazardous environments they can find themselves in, safety needs to always be priority number one,” said The Utility Expo Show Director John Rozum. “The people at ATSSA understand that a lot of utility work is done in and around traffic and they have put together a great education agenda to help keep utility pros safe when the traffic cones come out.”