ATSSA Capitol Hill testimony calls for additional support, funding for roadway safety

Remarks touch on long-term Highway Trust Fund solvency, increase in HSIP funds

This morning, Jay Bruemmer, Vice President of K&G Striping, Inc. and a member of the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit hearing titled, “Every Life Counts: Improving the Safety of our Nation’s Roadways.”

Bruemmer, from Missouri, is ATSSA’s Government Relations Committee Chair, and is considered an expert on roadway safety infrastructure related to pavement markings, traffic sign installation, and temporary traffic control devices.

The Subcommittee on Highways and Transit has been considering several items related to surface transportation in recent months, including an infrastructure package, the highway reauthorization bill, and funding mechanisms to make the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) solvent.

The timing of the hearing coincided with National Work Zone Awareness Week, honoring those who have lost their lives in roadway work zones and spreading awareness for the need to enhance safety in work zones across the country.

“Imagine yourself working on a road construction project, and passenger vehicles and motor carriers are traveling at 50, 60, 70+ miles per hour only feet from where you are working. You might [only] be protected by a steel or concrete barrier…from personal experience [I know] how terrifying this can be,” said Bruemmer.

Bruemmer discussed roadway safety infrastructure countermeasures, and how they are used to save lives on our roadways each day, including guardrail and median cable barrier, high friction surface treatments for pavement, and technology that prevents collisions in the case of wrong way driving.

To ensure that funding for effective roadway safety countermeasures is adequate and available, Bruemmer asked that members of Congress consider increasing motor fuel (gas and diesel) user fees – with and eventually including a vehicle miles traveled user fee system. Additionally, Bruemmer asked that the Highway Safety Improvement Program be doubled in size to at least 10 percent of the overall core federal-aid highway programs.

“As we consider an infrastructure package and a FAST Act reauthorization, the Administration and Congress must grapple with the fact that increased direct federal investments are crucial to the rebuilding and safety of America’s roadway network,” said Bruemmer.

To watch Bruemmer’s full testimony, visit http://bit.ly/2WZcl9I.