ATSSA’s 54^th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo will bring together a diverse group of roadway safety professionals with broad interests and some competitive fire.

Take advantage of opportunities to get to know others from across the nation and the globe while participating in events and receptions held throughout the Feb. 2-6 event in San Diego.

Two American Traffic Safety Services (ATSS) Foundation events kick things off on Friday, Feb. 2.

A capacity crowd will hit the links at Steele Canyon Golf Club in Jamul, Calif., for the 32^nd Annual Golf Classic Tournament, teeing off shortly after 9 a.m. PST. Others will test their marksmanship skills at the Lemon Grove Rod & Gun Club in Alpine, Calif., for the 11^th Annual Sporting Clays Event starting at 10 a.m. PST.

In a year in which households across the nation are struggling due to the rising costs of necessities, ATSS Foundation Director Lori Diaz tempered her expectations for the 2023 global day of philanthropy known as Giving Tuesday.

But Tuesday’s giving not only exceeded her expectations but also set a record for the second year in a row.

“I was astonished by the generosity shown to the ATSS Foundation,” Diaz said. “People had the opportunity to support many deserving organizations with their donations on Giving Tuesday and I am honored that they chose to support us. I appreciate every individual and group who gave to the Foundation and is helping us finish the year strong.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a summary report on “Identification of National Work Zone Safety Objectives and Activities.”

The report includes 11 strategic objectives and notes work zone crash trends, providing another resource for ATSSA members.

ATSSA recently published its “Roadway Worker Protection Special Edition,” a supplement to the Fall issue of Roadway Safety magazine, which included articles on building a workplace safety culture, insights on situational awareness and information about the teen driver education program, which addresses navigation through work zones, an ATSS Foundation program.

Kathi Holst is still haunted by the deaths of two roadway workers at companies where she served as an executive. That’s why she’s passionate about the importance of a daily emphasis on worker safety.

ATSSA’s second Roadway Worker Protection Special Edition is now online. This year’s edition focuses on three areas:

• Building a workplace safety culture
• Insights on situational awareness
• A teen driver education program that protects workers, teens and all motorists by teaching new drivers how to safely navigate work zones.

The Roadway Worker Protection Special Edition also includes a state-by-state breakdown of work zone crashes.

Piloting an F-14 Tomcat from the deck of an aircraft carrier taught Carey Lohrenz that consistent execution in a fast-moving, dynamic environment is essential to avoid catastrophe.

Today she draws on skills honed as the Navy’s first female fighter pilot for the F-14 Tomcat to help businesses succeed.

Lohrenz, a former Navy lieutenant, will serve as keynote speaker for ATSSA’s 2024 Annual Convention & Traffic Expo, scheduled for Feb. 2-6 in San Diego. In her discussion of “High Risk Into High Reward: Succeeding in High Pressure Environments,” Lohrenz will share tips for business leaders to inspire their teams to “move to higher levels of performance, even during times of disruption and chaos.”

With speeding through highway work zones posing an increasingly prevalent threat, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and ATSSA members are taking extensive steps to protect workers engaged in a 3 ½-year project.

The Fall issue of Roadway Safety magazine details the steps those partners are taking for this long-term work on Interstate 494. Read about this project and much more in this issue, available online now.

The magazine also delves into several other issues including artificial intelligence, looking at how it’s being applied to optimize business and employed to raise the bar with intelligent traffic management systems.

ATSSA has launched a new training platform that speeds every step of the process for getting employees ready for the road.

The new learning management system (Learning.ATSSA.com) helps employees and employers:

• Quickly find required courses

• Gain rapid access to training certificates.

• Track Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

• Track their certification process.

• Navigate a personal dashboard.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner will discuss behavioral issues for roadway safety as well as infrastructure on Saturday’s broadcast of Transport Topics Radio with Dan Ronan.

The two-hour weekly program starts at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday with Tetschner’s segment scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

Transport Topics Radio airs on SiriusXM Channel 146 on Saturdays at 1 and 11 p.m. and Sundays at noon and 9 p.m.

Projections for the first half of 2023 show traffic fatalities decreased about 3.3% compared to the same timeframe last year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The projected statistics released by NHTSA on Thursday show a decline in fatalities for the fifth consecutive quarter.

The downward pattern for fatalities comes despite a roughly 2.3% increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for the first six months of the year. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released preliminary data showing a VMT increase of about 35.1 billion miles.

With Congress yet to pass the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the federal government beyond the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, a government shutdown is becoming a real possibility.

While a federal shutdown is a rare occurrence, it can create uncertainty and have economic consequences. In the event of a federal government shutdown, essential functions funded with discretionary funds would continue but many of the federal employees providing these essential services would be doing so without pay until a funding resolution is reached.

Programs funded through the use of mandatory spending – such as Social Security, Medicare and certain federal trust funds like the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) – would continue to function at the start of the new fiscal year.