Tune in to Road Dog News at 2 p.m. ET on Friday to hear ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner.

Tetschner will be discussing roadway safety issues on the Road Dog Trucking radio station.

The program airs on SiriusXM Channel 146. Road Dog News is hosted by Dan Ronan. Ronan is an associate news editor for Transport Topics as well as a part-time news anchor for Road Dog News.

Traffic fatalities in the U.S. rose 19% from 2019-2021, far surpassing U.S. vehicle travel for that period, according to a report released this morning by TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit.

The report, “Addressing America’s Traffic Safety Crisis: Examining the Causes of Increasing U.S. Traffic Fatalities and Identifying Solutions to Improve Road User Safety,” takes a closer look at data from the past two years.

“America faces a roadway safety crisis, with motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists fatalities in 2021 reaching their highest level in nearly two decades. The tremendous toll of fatalities and serious injuries that occur on the nation’s roadways are a significant economic and, more critically, personal burden on Americans,” the report notes in its conclusion. “The causes of the recent surge in traffic fatalities in the U.S. appear largely to be the result of the public taking greater risks on the nation’s roadways, including speeding, impaired driving and reduced safety belt use.”

ATSSA President and CEO, Stacy Tetschner released the following statement today that strongly opposes President Joe Biden’s proposal for suspending federal and state gas taxes.

"Although we certainly support efforts to reduce the price per gallon of gasoline and diesel, suspending federal fuel taxes would set a dangerous precedent, financially undermine the recently-enacted bipartisan infrastructure law, impact state and local governments’ certainty of federal roadway safety funding, and imperil the ability to enact future multi-year transportation authorizations. It’s extremely unlikely that the suspension of federal fuel taxes will result in the American consumer actually seeing a commensurate reduction in the price they pay at the pump when filling up their vehicle.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) takes the first step in activating its variable speed zone along Interstate 95 in the Fredericksburg region today.

New LED signs that can display variable speed limits will be illuminated for the first several days with the 65-70 mph limit to give drivers time to adjust to the presence of the signs, VDOT announced. The system will be fully activated on June 22, at which point speed limits could be anywhere between 35 mph and 70 mph.

ATSSA examined variable speed zones in the Winter 2022 issue of Roadway Safety magazine in an article that analyzed their use in multiple states. The article, “Do They Improve Safety?” reviewed details of how the new VDOT variable speed zone will work and how the zones have been used elsewhere in Virginia and in regions across the country.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (June 15, 2022) – ATSSA honored Sen. Shelley Moore Capito with the Roadway Safety Champion award during the Association’s Legislative Briefing & Fly-In held this week in the nation’s capital.

ATSSA Board Member Tim McNelis, ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner, ATSSA Board Chair Jeff Johnson and ATSSA Vice President of Engagement Nate Smith presented the award to Capito in her Capitol Hill office.

Capito, a Republican and the junior senator from West Virginia, has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015. Before that, she served for 14 years in the House of Representatives, representing West Virginia’s 2^nd Congressional District.

ATSSA members from across the country are meeting with legislators on Capitol Hill today, carrying their insights and priorities for roadway safety directly to lawmakers.

Sixty meetings are scheduled with members of the Senate, the House of Representatives and their legislative teams. The goal is to fuel the future of roadway safety by carrying their message directly to the nation’s decision makers.

ATSSA’s two-day Legislative Briefing & Fly-In returned to Washington, D.C., this week after two years as a virtual event because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 50 people representing 17 states and the District of Columbia registered to attend the event, which is a benefit of ATSSA membership.

Today, Cindy Williams, president of Time Striping, president of the Arkansas ATSSA Chapter, and a member of the ATSSA Board of Directors, testified before the Highways and Transit Subcommittee in the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill.

The hearing, entitled “Addressing the Roadway Safety Crisis: Building Safer Roads for All,” focused on the recently released 2021 traffic fatality statistics, and countermeasures that can combat that increase.

“The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a critical component to achieving the goal of Towards Zero Deaths,” Williams said in her testimony. “Having a dedicated funding stream for roadway safety has been critical to addressing safety needs and continuing this program was a bipartisan priority for Congress and ATSSA.”

Discussion during the hearing also focused on rural road safety, something Williams said she understands well from her experience in Arkansas.

The ATSS Foundation's annual Fun Run saw increased participation for its third straight year.

The Foundation Fun Run started in 2020 as part of ATSSA’s 50^th anniversary celebration in New Orleans during ATSSA’s Annual Convention & Traffic Expo. That year’s event covered 2 miles and took place on a downtown path overlooking the Mississippi River.

The event has evolved since then as a great group activity for ATSSA member companies, families or friends, or for individuals, all of whom can take part anywhere across the country – or the world. Participants have the option of a 5K Fun Run or the 33-mile Roadway Safety Challenge, both of which can be run or walked.

ATSSA Board Member Cindy Williams will testify on Capitol Hill before the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee on Wednesday regarding roadway safety and the rising number of traffic fatalities.

Williams is president of Time Striping in Van Buren, Ark., and president of the Arkansas ATSSA Chapter.

The hearing will be livestreamed at 10 a.m. on the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure website.

As ATSSA reported on May 17, traffic fatalities across the U.S. rose 10.5% in 2021 to a projected 42,915 deaths, reaching a 16-year high, according to statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Every organization wants to avoid worker injuries but ignoring the possibility is an unwise approach.

ATSSA’s Training Department and the Roadway Worker Protection Council present the third of five Worker Safety Webinars on June 7 at 2 p.m. The June webinar covers “safety supports,” which addresses how to assist your team effectively after a workplace incident.

Alex Kelly, CEO of SALT and Company, leads each of the Worker Safety Webinars, all of which are free for members and held from 2-3 p.m. E.T. Prior to starting SALT, Kelly directed Canada’s first Vision Zero Advocate Institute, which is dedicated to supporting municipalities and businesses in the adoption of evidence-based road safety programming.

“Since 2021, ATSSA and its members have expanded their emphasis on roadway worker safety by forming the Roadway Worker Protection Council and taking coordinated steps to be proactive in protecting workers and being prepared in case tragedy strikes,” said ATSSA Vice President of Education and Technical Services Donna Clark. “This Worker Safety Webinar series is one way we are helping our members be prepared in case an incident occurs.”