ATSSA and the Automotive Safety Council (ASC) this week received the Collaborative Partnership of the Year Award from TU-Automotive during a virtual ceremony.

The award recognizes two or more companies that “have undertaken a meaningful, non-commercial partnership with the objective of advancing the development and/or adoption of automotive technology” for the period between Jan. 1, 2019 and Feb. 19, 2020.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner and ASC President Doug Campbell accepted the award on behalf of their respective associations.

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) Roadside Safety Design Committee and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Technical Committee on Roadside Safety met Monday with a focus on implementation and updates for the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH).

AASHTO announced that it is working on a scoping project intended to determine the effort it needs to invest to convert MASH into a set of performance specifications, said ATSSA Vice President of Member Services Donna Clark.

Clark, Director of Innovation & Technical Services Eric Perry, and Training Program Manager Jessica Scheyder took part in TRB’s virtual summer conference, which covers a broad range of topics and continues through Aug. 13.

In light of the Transportation Research Board’s decision to hold a fully virtual annual meeting in January, the Traffic Control Device Student Challenge will skip a year and move to 2022.

ATSSA partners with the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Standing Committee on Traffic Control Devices in holding this annual contest that gives students the opportunity to propose solutions to real-world issues in the transportation industry. Students traditionally present their projects for judging during the TRB annual convention held each January and then the three winners make presentations during ATSSA’s Annual Convention & Traffic Expo held a short time later.

Federal Communications Chair Ajit Pai will be the headline speaker at 11 a.m. Wednesday during a live event hosted by The Hill news outlet.

The event, “The Future of Human Connectivity,” is available to the public. People who sign up can also submit a question. People can also email questions to events@thehill.com.

His session runs from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. E.T. and is entitled, “New Lines of Community: What Connectivity Means and What We Still Need.” Bob Cusack, The Hill’s editor-in-chief, will lead the conversation with Pai.

Applications are now open for members wanting to enter their innovations in the New Products Rollout at the 51^st Annual Convention & Traffic Expo. Products released after Jan. 1, 2020 qualify. Twenty will be accepted for the New Product Listing and just 12 will be accepted for presentation to a panel of judges. The top three products will earn an Innovation Award that will be announced during the Convention, which will be held Jan. 29-Feb. 2.

“The New Products Rollout offers members the opportunity to get their creative ideas to roadway safety issues in front of thousands of people who take part in ATSSA’s Convention & Traffic Expo,” said ATSSA Director of Innovation & Technical Services Eric Perry. “The exposure provided by this event is unparalleled.”

Registration is now open for ATSSA’s Midyear Digital meeting to be held online from Aug. 24-27. This year’s meeting will be held in a fully digitized format with a variety of components reimagined due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing restrictions.  Inspiring real-world solutions, Midyear Digital will kick off with a 45-minute virtual town hall style session that will include key transportation professionals discussing prominent industry issues and innovations. The event will then continue with virtual committee and council meetings.

Help shape the Association’s policies and initiatives in the coming year by participating in Midyear Digital. Take advantage of the opportunity to collaborate with more than 300 like-minded ATSSA members from across the country as we demonstrate our commitment to innovation and advancement of roadway safety infrastructure.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) recently issued information about new Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH)-compliant devices that have been granted federal aid eligibility letters.

The AASHTO communication from Director of Engineering Jim McDonnell was issued to provide an update on roadway safety devices now on the market and approved under federal guidelines.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner sent letters to Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao this week strongly endorsing the Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s letter committing to fully utilize the bands of spectrum allocated for transportation safety.

“The commitment undertaken by the Auto Innovators reflects a watershed moment for roadway safety. This letter demonstrates a unified industry committing substantial resources and support for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X). This approach should dispel any notion that the industry will not deploy V2X or that the Safety Spectrum will not be used,” Tetschner wrote.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Engineering and Technology granted a 21-day extension of the deadline for submitting replies to comments regarding a proposed rule change regarding the 5.9 GHz band, also commonly referred to as the "safety spectrum."

The new deadline of April 27 resulted from the extensive comments submitted and disruptions caused by COVID-19.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) issued an update to its guidance for the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) on Tuesday.

The newly published information provides three additions to the Frequently Asked Questions for MASH.