ATSSA will host a live, virtual Town Hall on Tuesday on the highway bill recently proposed by House Democrats known as the INVEST in America Act.

Tuesday’s Town Hall will feature Rep. Dan Lipinski, a Democrat representing Illinois’ 3^rd Congressional District, and ATSSA Vice President of Government Relations Nathan Smith.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (June 3, 2020) – The American Traffic Safety Services Foundation awarded 14 Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarships and three Chuck Bailey Memorial Scholarships to college and university students around the country for the 2020-21 academic year.

The Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship Program provides 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 with values up to $10,000 per student each year. Applicants who demonstrate a strong commitment to volunteerism may be eligible for an additional $1,000 in honor of Chuck Bailey, a member of the roadway safety industry who died in 2002.

An ATSSA survey shows nearly half of its members remained on the job with regular operations after restrictions went into place as a result of COVID-19.

Members had the opportunity to respond to the survey between March 18 and 25 and were provided seven options as to how their business or agency was handling operations under the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the federal and state governments.

As part of the American Traffic Safety Services Foundation’s (ATSS Foundation) mission to support the loved ones of those impacted by work zone crashes, the nonprofit’s scholarship programs offer healing and educational opportunities. The Foundation offers three scholarship programs: the Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship, the Experience Camps Travel Scholarship and the Marty Weed Engineering Scholarship. 

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced legislation to encourage states to explore a road usage charge to help fund transportation projects. The bill submitted on Tuesday by the state’s 3rd District representative would reauthorize the Surface Transportation Systems Funding Alternatives (STSFA) program through 2025 and increase funding authorization, improve reporting requirements and provide special consideration for new projects that advance the knowledge of funding alternatives or collect revenue, according to the congressman’s office.

Additional responses to questions submitted to The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) regarding the testing of roadside safety hardware under the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) 2016 were released Monday. 

At its meeting of October 9 in St. Louis, Missouri, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Board of Directors endorsed a motion put forth by the Council of Highways and Streets (Chief Engineers) to develop the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) into a “performance specification.” 

Every roadway countermeasure makes a difference. Roundabouts, highly reflective signs, pavement markings and all traffic control and infrastructure devices are critical to enhancing safety on U.S. roadways. Countermeasures can mitigate against human behavior-related crashes and ultimately save lives.  

ATSSA's flagger training courses have been teaching individuals how to be safe and effective flaggers for nearly 50 years. These courses help trainees understand why proper flagger operations are essential, identify standard flagger control references, and learn standard flagger practices for many situations—both expected and unexpected.
While the association has taken great strides to provide and adequately train individuals across the country, there still are infrequencies when it comes to having consistent standards on a national scale.

On June 19, 2019 at the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD) Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) Task Force Meeting, updates on signage and pavement marking uniformity were the main topics of discussion. With CAVs entering U.S. roadways every day, the need for uniformity is growing exponentially. Transformational technologies on CAVs raise new questions for groups like the NCUTCD, such as signage that appears on the exterior of CAVs. For instance, many autonomous vehicles (AVs) manufacturers have their own signage displays on the exterior of the vehicle that alert human drivers and pedestrians of the CAV’s intentions on the roadway.