ATSSA Announces Innovation Awards at 52nd Annual Convention & Traffic Expo

TAMPA, Florida Feb. 15, 2022 – Three exhibitors at ATSSA’s 52nd Annual Convention & Traffic Expo received Innovation Awards today in recognition of new products that contribute to the industry’s mission of advancing roadway safety and working Toward Zero Deaths.

The new products from 2021 were evaluated by a panel of judges made up of department of transportation personnel. Judges reviewed 14 items from companies across the U.S. and Canada as part of the New Products Rollout.

A product called a Guardian Cone, which is a device placed on both sides of a work zone site that is used during setup to alert workers if a car enters the site, was chosen as the top new product. It was presented by Site 20/20 of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

A Dynamic, Real-Time Smart Work Zone, which is a virtual work zone to warn workers of danger using a cellular vehicle-to-everything C-V2X base station, Smart Cones and Smart Vest devices, received second place. That item was presented by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute of Blacksburg, Va.

The product placing third was Speed Wizard, which is a combination work zone digital speed limit and full matrix speed awareness product that provides real-time WAZE integration to inform drivers of reduced speed limits. It was presented by Ver-Mac of Houston, Texas.

The Innovation Award winners were honored today during ATSSA’s Circle of Innovation where videos explaining their products were shown to the roadway safety infrastructure industry. Items were evaluated on the criteria of lifesaving qualities, degree of need, innovation, design and eligibility under the Highway Safety Improvement Program.

ATSSA’s 52nd Annual Convention & Traffic Expo ran from Feb. 11 through today at the Tampa Convention Center.

“The New Product Rollout provides the opportunity for people across the industry to see the products that were released in the past year that provide fresh ideas to advance roadway safety,” said Eric Perry, ATSSA’s Director of Innovation & Technical Services. “The judges found these products aligned well with the goal to eliminate roadway deaths.”

The ATSSA Innovation Awards are held annually as part of the Association’s Annual Convention & Traffic Expo.

“We rely on creative people within the roadway safety industry to find solutions to challenges in keeping people safe on our nation’s roads,” Perry said. “ATSSA’s Annual Convention & Traffic Expo provides the perfect opportunity to highlight the latest roadway safety products from across the country. The Innovation Awards recognize outstanding efforts by the industry to advance roadway safety and, hopefully, save lives.”

For more information about next year’s event, email Perry at eric.perry@atssa.com.

Representatives from the products chosen for Innovation Awards are, from left, Jean Paul “JP” Talledo Vilela of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute VTTI, Trevor Romkey of Site 20/20, and Todd Foster of Ver-Mac.