ATSSA staffer named to new NHTSA advisory group

ATSSA staffer named to new NHTSA advisory group

Eric Perry appointed to Motorcyclist Advisory Council

Eric Perry

ATSSA Director of Innovation & Technical Services Eric Perry has been appointed to serve on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) newly created Motorcyclist Advisory Council.

The council’s 13 members were appointed by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to provide advice to him, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on motorcycle safety issues.

NHTSA estimates that motorcycle fatalities increased 2% in 2023, up from the 6,218 motorcyclists killed in crashes in 2022. In 2020, motorcyclists accounted for 14% of U.S. traffic fatalities though they accounted for less than 1% of vehicle miles traveled.

“This council will help improve motorcycle safety by bringing together riders and transportation safety professionals to advance solutions,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said in the NHTSA announcement regarding the council. “We are committed to reducing motorcycle fatalities and making our roads safer for riders, and these 13 individuals will guide us in crafting new policies and strategies to save lives.”

“The safety of motorcycle riders and everyone else using our roads, bridges and highways is of paramount importance to FHWA,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said in the announcement. “We look forward to working with members of the council as they develop recommendations that can result in fewer fatalities and serious injuries and safer riding for those on motorcycles.”

Perry was chosen to represent a national safety organization, one of the categories represented on the council. He holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee and has been working in the transportation industry since 1997. He joined ATSSA in 2017 after 16 years as a senior transportation engineer in private industry.

The others named to the council are: Sunshine Beer and Jay Jackson to represent motorcyclist associations; Roberta Carlson, Manjunathan Kumar, James Andrew Landini, Rita Jean Lybek and Ray Pierce to represent state governments; Roy Fair to represent state transportation departments; Chanyoung Lee to represent road safety data and engineering professionals; Kevin Marshia to represent state transportation officials; and Scott Schloegel and Jason Tolleson to represent motorcycle manufacturers and distributors.

A previous Motorcyclist Advisory Council made recommendations in February 2020 that influenced ATSSA’s roadway safety infrastructure efforts in multiple ways.

“ATSSA’s involvement with the Motorcyclist Advisory Council provides the opportunity to offer firsthand assistance in making strides to reducing motorcyclist fatalities,” Perry said. “As a result, ATSSA may utilize this information to improve temporary traffic control through ATSSA’s training program, improve signage and awareness for motorcyclists, improve barrier design, and assist ATSSA’s councils and committees that focus on high friction surface treatments.”

NHTSA noted its plans to create a Motorcyclist Advisory Council in the Federal Register on Sept. 25, stating that the council was being created to advise Buttigieg, the NHTSA Administrator and the FHWA Administrator “on transportation issues of concern to motorcyclists, including: motorcycle and motorcyclist safety; barrier and road design, construction, and maintenance practices; and the architecture and implementation of intelligent transportation system technologies.”

The 13 council members serve for a single two-year term. The goal, according to the Federal Register, is a balanced membership with “with expertise in motorcycle and motorcyclist safety, highway engineering, and safety analysis.”

By statute, membership includes:

• Five people representing state or local government with expertise in highway engineering and safety issues including motorcycle and motorcyclist safety; barrier and road design, construction and maintenance; or intelligent transportation systems (ITS);
• One motorcyclist who serves as a state or local traffic and safety engineer or design engineer other transportation department official;
• One representative of a national association of state transportation officials;
• One representative of a national motorcyclist association;
• One representative of a national motorcyclist foundation;
• One representative of a national motorcycle manufacturing association;
• One representative of a motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in the United States;
• One roadway safety data expert with expertise relating to crash testing and analysis; and
• One member of a national safety organization that represents the traffic safety systems industry.