10/19/2010
Traffic Safety Commission, ITD Board to focus on ways to prevent traffic fatalities on Idaho highways
BOISE - Highway safety is on the minds of Idaho Traffic Safety Commission members and the Idaho Transportation Board when they meet Wednesday (Oct. 20) to consider safety concerns, educational outreach, proposal plans and funding.
The daylong meeting is open to the public and will be held at Doubletree Riverside Hotel in Boise.
The morning session begins at 8 a.m. and will feature presentations to the ITSC by members of the Idaho Transportation Department's Office of Highway Operations and Safety.
Topics range from the changing traffic safety culture to a review of current traffic safety data, recent highway safety highlights and approval of highway safety focus areas and funding.
A special Safety Champion Award will be presented to Sheriff Roy C. Klingler and Lt. Cameron Stanford, Madison County, at 10:45 a.m. They will be recognized for leadership in developing a multi-agency effort to increase safety during traffic stops for motorists and law enforcement officers.
Afternoon activities at the safety workshop include a joint meeting of the ITSC and the transportation board, beginning at 1 p.m. The first afternoon session will feature Pam Holt, a nurse and trauma prevention services coordinator for St. John's Regional Medical Center in Springfield, Mo.
Holt provided a graphic account of the physics and physical consequences of high-speed motor vehicle crashes to more than 265 Idaho law enforcement officers, medical personnel and highway safety professionals as keynote speaker for the 2010 Highway Safety Summit in May, hosted by ITD.
Her return to Boise also will include assisting ITD in developing a new program for educating Idaho trauma prevention advocates who will serve as highway safety ambassadors within their communities. Their focus will be to support the department's Towards Zero Deaths effort that seeks to eliminate motor vehicle fatalities.
The joint safety workshop will conclude with a series of
presentations about important safety emphasis areas addressed in ITD's new
strategic highway safety plan: lane departures, safety restraints, distracted
driving, impaired driving and motorcycle safety.
ITSC reviews traffic safety issues to reduce traffic-related deaths, serious injuries and economic losses, promote local and state cooperation and recommend programs for federal funding. The commission consists of 13 members including the chairs of the Idaho Senate Transportation Committee and the House Transportation and Defense Committee.
The Idaho Transportation Board is a citizen group appointed by the governor to serve Idahoans by addressing the state's transportation needs and representing the interests and needs of the traveling public.
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Highway safety authorities available for interviews at the event:
Joseph S. Toole, associate administrator for safety, Federal Highway Administration
John Moffat, regional administrator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Pam Holt, nurse and trauma prevention services coordinator, St. Johns Regional Medical Center in Springfield, Mo.
Scott Stokes, deputy director, Idaho Transportation Department
Mary Hunter, highway safety manager, Idaho Transportation Department
Sgt. Ted Piche, Lewiston Police Department and Law Enforcement Liaison program chairman, highway safety emphasis area: aggressive driving
John Perry, Federal Highway Administration, highway safety emphasis area: lane departure
Officer Kyle Wills, Boise Police Department, highway safety emphasis area: safety restraints
Phil Liggins, Lewis-Clark State College, highway safety emphasis area: distracted driving
Jared Olson, Idaho traffic safety resource prosecutor, highway safety emphasis area: impaired driving
Stacey Axmaker, STAR program director, highway safety emphasis area: motorcycle safety