Aviation, seat belts, transportation planning
highlight January board meeting

The annual aviation report, a new seat belt campaign targeting rural areas, and an update on efforts to improve the delivery of the statewide transportation plan were highlights of the Idaho Transportation Board’s January 22 meeting in Boise.

Annual Report on Aviation
The annual report from the Aeronautics Advisory Board (AAB) and Division of Aeronautics was presented to the board at its meeting at Headquarters on January 22.

The five-member AAB consults with and advises the department on aviation issues. Some highlights from the AAB report include that Idaho’s aviation industry saw some growth last year, fire-related activity was down, and the use of drones is continuing to escalate and will presumably impact revenue. It was mentioned that this was AAB Chairman Rodger Sorensen’s last meeting. His term on the AAB is up and he will not be re-appointed to another five-year term. Sorensen, from Soda Springs, was recognized for his 20 years of service.

The division’s activities from the last year included hosting the annual Aviation Career Academy to promote careers in the aviation industry, continuing oversight on the use of drones in the state, and updating the 10-year old Airport System Plan/Airport Economic Impact Analysis. Aero also maintained the 31 state-owned airstrips, conducted the annual aviation Safety Stand Down, and participatied in 45 search-and-rescue events.

Statewide Rural Seat Belt Campaign
From 2014 to 2018, 450 people killed in motor vehicle crashes in Idaho were unrestrained. Additionally, of those killed, 82% were on rural roads. The observed seat belt use rate statewide is 85.4%.

The breakdown by district is:
District 1 – 85%
District 2 – 87.3%
District 3 – 92.4%
District 4 – 70.3%
District 5 – 71.8%
District 6 – 75%

To encourage Idahoans to buckle up, the Office of Highway Safety is rolling out a new program focusing on seat belt use, targeting rural Idaho and drivers between the ages of 18 and 34. The campaign will feature a local sports star.  It is an expansion of the Shift program: Drive Well Idaho! More details will follow in future issues of the Transporter.

Program Management Office (PMO) Update
The PMO’s purpose is to improve and enhance the Idaho Transportation Investment Program (ITIP) delivery by managing the ITIP; providing project management leadership, training, and support; and providing statewide delivery support.

Some of the expected outcomes are more stability in the ITIP, more consistent bids, statewide standard operating procedures, statewide balancing of available funds, and improved statewide bid and award timing.

Some ways to measure success will be: if the project managers are trained, experienced, and capable of making key project decisions; if the project owners empower the project managers to make those decisions; if the ITIP projects are delivered on time and within the original estimate and budget year after year; and if resources are being shared statewide.

Policy Update
An interim Fatigue Management Policy was implemented in November 2017 to identify and manage risk due to fatigue. It was introduced as an interim policy to provide time to determine if the policy met ITD’s needs. Due to a series of heavy winter storms that hit most of the state last winter, revisions were proposed to the policy based on feedback from employees. The key changes relate to allowable single-shift durations, extended workweek durations, and unforeseen or emergency situations. Supervisors and employees have a shared responsibility to identify and mitigate fatigue risk.

The policy applies to all employees except pilots, as they must follow Aeronautics Flight Operations Manual and Federal Aviation Administration requirements.

The board concurred to the revisions to Administrative Policy 5552 Employee Shift Duration and Fatigue Management.

All policies can be found on Share Point under Policy Finder:  http://itdportal/sites/Admin/BSM3/PolicyFinder/default.aspx

Published 01-31-20