Law Enforcement Improving Traffic Safety

Transcription

1 October 2O15 3 The Business Meeting 4 Best Practices THE 6 First Person 7 Tips to Testify 8 LEL Spotlight: Georgia Heat 9 Partner Spotlight: MADD 10 Training and Research LEL12 11 Awards and Events Traffic Safety Calendar Law Enforcement Improving Traffic Safety Enhancing Traffic Safety in Our National Parks For many park sites, the main attraction is the roadway experience, and with this experience comes a certain level of risk. A traffic crash occurs on NPS land every 1.3 hours, and property damage due to crashes occurs every 1.6 hours. By John Hughes THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (NPS) HAS AN ENORmous responsibility when it comes to managing the safe operation of roads and parkways around our nation. The agency administers more than 5,500 miles of paved roads, as well as 106 bus, rail and ferry systems throughout the United States. For many park sites, the main attraction is the roadway experience, and with this experience comes a certain level of risk. From , motor vehicle crashes were the second leading cause of visitor deaths in national parks, and NPS employees have been victims of numerous motor vehicle-related injuries. A traffic crash occurs on NPS land every 1.3 hours, and property damage due to crashes occurs every 1.6 hours. Furthermore, a person is injured in a crash on NPS land every 4.2 hours, and there is a crash fatality every 7.2 days. While many of the crashes are associated with the NPS s urban parkways, where both commuters and park visitors drive, other risk areas are found in more typical park settings. The distractions of great scenery and wildlife encountered while traveling on unfamiliar, rural-type roads shared by other drivers 1

2 Enhancing Traffic Safety in Our National Parks continued The distractions of great scenery and wildlife encountered while traveling on unfamiliar, rural-type roads shared by other drivers similarly distracted can and does lead to crashes, some very serious. similarly distracted can and does lead to crashes, some very serious. In June 2012, NPS and the Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) Office of Federal Lands Highway (FLH) approved a charter to launch an initiative to investigate and develop recommendations for the formation of a transportation safety program (TSP) to reduce motor vehicle crashes service-wide. The charter formally established a multidisciplinary and multi-agency working group within the NPS and FHWA. First steps include: the 4Es (Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Emergency Services) to create model transportation safety programs. Next, the group will identify existing NPS/ FLH programs and practices in order to establish the baseline state of practice for transportation safety. The analysis will be completed by conducting interviews at each region and at 10 parks selected with input from regions with a multidisciplinary group that includes law enforcement, transportation, facilities management, natural and cultural resources and interpretation. These interviews will address several key areas the working group has identified for a successful TSP: Organizational structure Strategic integration Rangers have arrested 256 individuals for DUI inside of parks and issued numerous citations for seatbelt violations, negligent driving, speeding and distracted driving. Through these campaigns, U.S. Park Rangers also have helped recover stolen property, identified resource violations and apprehended fugitives from justice. The NPSTSC also has conducted organized traffic safety campaigns for holidays and events that are likely to result in increased vehicular travel or alcohol consumption, such as St. Patrick s Day, the kick off for summer in the parks and the Labor Day weekend. NPSTSC is also planning campaigns for Halloween, NHTSA s National DUI Crackdown and the upcoming holiday season. reviewing industry best practices in transportation safety planning and program implementation; identifying current transportation safety practices within the NPS and FHWA Federal Lands Division Offices that provide roadway engineering services to NPS; and conducting a gap analysis, identifying best practices, and developing recommendations for an organizational TSP. The working group has begun conducting interviews with state departments of transportation that have effectively employed Partnerships Communication and marketing Data Performance measures Prioritizing and funding investments Training The NPS also implemented the Traffic Safety Coalition (NPSTSC) in January This is a direct result of a partnership with NHTSA to target impaired, distracted, unrestrained and drugged drivers in National Parks. As of August 1, 2015, 91 National Parks have joined the program. To date this year, Park Commander Jennifer Proctor (Office of Risk Management) and Lieutenant Commander Samuel Russell (Park Facility Management Division) are spearheading the effort to develop the Traffic Safety Program. For more information, contact them at jennifer_proctor@nps. gov and samuel_russell@ nps.gov. For more information about the NPSTSC, contact John Hughes, the Federal LEL (FLEL) for the National Park Service and program manager for the Traffic Safety Coalition, at john_hughes@ nps.gov. John Hughes is the FLEL for the National Park Service. 2

3 Vernon Betkey program manager The Business Meeting As LELs, we attend and facilitate a considerable number of meetings, and we want to avoid hosting ones that attendees feel are a waste of their time. RECENTLY, SOME COLLEAGUES and I were debating the value of business meetings, and discussed the significance of electronic versus in-person formats. Given advances in technology and considering the direct and indirect costs associated with in-person meetings, online and teleconference meetings are becoming increasingly common, but they suffer from a lack of personal interaction. As LELs, we attend and facilitate a considerable number of meetings, and we want to avoid hosting ones that attendees feel are a waste of their time. Our forthcoming LEL Professional Development Training Workshop has a module that addresses effective meetings, with tips to help with planning, execution and follow-up. The following are some tips from the module. Before initiating the meeting, determine if it is really needed and if it provides value to the audience. Determine how much travel and time are involved for each attendee. If your main objective is informational, consider whether an will suffice. If opinions, decisions and discussion are needed, plan your meeting format accordingly. When preparing the announcement, clearly state the purpose so participants can come prepared, draft a concise agenda addressing each issue, and describe the expected outcomes. Prepare and select the meeting location with your participants in mind. Arrange seating in a circle or U shape to promote discussion. Make sure all technology required works properly. Select a person to keep minutes and ensure that everyone who is supposed to present on a topic is adequately notified and prepared. In an online or teleconference meeting, be prepared to lead the discussion and ensure everyone s participation. An important consideration is to start on time. Designate someone to brief late arriving guests on information missed. Introduce the attendees and review the agenda and expectations. Follow the agenda and ensure everyone has the opportunity to speak and be heard. At the conclusion, summarize the outcomes, follow-up items and task assignments. After the meeting, send a detailed summary to each of the participants with a request for any additional comments or feedback. Whether face-to-face or electronic, business meetings serve a very valuable place in advancing our highway safety agenda. Good preparation and facilitation will go a long way in our success and our relationship building. LEL THE Law Enforcement Improving Traffic Safety The LEL is published by the National Law Enforcement Liaison Program, a project of the Governors Highway Safety Association, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 444 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite 722, Washington DC facebook.com/nlelp twitter.com/nlelp program manager Vernon Betkey editor Amadie Hart creative Tony Frye Design technical advisory group Steven Cardarella Glenn Cramer Tim Roberts James Sanders Richard Sullivan 3

4 Best Practices A positive influence based on care, commitment and trust adds value to relationships. Transforming Relationships to Influence By Glenn Cramer IN THE JULY 2015 ISSUE OF THE LEL, the article Building Business Relationships focused on the value of connecting with others. In our work as LELs, the next step in building upon these relationships to add value to traffic safety initiatives is to exert influence. An LEL s ability to influence others is one of the key elements of his or her successful leadership. The essence of this influence lies in getting others to participate in supporting traffic law enforcement. A positive influence based on care, commitment and trust adds value to relationships. This means creating dependable pathways to knowledge experts who can assist you with completing critical tasks or access to resources. With this, you become a knowledge broker and your influence grows as an advisor who understands the importance of developing the big picture view. Having an LEL who is a good resource and has a broad perspective is helpful to law enforcement executives when they are evaluating the relative importance of various viewpoints to improve their agency s service and develop better solutions. Influence is further enhanced by providing small l leadership in a big L leadership world. This is accomplished by knowing when and how to show your ability, skill and knowledge to match the thought process required for big picture, innovative, strategic and bottom line thinking. Being able to distinguish what type of thinking needs to take place based on the circumstance helps you to influence others by navigating competing interests, promoting cooperation, addressing conflict and getting things done. Just because you have influence with someone or an organization, doesn t necessarily mean you have influence with everyone. Your personal influence must be developed with each individual partner. This is the reason Building Business Relationships was so on message, because developing relationships leads us to get things done and increases our influence. Glenn Cramer is the NHTSA Region 10 Law Enforcement Liaison. New Resource Helps States Map Data to MMUCC HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR state is collecting the best crash data possible? To what do you compare your state s crash data with in order to make that determination? And what do you need to do to improve your state s crash data collection? Now, there is a new tool to help you answer those questions. The new tool allows states to map the data collected on their Police Accident Reports (PARs) and in state databases to the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) 4 th Edition. MMUCC is a standardized data set for describing motor vehicle crashes. By providing a minimum set of data elements, MMUCC helps states collect reliable crash data, effectively guide enforcement planning, and shape sound traffic safety policy. While this voluntary federal guideline for crash data has been in place since 1998, state PARs and crash databases don t necessarily align with MMUCC. For example, states often use different formats and names for data elements and attributes or they may combine (or split) the elements and attributes used in the guideline. As a result, it can be very difficult to compare or share crash data among states, between state and federal data sets, and in some cases even between different agencies within a state. Over the past year, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) worked with the 4

5 Best Practices The new tool allows states to map the data collected on their Police Accident Reports (PARs) and state crash databases to MMUCC. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to help states determine how well each state s PAR and crash database aligns with MMUCC and to develop this new tool to help states map their state PARs and crash databases to MMUCC s 110 data elements. The results of the mapping process can be used by states to identify what data elements and their attributes need to be changed and to prioritize those changes. This, in turn, will help improve state crash data collection and use. The development process included soliciting state feedback on mapping rules, as well as a pilot effort in two states, and the final document, Mapping to MMUCC, was released in July, along with a mapping spreadsheet to assist states in calculating their compatibility ratings. Both documents are available on GHSA s website at ghsa.org/html/resources/tr/ index.html. In the coming months, GHSA and NHTSA will launch a project to review the existing MMUCC elements and the mapping process for the development of the Fifth Edition of the MMUCC Guideline. Creating a Culture of Safety By Cody Beers THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes on Wyoming s Wind River Reservation took years to develop, but today these entities are working toward developing a safety-based culture in Indian country. It s a relationship built on trust and on-the-ground efforts aimed at saving lives. The working relationship between the state government agency and tribes is a model for other states because these leaders are cooperating on traffic safety and behavioral decisions to save lives on highways in one of central Wyoming s deadliest counties, Fremont County. The spirit of cooperation between the state and tribes has been the key to the success of the relationship. Much work remains in the business of saving lives, but the partnership has already shown results, with fewer tribal vehicle fatalities, increased recognition of the importance of seat belts and a greater highway safety focus by law enforcement. The stakes are high. The Wind River Reservation once had the highest pedestrian fatality rate in the nation. Speeding was rampant, drunk driving was out of control both on and off the reservation, and 17-Mile Road on the Wind River Reservation was commonly called the state s deadliest highway. Something had to change. People began talking, including tribal leaders and Wind River Transportation officials Big John Smith and Howard Brown, and the barriers to cooperation that existed were torn down. Two state/tribal-sponsored highway safety conferences occurred in 2007 and 2008 that helped enhance the understanding of traffic safety issues specific to the Wind River Reservation. At least partly due to these meetings, enhanced speeding and drinking and driving laws came to fruition on the reservation, as well as enhanced law enforcement efforts and additional law enforcement officers working the reservation. Combined with lower bloodalcohol limits for drivers, a mandatory seat belt law on the reservation and reductions in speed limits, highway fatalities have decreased and people are making good choices. Fremont County vehicle fatalities dropped from 13 in 2011 to four in Positive messaging enhances the legislative and enforcement efforts, with the Wind River peoples own voices and images used to promote safety on the reservation. Native Americans are delivering important messages to other Native Americans regarding safety. This Wind River Voices campaign will continue in There s still work to be done in creating culture of safety, but the tribes and WYDOT are committed to continue developing and growing this important life-saving and trust-based friendship in the future. Cody Beers is a Public Relations Specialist with the Wyoming Department of Transportation. 5

6 First Person When it comes to traffic enforcement, you are the final line of defense. If we don t take care of business, there is no one waiting with a backup plan. Parents Should Have Their Kids... Not Monuments to Their Memory By Scott McConkey IF YOU EVER RECEIVED AN FROM ME YOU may have noticed a photo of a child s playhouse on my signature line. For me, it represents a story involving two of my favorite people on this planet, and unfortunately, the memories of a truly horrific crash. Dallas and Mary Dietrich, two amazing people who live in the Black Hills of South Dakota had just finished a picture-perfect Christmas in 1996 with their adult children Deric and Dawn and son-in-law Joe. The five of them traveled down I-90 when a terrible winter storm occurred. Visibility was extremely poor with near-white out conditions along the roadway. Dallas, who was driving, slowed to 35 mph and turned on his flashers. Unfortunately, a tractor-trailer traveling at 75 mph crashed into the rear of the vehicle killing Deric, Dawn and Joe. Dallas injuries left him a paraplegic. Mary, who was spared serious physical injury, was left with permanent mental and emotional scars. As she says, People say that time heals, but it really doesn t. Today, Dallas and Mary operate an old time photo studio in Keystone, South Dakota, called Rattlesnake Jake s. Mary maintains a thriving cat rescue operation. Dallas, now 67, grew up an avid outdoorsman with skiing at the top of the list. In 1990, he received the Point of Light award from President George Bush for his winter recreational opportunities program for the disabled, and he did this long before he knew he would one day join their ranks. Together, they founded Meeting the Need, a camp that gives those with special needs an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the Black Top: Deric s playhouse. Right: The author (left) and Dallas Dietrich. Hills ( In the middle of the camp stands a small two-story wood playhouse built by their son, Deric, when he was just nine years old. The structure now serves as a memory and the parents monument to their children, whom they love and miss dearly. I often say to the officers in our LEL network, When it comes to traffic enforcement, you are the final line of defense. If we don t take care of business, there is no one waiting with a backup plan. It s up to all of us to do all that we can to prevent these unfortunate holiday stories, or for that matter any story involving a fatal crash. Deric s playhouse is a constant reminder to me that parents should have their kids, not monuments to their memory. Scott McConkey is a Southern Minnesota Law Enforcement Liaison with the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety. 6

7 Tips to Testify Objection: Hearsay! By Judge Earl G. Penrod THE POPULARITY OF COURTROOM SHOWS on television has familiarized many people with the term hearsay evidence. However, far fewer people understand how the relatively complicated hearsay rule applies in court. Because the application of the hearsay rule may cause evidence to be excluded and may interrupt the flow of testimony, witnesses sometimes become frustrated when confronted with hearsay objections. Hearsay evidence is defined as an outof-court statement offered for the truth of the matter asserted, and such evidence is not admissible in court unless there is an applicable exception to the general rule of inadmissibility. To unduly simplify the definition and application, the hearsay rule prohibits a witness from stating in court what someone said outside of court. For example, if a police officer on the stand is asked by the prosecutor, What happened next? and testifies, An elderly woman came forward and said the butler did it, that would be hearsay. The specific ruling on the objection will depend upon a number of factors and whether an exception applies, but the statement the butler did it was made by an elderly woman outside of court and it is now being repeated in court by the police officer, most likely as evidence about what happened. Assuming no exception applies, the objection may well be sustained. But, why? In a nutshell, the exclusion of hearsay is to help ensure that evidence in court is as trustworthy as possible. In our adversarial court system, there is a strong preference for having witnesses testify in court not only so that they must take an oath, but also so that they may be subject to confrontation and cross-examination. With hearsay evidence, there are actually two witnesses involved: the one testifying in court and the one who made the outof-court statement. If the out-of-court witness is not required to testify under oath and undergo cross-examination, the finder of fact will not have the opportunity to fully and properly evaluate the trustworthiness of that evidence. Tip to testify: Witnesses should not become frustrated by hearsay objections, because the hearsay rule helps ensure the credibility and trustworthiness of the evidence submitted in the case. Judge Earl G. Penrod is a justice with the Gibson Superior Court in Indiana, and an ABA/NHTSA Judicial Fellow. 7

8 LEL HEAT Teams and TTF contributed to a statewide seatbelt usage rate of 97.3 percent in 2014 and a reduction in alcohol-related crash deaths to 25 percent of fatalities. The Georgia HEAT By Scarlett Woods IT STARTED IN 2001 WHEN THE Georgia seatbelt usage rate was stalled around 79 percent and alcohol-related fatalities contributed to 37 percent of the statewide fatal crashes. An impromptu planning session led to the birth of the Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic Program (HEAT), launched in The primary objective was to create a multi-agency traffic safety project around the Metro Atlanta area where the Governor s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) and law enforcement agencies could work together across jurisdictional lines to saturate targeted areas with strategies to increase the seatbelt usage rate, enforce aggressive driving violations and reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities. The idea was to create an atmosphere of police omnipresence using eight jurisdictional HEAT teams that would make motorists driving in downtown Atlanta or Cobb County feel like officers were everywhere. Each HEAT team received a startup grant to fund salaries, benefits, vehicles, and equipment along with advanced training. Today, Georgia HEAT remains active and productive. In some cases, fatalities in the targeted areas have been reduced to zero. The officers are very proud of their traffic safety contribution that is making the communities safer places to live. The program is highly sought after by police agencies of all sizes, and grants are awarded based on a data-driven approach. Seventeen active HEAT Teams patrol the data-driven targeted areas across the state. The officers and deputies on the project are highly trained in DUI enforcement, speed enforcement and are child passenger safety technicians. As a grant requirement, agencies must conduct enforcement and educational events within their jurisdictions and submit monthly activity reports. The three Georgia LELs are instrumental in coordinating HEAT team participation in another GOHS program known as the Thunder Task Force (TTF). TTF is composed of select Georgia State Patrol troopers who conduct high visibility enforcement in areas where traffic fatalities show a significant increase. The task force saturates a targeted area for 90 days, with the HEAT teams supplementing enforcement activities and media events. The LELs also call upon the HEAT teams for NHTSA High Visibility Enforcement Campaigns and monthly road safety checks. The LELs and the HEAT teams network regularly and often coordinate with neighboring teams when assistance is needed. The enforcement and education efforts of the HEAT Teams and TTF contributed to a statewide seatbelt usage rate of 97.3 percent in 2014 and a reduction in alcohol-related crash deaths to 25 percent of fatalities. Much work remains, and it is the state s goal to sustain the momentum by keeping the HEAT program a highly popular and effective tool for reducing crashes, deaths, and associated injuries on Georgia highways. For more information about the two programs, contact Scarlett Woods, Georgia GOHS Law Enforcement Projects Manager at swoods@ gohs.ga.gov or (404) Scarlett Woods is the Law Enforcement Projects Manager with the Georgia Governor s Office of Highway Safety. 8

9 Partner These kinds of networks are an excellent example to the world on how cooperating agencies can achieve great strides in traffic safety. MADD: Creating Partnerships to Make Our Roadways Safer By Carl McDonald MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVing (MADD) is the nation s largest nonprofit working to protect families from drunk driving, drugged driving and underage drinking. The organization is a strong supporter of the law enforcement officers that help keep impaired drivers off our roads. Throughout the past nine years, MADD has sponsored a variety of law enforcement and criminal justice trainings around the nation in topics as diverse as: Small Agency High Visibility DUI Workshops Innovative Party Dispersal Tactics Ignition Interlock Summits Ignition Interlock Training for Law Enforcement No Refusal Workshops Death Notification for First Responders and Other Critical Personnel Our outreach to law enforcement agencies with these valuable training opportunities is continuing and extraordinarily successful. These accomplishments are only achieved with the active help from you, our partners in the National Law Enforcement Liaison Program (NLELP). LELs are a vital contact point for us to reach agency heads and command staff to inform them about the MADD training opportunities and to generate interest in these important sessions. Most of these efforts are a result of partnerships and agreements between MADD and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Our partnership with NHTSA and NLELP is a tremendous example of working affiliations that benefit the public for a professionally trained law enforcement presence and safer roads for all of us. These kinds of networks are an excellent example to the world on how cooperating agencies can achieve great strides in traffic safety. While future law enforcement trainings are under consideration, we will continue to keep the lines of communications open with the LEL network. In addition, and on behalf of MADD, I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the men and women serving as state and national Law Enforcement Liaisons for your work in enhancing communications and creating an atmosphere of cooperative coordination with a proven network of highway safety professionals across this nation. Thank you for all you do in helping us achieve our tagline motto of No More Victims. Carl McDonald is a retired Lieutenant from the Wyoming State Highway Patrol and he has served as the MADD National Law Enforcement Initiatives Manager for more than nine years. 9

10 Training & Research An interactive PDF version of the new report and infographics are available on the GHSA website at ghsa.org/html/ publications/2015drugged. html. Upcoming Webinars Focus on Impaired Driving The National LEL Program is hosting two upcoming webinars on the topic of impaired driving. Just One More: The 2015 National Holiday Crackdown NOVEMBER 4, 2015, 3:00 P.M. EST How big of an effect would we see if every locality added just one more agency to their holiday impaired driving campaign and each agency made just one more arrest? This webinar will cover the resources available for this year s national holiday crackdown, and how LELs can work with law enforcement agencies in their state to make this December s campaign the most effective yet. The 7 Deadly Sins of Impaired Driving Cases DECEMBER 2, 2015, 3:00 P.M. EST National arrest statistics reveal more than 10,000 people died in alcohol impaired driving crashes in 2013 one every 51 minutes. In 51 minutes, this webinar will explore lessons learned in the trenches from 7 real impaired driving prosecutions, the 7 deadly sins committed by impaired drivers and what we can do as law enforce- ment officers and prosecutors to better hold these offenders accountable. Visit category/webinar/ for a full list of upcoming webinars and to register. GHSA Report Urges Action on Drugged Driving THE GOVERNORS HIGHWAY Safety Association (GHSA) and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org) recently released a first-of-its-kind comprehensive report about drug use on our nation s roadways, providing recommendations to confront this complex highway safety issue. The most recent national data show drugged driving is increasing while drunk driving is declining. The percentage of fatallyinjured drivers testing positive for drugs 40 percent is almost the same as those testing positive for any alcohol. The report highlights state initiatives currently underway to combat drugged driving and includes a variety of action items states can take on a broad spectrum of issues. The report also identifies actions needed at the federal level to support state efforts. DDACTS Workshops Scheduled for November/December DDACTS (DATA-DRIVEN APproaches to Crime and Traffic Safety) is a program that integrates location-based traffic crash, crime, calls for service and enforcement data to establish efficient methods for deploying critical resources. It uses non-biased strategies to successfully reduce social harm while mitigating community tension. (For more information on the program, see our January 2015 article, DDACTS: Traffic Safety by the Numbers, at Although not mandatory, agencies interested in implementing DDACTS are strongly encouraged to attend a DDACTS Implementation Workshop. Space is available in the following upcoming workshops: NOVEMBER 3-5: Wheeling, West Virginia NOVEMBER 10-12: Jacksonville, Arkansas DECEMBER 1-3: Edneyville, North Carolina Please contact Peggy Schaefer, DDACTS program manager, at Peggyschaefer@iadlest. org for more information or to register a team. 10

11 AGENCY CATEGORY 2015 National Law Enforcement Challenge Award Recipients THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIAtion of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has announced the award recipients for the 2015 National Law Enforcement Challenge (NLEC). A total of 41 law enforcement agencies were recognized in this year s program. The NLEC is a friendly competition among law enforcement agencies. Municipal: 1-25 Sworn Officers Municipal: Sworn Officers Municipal: Sworn Officers Municipal: 251 or More Sworn Officers Sheriff: 1-50 Sworn Deputies Sheriff: Sworn Deputies Sheriff: 251 or More Sworn Deputies State Police/Highway Patrol: Sworn State Police/Highway Patrol: 501-1,500 Sworn State Police/Highway Patrol: 1,501 or More Sworn College/University Law Enforcement International Agencies Military Police Regional Enforcement Efforts Special Law Enforcement Awards & Events This program is supported through a cooperative agreement between the IACP and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and it is held in partnership with the National Sheriffs Association (NSA), the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). Congratulations to the following agencies that placed first in their respective categories: FIRST PLACE AWARD RECIPIENT City of Byron Police Department, GA Peachtree City Police Department, GA Roanoke Police Department, VA City of Virginia Beach Police Department, VA New Kent County Sheriff s Office, VA Oklahoma County Sheriff s Office, OK Forsyth County Sheriff s Office, GA Maine State Police Maryland State Police California Highway Patrol State University of NY at Oswego Police Ontario Provincial Police, Canada Fort Meade Police Department, MD Coastal Area Traffic Enforcement Network, GA Vermont Department of Motor Vehicle Enforcement and Safety Division For more information on the NLEC and to view the complete list of award recipients, visit NLEC awards will be presented during the 122nd Annual IACP Conference and Expo in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, GHSA Honors 2015 Highway Safety Awards Winners TWO INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE made a national impact on improving highway safety and five outstanding programs were honored during 2015 GHSA Highway Safety Awards luncheon held September 1, during the Association s Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. GHSA presented its most prestigious honor, the James J. Howard Highway Safety Trailblazer Award, to James Fell, senior scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. The Kathryn J.R. Swanson Public Service Award was presented to former GHSA Executive Director Barbara Harsha, who led the headquarters office for 25 years, from 1988 until her retirement in Additionally, five projects received Peter K. O Rourke Special Achievement Awards: ADEPT Driver teensmart Program California Highway Patrol Safety and Farm Labor Vehicle Education Program Ocean City Police Department Walk Smart Program Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe (B.R.A.K.E.S.) Virginia Highway Safety Office Traffic Records Electronic Data System Ignition Interlock Project For more information on the awards and this year s recipients, visit ghsa.org/html/meetings/ awards/2015/15index.html. 11

12 NHTSA Campaign Calendar OCTOBER OCT NATIONAL TEEN DRIVER SAFETY WEEK Primary Message: 5 to Drive Parents need to set the rules before teens hit the road. Remember the five rules of safety: no cell phones, no extra passengers, no speeding, no alcohol and buckle up! OCT 31 HALLOWEEN IMPAIRED DRIVING CAMPAIGN Primary Message: Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving The scariest part of Halloween isn t the spooky costumes and scary pranks; it s alcohol-impaired drivers. NOVEMBER NOV 27 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY TRAVEL Primary Message: Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time. Thanksgiving weekend, millions of Americans will hit the roads. It s one of the busiest travel times of the year, and unfortunately that means the potential for more crashes. NHTSA estimates that seat belts saved the lives of 12,584 passenger vehicle occupants in But if everyone had worn their seat belts on every trip that year, an additional 2,800 lives could have been saved. NOV. 28-DEC. 15 PRE-HOLIDAY SEASON MESSAGING Primary Message: Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving With the holidays coming up, there will be an increase in social events that involve alcohol. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that this results in an increase in DUIs and fatal drunk-driving crashes around the holidays. DECEMBER DEC. 16-JAN. 1, 2016 HOLIDAY CRACKDOWN Primary Message: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Law enforcement across the nation is cracking down on drunk driving this holiday season. In the single month of December 2013, a staggering 733 people lost their lives in crashes involving a drunk driver. For many more resources to help you with your traffic safety marketing and messaging, visit 12