For the past several decades, ITE has been at the forefront of our profession in terms of promoting strategies, standards, and Recommended Practices that have safety as a principal goal. And we have not hesitated in partnering with various other industry organizations and associations in support of improving roadway safety and pursuing zero fatalities. So, it was no surprise when volunteers and leaders across ITE started working on our Strategic Plan last year, that the topic of safety came up regularly.
But this time the tone was different. The conversation wasn’t characterized by “let’s keep doing the great things we’re doing.” Instead, it was “how can we take it a little further” in terms of our voice, our scope, and our eventual impact on the outcomes. Words like “bold,” “aggressive,” and “elevate” were being thrown around regularly in meetings regarding safety. The end result, as detailed last November in the ITE Journal article about our 2024-2026 Strategic Plan, was to emphasize fostering a “cultural shift which prioritizes roadway safety.”
Doing that, of course, is going to require a multifaceted and multi-year effort. But we’re getting started right away by incorporating the topic of safety into our sessions during the annual Spring Virtual Conference. This online event is nearly upon us, and I for one am really excited about some of the sessions and speakers taking part in it. We have 10 sessions organized by our six councils—Complete Streets, Education, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Planning, Transportation Safety, and TSMO. Topics including curbside environments, metrics for measuring safety, people-center mobility, using data for predicting problems, and designing information campaigns for safety all will be featured among the 10 sessions.
Why is this so important that I’m devoting my monthly column specifically to this virtual conference? Because it’s so easy to participate. If you haven’t yet registered, the conference will take place March 19-20, and is only scheduled for a 6-hour block each day (leaving time to catch up on other important duties). No travel is required, and you can sit at your desk and immediately be immersed in important industry collaboration and conversation! As an added bonus, each conference session is recorded for viewing (available for 2 months afterward for registrants only). Last year nearly 40 percent of session attendance took place after the fact—registrants pulling up and reviewing the videos of each session. This was a clear indication that interest was strong—even if schedules didn’t permit “live” viewing of each session.
Rob Ritter, the recently appointed Associate Administrator for the Office of Safety at the Federal Highway Administration, will share his thoughts during the opening plenary session and emphasize how critical it is that we consider human behavior and the people-element in all our safety conversations. Closing the conference we’ll hear from Rachel Carpenter, the first-ever Chief Safety Officer with Caltrans. She too is a national safety expert and will talk about California’s various safety practices and policies.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to contribute to the discussion and be a part of our journey toward safer roadways! I’ll close with words from America’s 30th President Calvin Coolidge: “Nothing is of greater importance than the conservation of human life.” Thank you for helping ITE in its journey toward safer communities!