Apply by Nov. 1 to participate in ATSSA’s New Products Rollout (NPRO) to discover the future of roadway safety innovations. NPRO will be held during ATSSA’s 54th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo in San Diego, Feb. 2-6.

Exhibitors who introduced products after Jan. 1, 2021, are eligible to apply. This year’s earlier deadline is due to the Convention’s earlier date.

Entries accepted for NPRO will be included in the New Products Listing, which showcases the products to more than 3,700 roadway safety professionals who attend ATSSA’s Annual Convention & Traffic Expo, including listing on the Convention website and mobile app.

ATSSA’s Midyear Meeting features a panel on “Creating a Culture of Safety in the Workplace.”

Panelists include Doug Dolinar of Guidemark Inc., Kathi Holst of D2K Traffic Safety Inc., Chris Brookes of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Cameron Greene of ATSSA. Dave Krahulec of Horizon Signal Technologies will moderate.

The Midyear Meeting will be held Aug. 15-18 at the Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Ill. Registration is now available. The hotel block closes July 24.

Connected arrow boards offer several advantages for work zone safety, a message ATSSA is helping spread through a new one-page flyer available for free download.

The Iowa Department of Transportation (IowaDOT) has required the use of connected arrow boards on all interstate and state highway projects since 2022 as reported in a feature about smart arrow boards in Roadway Safety magazine.

The Connected Arrow Boards flyer was created by the Work Zone ITS Subcommittee of ATSSA’s Temporary Traffic Control (TTC) Committee and approved by the full committee at its February meeting. It notes that more than 3,000 connected arrow boards are already in use on roads and lists seven benefits of the devices.

ATSSA now offers a Worker Protection Toolkit that will help the industry prevent roadway worker injuries and be equipped to respond in case of an injury or death.

“The overarching goal is to protect the lives of roadway workers,” said ATSSA Vice President of Member Services Donna Clark. “That is why this toolkit was designed to provide assistance in properly training workers. We recognize, however, that tragedies can occur so we also provide a roadmap for employers in case the worst happens.”

The Worker Protection Toolkit is the result of efforts by the Roadway Worker Protection Council. The RWP Council grew out of a Roadway Worker Protection Summit held during ATSSA’s 2021 Convention & Traffic Expo.

The ATSS Foundation awarded Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarships to 14 students for the 2023-24 academic year.

The Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship Program started in 2002 to provide financial assistance for post-high school education to dependents of roadway workers killed or permanently disabled in roadway work zones. The program is competitive and provides scholarships valued up to $10,000 per student each year. Since its inception, the program has awarded 126 Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarships. An additional 26 Chuck Bailey Memorial Scholarships—valued at $1,000 each—have been awarded to applicants who demonstrate a strong commitment to volunteerism. Bailey was a member of the roadway safety industry who died in 2002.

“The goal of the program is to help dependents of workers killed or permanently disabled in a work zone incident navigate a path forward,” said Foundation Director Lori Diaz.