The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) takes the first step in activating its variable speed zone along Interstate 95 in the Fredericksburg region today.

New LED signs that can display variable speed limits will be illuminated for the first several days with the 65-70 mph limit to give drivers time to adjust to the presence of the signs, VDOT announced. The system will be fully activated on June 22, at which point speed limits could be anywhere between 35 mph and 70 mph.

ATSSA examined variable speed zones in the Winter 2022 issue of Roadway Safety magazine in an article that analyzed their use in multiple states. The article, “Do They Improve Safety?” reviewed details of how the new VDOT variable speed zone will work and how the zones have been used elsewhere in Virginia and in regions across the country.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (June 15, 2022) – ATSSA honored Sen. Shelley Moore Capito with the Roadway Safety Champion award during the Association’s Legislative Briefing & Fly-In held this week in the nation’s capital.

ATSSA Board Member Tim McNelis, ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner, ATSSA Board Chair Jeff Johnson and ATSSA Vice President of Engagement Nate Smith presented the award to Capito in her Capitol Hill office.

Capito, a Republican and the junior senator from West Virginia, has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015. Before that, she served for 14 years in the House of Representatives, representing West Virginia’s 2^nd Congressional District.

ATSSA members from across the country are meeting with legislators on Capitol Hill today, carrying their insights and priorities for roadway safety directly to lawmakers.

Sixty meetings are scheduled with members of the Senate, the House of Representatives and their legislative teams. The goal is to fuel the future of roadway safety by carrying their message directly to the nation’s decision makers.

ATSSA’s two-day Legislative Briefing & Fly-In returned to Washington, D.C., this week after two years as a virtual event because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 50 people representing 17 states and the District of Columbia registered to attend the event, which is a benefit of ATSSA membership.

Today, Cindy Williams, president of Time Striping, president of the Arkansas ATSSA Chapter, and a member of the ATSSA Board of Directors, testified before the Highways and Transit Subcommittee in the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill.

The hearing, entitled “Addressing the Roadway Safety Crisis: Building Safer Roads for All,” focused on the recently released 2021 traffic fatality statistics, and countermeasures that can combat that increase.

“The Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) is a critical component to achieving the goal of Towards Zero Deaths,” Williams said in her testimony. “Having a dedicated funding stream for roadway safety has been critical to addressing safety needs and continuing this program was a bipartisan priority for Congress and ATSSA.”

Discussion during the hearing also focused on rural road safety, something Williams said she understands well from her experience in Arkansas.

ATSSA Board Member Cindy Williams will testify on Capitol Hill before the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee on Wednesday regarding roadway safety and the rising number of traffic fatalities.

Williams is president of Time Striping in Van Buren, Ark., and president of the Arkansas ATSSA Chapter.

The hearing will be livestreamed at 10 a.m. on the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure website.

As ATSSA reported on May 17, traffic fatalities across the U.S. rose 10.5% in 2021 to a projected 42,915 deaths, reaching a 16-year high, according to statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).