The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a summary report on “Identification of National Work Zone Safety Objectives and Activities.”

The report includes 11 strategic objectives and notes work zone crash trends, providing another resource for ATSSA members.

ATSSA recently published its “Roadway Worker Protection Special Edition,” a supplement to the Fall issue of Roadway Safety magazine, which included articles on building a workplace safety culture, insights on situational awareness and information about the teen driver education program, which addresses navigation through work zones, an ATSS Foundation program.

Kathi Holst is still haunted by the deaths of two roadway workers at companies where she served as an executive. That’s why she’s passionate about the importance of a daily emphasis on worker safety.

ATSSA’s second Roadway Worker Protection Special Edition is now online. This year’s edition focuses on three areas:

• Building a workplace safety culture
• Insights on situational awareness
• A teen driver education program that protects workers, teens and all motorists by teaching new drivers how to safely navigate work zones.

The Roadway Worker Protection Special Edition also includes a state-by-state breakdown of work zone crashes.

Piloting an F-14 Tomcat from the deck of an aircraft carrier taught Carey Lohrenz that consistent execution in a fast-moving, dynamic environment is essential to avoid catastrophe.

Today she draws on skills honed as the Navy’s first female fighter pilot for the F-14 Tomcat to help businesses succeed.

Lohrenz, a former Navy lieutenant, will serve as keynote speaker for ATSSA’s 2024 Annual Convention & Traffic Expo, scheduled for Feb. 2-6 in San Diego. In her discussion of “High Risk Into High Reward: Succeeding in High Pressure Environments,” Lohrenz will share tips for business leaders to inspire their teams to “move to higher levels of performance, even during times of disruption and chaos.”

With speeding through highway work zones posing an increasingly prevalent threat, the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and ATSSA members are taking extensive steps to protect workers engaged in a 3 ½-year project.

The Fall issue of Roadway Safety magazine details the steps those partners are taking for this long-term work on Interstate 494. Read about this project and much more in this issue, available online now.

The magazine also delves into several other issues including artificial intelligence, looking at how it’s being applied to optimize business and employed to raise the bar with intelligent traffic management systems.

ATSSA has launched a new training platform that speeds every step of the process for getting employees ready for the road.

The new learning management system (Learning.ATSSA.com) helps employees and employers:

• Quickly find required courses

• Gain rapid access to training certificates.

• Track Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

• Track their certification process.

• Navigate a personal dashboard.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner will discuss behavioral issues for roadway safety as well as infrastructure on Saturday’s broadcast of Transport Topics Radio with Dan Ronan.

The two-hour weekly program starts at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday with Tetschner’s segment scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

Transport Topics Radio airs on SiriusXM Channel 146 on Saturdays at 1 and 11 p.m. and Sundays at noon and 9 p.m.

With Congress yet to pass the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the federal government beyond the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, a government shutdown is becoming a real possibility.

While a federal shutdown is a rare occurrence, it can create uncertainty and have economic consequences. In the event of a federal government shutdown, essential functions funded with discretionary funds would continue but many of the federal employees providing these essential services would be doing so without pay until a funding resolution is reached.

Programs funded through the use of mandatory spending – such as Social Security, Medicare and certain federal trust funds like the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) – would continue to function at the start of the new fiscal year.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (Sept. 27, 2023) – The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) today unveiled a modernized logo that emphasizes the Association’s focus on advancing roadway safety.

The bolder colors and focus on navy provide the perfect complement for the orange traffic cone set within the initial A in ATSSA. Insertion of this simple, well-known image conveys an instant connection to work zones and roadway safety infrastructure.

“This logo makes a clear statement about who we are and our core purpose of advancing roadway safety,” said ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner. “It also instantly identifies us with work zones and the roadway workers who risk their lives every day to deliver safe passageways for each of us as we drive countless miles throughout the year.”

Get ready for enactment of the new Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) guidelines by attending ATSSA’s free virtual Town Hall on Sept. 7.

Speakers will address questions on the recently released guidance for the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA).

The virtual Town Hall panel will include ATSSA Director of Federal Government Relations Cameron Greene and Kathy Ruffalo, president of Ruffalo & Associates, a Washington-based advocacy and consulting firm. Ruffalo has significant transportation and infrastructure experience at both the federal and state levels.

Registration is now open.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Wednesday published the final guideline for the Build America, Buy America Act, starting a 60-day countdown to its enactment.

Included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), this expansion of the Buy America program led to the inclusion of a number of materials and products used and manufactured by ATSSA members.

ATSSA’s Government Relations Team provides a summary of the most important sections of the 162-page guidance and will continue to update ATSSA members as more information becomes available. ATSSA also will be holding a virtual town hall on this topic on Sept. 7.