ATSSA members heard from three members of Congress and a U.S. Senator today during the first day of the Association’s two-day Legislative Briefing & Fly-In.

This year’s event was handled via virtual format with nearly 70 people taking part from across the country. Two members of Congress spoke from their Capitol Hill offices.

On Wednesday, ATSSA members are scheduled for 54 meetings with federal legislators or their staff members.

Registration is now open for ATSSA's debut virtual Town Hall to be held this Tuesday. ATSSA’s new President & CEO Stacy Tetschner and ATSSA Vice President of Government Relations Nate Smith will be joined by AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon and U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., who serves on the Ways and Means Committee.

The conversation will focus on the state and federal response to COVID-19 and potential infrastructure investments. 

With restrictions imposed by the government for social distancing, ATSSA has quickly responded with two new options to enable members to continue meeting their training needs.

ATSSA now offers virtual training for the Traffic Control Technician (TCT) and Traffic Control Supervisor (TCS) courses. In addition, The Association launched a new online workplace training curriculum that is offered totally online and covers human resources and workplace safety topics.

In response to government guidelines requesting social distancing, ATSSA is now offering virtual training for two of its classroom courses.

Virtual training is now offered for the Traffic Control Technician (TCT) and Traffic Control Supervisor (TCS) courses, with the first one scheduled for April 13. ATSSA has adjusted both courses to meet the needs of individual states.

An ATSSA survey shows nearly half of its members remained on the job with regular operations after restrictions went into place as a result of COVID-19.

Members had the opportunity to respond to the survey between March 18 and 25 and were provided seven options as to how their business or agency was handling operations under the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the federal and state governments.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner sent a letter to the nation’s governors today asking that the Association’s members be considered “essential critical infrastructure workers”  in their respective jurisdictions under the guidelines issued March 19 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“On behalf of the 1,500 members of the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), I urge you to deem road construction workers and the manufacturers of roadway safety devices and construction machinery as essential industries and workers in your state,” Tetschner wrote. “ATSSA members manufacture, distribute and install lifesaving roadway safety infrastructure devices such as traffic signs and signals, pavement markings, guardrail and cable barrier, crash cushions and work zone safety devices, among many others.

In response to the global pandemic, ATSSA’s Training Department is accelerating release of one of its new online courses.

The Training Department had been slated to launch a new segment of online training addressing  human resources and workplace safety issues later this spring but out of heightened concerns for the health and safety of members amid COVID-19, Vice President of Member Services Donna Clark authorized early release of one course. The pandemic-related course is offered for free to members through April.

ATSSA has postponed two major events scheduled for this spring in the wake of COVID-19. The Legislative Briefing & Fly-In scheduled for April 22-23 has been delayed by five months to Sept. 9-10. The Safer Roads 2020 International Conference scheduled for May 12-14 in Richmond, Va., has been postponed by six months to November. An exact date will be announced once it is confirmed.

We will post additional updates related to COVID-19 as available.

Don’t miss your chance to deliver your message to Capitol Hill with ATSSA’s annual Legislative Briefing & Fly-In. The free two-day conference in Washington, D.C., takes place April 22 and 23 and provides ATSSA members an opportunity to meet policymakers, interact with people from both houses of Congress, and hear from department of transportation officials.

Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) rely heavily on ATSSA member products such as pavement markings, signs, and traffic control devices. These products will be an essential factor in the advancement of CAVs and critical in moving toward zero deaths on our roadways.