Today, Haley Norman, Co-Owner of Direct Traffic Control, will speak before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit to address the challenges that roadway safety infrastructure businesses encounter in bringing life-saving innovations to market.
Norman is the chair elect for the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) and serves on its Board of Directors and Women in Roadway Safety Council. ATSSA represents more than 1,500 companies, which account for more than 11,000 industry professionals in sign manufacturing, pavement marking, guardrail and barrier, traffic signals and technical innovation fields.
Direct Traffic Control Inc. is a family-owned business located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and serves Oklahoma, Kansas and western Arkansas. It provides traffic control, highway and airport markings, guardrail installation and roadway surface preparations.
Despite the critical role that roadway safety innovations play in preventing accidents and saving lives, many innovations struggle to make it to market due to regulatory hurdles, funding challenges, and slow adoption processes.
Innovations such as Delta Crash Cushion Attenuators, though simple in design and installation, are proven to protect vehicles from impacting blunt ends of concrete median barrier, bridge railing and highway guardrail.
Other lesser thought of safety infrastructure including cable barriers have also proven to reduce the risk of crashes that occur when a vehicle crosses over a highway median and into oncoming traffic. Cable barriers installed in Ohio for example were 74% effective at reducing total crashes and 80% effective at reducing fatal and injury crashes.
Norman’s testimony will highlight the urgent need for streamlined regulations and increased investment in roadway safety innovations that have been proven to save lives.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET and will be livestreamed on the House Transportation and Infrastructure YouTube channel.
Source: American Traffic Safety Services Association
