NHTSA Presents Annual Safety Awards
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently honored 14 individuals and groups from across the country for their achievements in highway safety at the 26th Annual Lifesavers conference. DOT Secretary Mary E. Peters recognized the dedication of the awardees while saying that more work remains to be done to reduce traffic deaths and injuries across the country. "We are committed to building on the momentum of progress in our shared fight to save lives on America's highways," Peters said. "The outstanding efforts of these dedicated safety groups, lawmakers, and citizens have helped focus attention on the problems associated with non-seatbelt use and impaired driving that have resulted in far too many tragedies on our roadways."
More than 2,000 participants attended the three-day Lifesavers conference, which focused on common-sense solutions to critical highway safety issues and is considered the leading event of its kind in the United States. Topics on this year's conference agenda included child passenger safety, occupant protection, impaired driving, and new vehicle safety technology. At the conference NHTSA presented public service awards to the following 14 individuals and organizations:
- Master Police Officer Jesse F. Bowman, Fairfax County Police Department, Fairfax, Va., in recognition of exemplary service as a law enforcement leader in the fight against impaired driving.
- Senator Margaret Carter, Oregon State Senate, Portland, Ore., in recognition of leadership as an advocate for highway safety issues in the Oregon State Legislature.
- Lee Cohen, Assistant State Attorney in Charge of the County Court Division Office of the State Attorney, 17th Judicial Circuit, Broward County, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in recognition of dedication, leadership, and commitment to removing impaired drivers from the highways through effective prosecution and public advocacy.
- Martha Collar (posthumous), Childhood Injury Prevention manager, Oklahoma Department of Health, Oklahoma SAFE KIDS Coalition, Oklahoma City, in recognition of a remarkable career and an inspiring passion dedicated to protecting child passengers in the State of Oklahoma.
- Robert Crane, M.D., chair, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Ohio Regional Operations Council, Columbus, Ohio, in recognition of leadership and for championing efforts to reduce impaired driving crashes throughout Ohio.
- William Elliott, founder, The John R. Elliott Foundation, The HERO Campaign, Egg Harbor Township, N.J., in recognition of dedication to eliminating impaired driving on our roadways and your leadership in expanding designated driver programs through the HERO Campaign.
- Philip W. Haseltine, president (retired), Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS), Arlington, Va., in recognition of personal dedication, accomplishments, and national leadership in improving the safety of all motor vehicle occupants, especially child passengers.
- Nadine Milford, citizen advocate, Albuquerque, N.M., in recognition of dedication and determination to prevent drunk driving through many years of educating government leaders and New Mexico’s motoring public.
- New Mexico DWI Leadership Team, New Mexico Department of Transportation, Santa Fe, N.M., in recognition of the Leadership Team's role in building a comprehensive statewide impaired driving system and reducing the number of drunk driving deaths.
- Simera Reynolds, Executive Director, Nebraska Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Lincoln, Neb., in recognition of efforts to establish Nebraska’s Drunk Driving Task Force and the State's MADD organization to fight impaired driving.
- Judge Douglas J. Saloom, City and Juvenile Court of Lafayette, Lafayette, La., in recognition of accomplishments in promoting traffic safety from a judicial perspective.
- Senator Christine Savage, Maine State Senator, Union, Maine, in recognition of leadership in the successful effort to enact a primary seat belt law in the State of Maine, which was signed into law on April 30, 2007.
- Representative David Schapira, Arizona House of Representatives, Tempe, Ariz., in recognition of dedication to stopping DUI and saving lives in Arizona through the introduction and passage of legislation requiring ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers.
- Utah Eliminating Alcohol Sales to Youth (E.A.S.Y.) Program, Departments of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Human Services, and Public Safety, Salt Lake City, in recognition of its innovative, collaborative approach to addressing underage consumption of alcohol and its impact on traffic safety in the State of Utah.