Sen. Bond Joins Groups Forming State Highway Safety Alliance

5/22/2003

From: Jonathan Adkins of Governors Highway Safety Association 202-789-0942

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Mo.) joined officials of five groups on Thursday as they announced the formation of the State Highway Safety Alliance, to seek highway safety improvements in upcoming legislation. Sen. Bond chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

"Without question, safety is the No. 1 issue to consider when we discuss transportation," said Bond. He is supporting several highway-safety initiatives this year.

Tony Kane, Director of Engineering for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), said the alliance was formed when its member groups including AASHTO, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) became aware their separate safety policy proposals for this year's reauthorization of the Federal Surface Transportation Act shared many areas of agreement.

"This much agreement on one major area within the reauthorization, coming this early in the process, is unprecedented, and certainly worth building on," said Kane, whose group represents state transportation departments. "But we all agree that the overall transportation program must grow in funding to achieve the safety improvements we all support."

Tom Wolfsohn, AAMVA Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Communications, said additional safety funding could make roads safer for all drivers by simply enhancing the framework of the commercial driver's license information system (CDLIS). CDLIS has helped motor vehicle agencies keep potentially dangerous commercial drivers off the roads.

Kathryn Swanson, Chair of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said new research on crash causes and countermeasures against them is overdue. With states being urged to stick with programs proven to be effective, "more research needs to be conducted to show what's effective and what is not. Therefore, more federal resources need to be devoted to safety research," she said.

Stephen Campbell, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, said improvements in data-sharing will help CVSA members, who promote bus and truck safety, identify and fix problems - including drivers who chronically violate traffic laws and safety regulations.

The spokespeople from AASHTO, AAMVA, GHSA and CVSA also were joined by Gene Voegtlin of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which is expected to formally join the new safety alliance upon action by IACP's board of directors.

For more information on the State Highway Safety Alliance's member-group safety policy positions, visit the groups' individual web sites at: http://www.transportation.org for AASHTO; http://www.aamva.org for AAMVA; http://www.ghsa.org for GHSA; http://www.cvsa.org for CVSA and http://www.theiacp.org for IACP.

Detailed remarks from speakers at today's news event are available by contacting GHSA or AASHTO.