National Advocates to Launch North Carolina Lifesavers Conference; Statewide Conference to Address Traffic Safety, Related Legal Issues 9/15/2003
From: Jill Warren Lucas, 919-733-3083, 919-291-6729 (cell), or jwlucas@dot.state.nc.us, for the Governor's Highway Safety Program; http://www.ncdot.org/secretary/ghsp/ News Advisory: What: -- North Carolina Lifesavers Conference When: -- 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, through 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 Where: -- Greensboro Marriott, 304 North Greene Street, Greensboro Officials of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will address more than 300 law enforcement officers, child passenger safety technicians, legal experts and traffic safety advocates during the opening session of the North Carolina Lifesavers Conference. The conference, presented by the Governor's Highway Safety Program, will begin Tuesday and end Thursday at the Greensboro Marriott. A videotaped message from NHTSA Administrator Dr. Jeffery Runge of Charlotte will be featured during the 1 p.m. Tuesday opening session. Scheduled speakers include Carol Carmody, former acting director and current member of the NTSB; Bill Kootsikas, NHTSA Regional Program Manager; and Greensboro Police Chief David Wray. Col. Jim Champagne, executive director of the Louisiana Traffic Safety Commission, will deliver the luncheon address at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Guilford County District Attorney Stuart Albright will present closing remarks at 11 a.m. Thursday. The conference is patterned after NHTSA's Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities, which will be held in North Carolina in 2005. Attendees will hear from state and national experts on such topics as underage drinking, drug-impaired driving, legal updates, liability issues, Graduated Driver License (GDL) research, a GDL victim's impact panel, minorities and traffic safety, media relations, traffic enforcement technology, special needs child passenger safety, and teens and occupant protection. Other prominent speakers include Ernie Floegel, Drug Recognition Enforcement Program Coordinator for the International Association of Chiefs of Police; Dr. Karl Citek, Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) expert from Pacific University; Dr. Allan Williams, Chief Scientist for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety; Dr. Rob Foss, Research Scientist for the UNC Highway Safety Research Center; and Joe Colella, Child Passenger Safety Training Manager for National SAFE KIDS. ------ The media is welcome to observe North Carolina Lifesavers Conference workshops. Most speakers will be available for interview before or after their sessions. For details, or to schedule an interview, contact GHSP Public Information Officer Jill Warren Lucas at 919-733-3083 (cell: 919-291-6729), or visit our Web site at: http://www.ncdot.org/secretary/ghsp. |