TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SLATER ASKS TRAFFIC SAFETY CONFERENCE TO CONTINUE LIFESAVING EFFORTS

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SLATER ASKS TRAFFIC SAFETY CONFERENCE TO CONTINUE LIFESAVING EFFORTS

Topics: Rodney E. Slater

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SLATER ASKS TRAFFIC SAFETY CONFERENCE TO CONTINUE LIFESAVING EFFORTS

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
June 9, 1997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 9, 1997
NHTSA 36-97
Contact: Tim Hurd
Tel. No. (202) 366-9550

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SLATER
ASKS TRAFFIC SAFETY CONFERENCE
TO CONTINUE LIFESAVING EFFORTS

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Reaffirming President Clinton's commitment to safety as his top transportation priority, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today encouraged safety representatives from around the nation to re-double their efforts to reduce traffic deaths and injuries.

"Safety is my top priority and the most important mission of the department," Secretary Slater said. "It is a culture we continuously nourish, and it is an investment worthy of this great nation. That's why we made a strong commitment to increase the use of seat belts and to reduce fatalities among children."

The Clinton administration's national strategy calls for U.S. seat belt use to increase to 85 percent by the year 2000 and for child fatalities to be down by 15 percent by that time.

Secretary Slater delivered the keynote address at Lifesavers 15, a national four-day conference on highway safety priorities, in Orlando, Fla., at which were gathered about 1,500 persons, ranging from national safety organization leaders to community workers, who are participating in more than 50 workshops and viewing more than 65 exhibits of traffic safety products and programs.

Representatives from the public and private sectors as well as local community traffic safety workers are attending the Lifesavers conference where they are learning and sharing information on a range of safety topics, from occupant protection and impaired driving to roadway safety and vehicle technology.

During the conference NHTSA Administrator Ricardo Martinez, M.D., a board-certified emergency physician, will present 14 awards honoring individual and group accomplishments in emergency medical services, trauma care, programs against impaired driving, prevention of youth fatalities, increasing safety belt use, legal reform and other aspects of highway safety.

Dr. Martinez said that success in achieving further improvements in traffic safety will boil down to individual efforts. He singled out the 14 award winners as "star performers" and "perfect examples" of the dedication required for continued progress in improving traffic safety.

The award recipients include:

Julie Russell Bolen, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, for extraordinary leadership in broadening and enhancing mutual efforts of NHTSA and the NCIPC to integrate injury prevention strategies with existing traditional traffic safety countermeasures.

Sister Rita Jean DuBrey, St. Mary's Hospital Wellness Institute, Amsterdam, N.Y., in recognition of her leadership and exceptional dedication to injury prevention work and for promoting the participation of local partners in community health and safety initiatives.

Harold Hanser, Montana Impaired Driving Task Force, Billings, Mont., in recognition of his life-long dedication to traffic safety through civic action and leadership that resulted in passage of vital impaired driving legislation in Montana.

Margaret Hohmann, Indian Council of Governments (INCOG) Safe Communities/Community Traffic Safety Programs, Tulsa, Okla., in recognition of her skill, dedication, leadership and tenacity in advancing the cause of safe communities and traffic safety at the community level.

Tricia Lillibridge, R.N., Anchorage Safe Communities, Anchorage, Alaska, in recognition of her outstanding efforts in coalition building, determination and perseverance in helping to lead the nation toward the development of the safe community model.

Capt. David H. Morgan, Illinois State Police, Pesotum, Ill., in recognition of his leadership in the implementation of "Operation Cool," a program that has saved the lives of teenagers in the state of Illinois.

Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort), Jefferson City, Mo., in recognition of Operation C.A.R.E.'s 20-year effort to reduce motor vehicle crashes, injuries and deaths through enforcement and educational programs.

Recording Artists Against Drunk Driving, Studio City, Calif., for outstanding achievement in providing information to the public about alternatives to drinking and driving by utilizing celebrity volunteers from entertainment, music and sports.

Diane Riibe, Parents Resources and Information on Drug Education (PRIDE)-Omaha, Inc., Omaha, Neb., in recognition of her tireless work, dedication and achievements in reducing impaired driving in the community, thereby making impaired driving laws in Nebraska more effective.

Mary Russell, R.N., Safe Communities, Palm Beach County, Boca Raton, Fla., in recognition of her outstanding service as a national resource in the development, promotion and implementation of the safe communities program.

Richard J. Smith III, Indian Health Service, Rockville, Md., for his vision and dedication to reducing injuries among Native American people through the promotion of tribal injury prevention programs.

Earl M. Sweeney, New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council, Concord, N.H., in recognition of his national leadership in promoting traffic safety programs and countermeasures as effective priority law enforcement strategies.

David Thompson, Buckle Up San Diego, San Diego, Calif., in recognition of more than 35 years of outstanding and dedicated leadership in promoting community-based injury prevention traffic safety programs in San Diego County.

Cynthia Wright-Johnson, R.N., Emergency Medical Services for Children, Baltimore, in recognition of her proactive role in developing and implementing programs to prevent childhood injuries, with special emphasis on child transportation safety issues.