LEL · ney customer service training experience by paraphrasing the customer is not always right, but let ... our phlebotomy pro-gram was born. Launching the program was a true team

1THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

LELTHE

Law Enforcement Improving Traffic Safety

October 2O173 Encouraging Enforcement

4 Best Practices

6 Rural Seat Belt Use

7 Data and the LEL

8 Partner Spotlight

9 Tips to Testify

10 Training & Research

11 Awards & Events

12 Traffic Safety Calendar

Region 4 Launches Operation Southern ShieldFive states collaborated on high-visibility enforcement this past summer.

By Chris Broome

THIS PAST JULY, ALABAMA HIGHWAY PATROL, Florida Highway Patrol, Georgia State Patrol, South Carolina Highway Patrol, and Tennessee Highway Patrol joined more than 500 local city and county agencies across Region 4 for a week-long high-visibility enforcement and awareness campaign targeting a variety of unsafe driving behaviors.

The initiative, which ran from July 17—23, was dubbed “Operation Southern Shield.” Participating states conducted aggressive enforcement of mul-tiple traffic safety violations identified as contrib-uting to the greatest number of vehicular-related injuries and deaths in the region. These violations included seat belt use, speeding in both urban and rural settings, alcohol- and drug-impaired driving, and distracted driving.

Participating states conducted

aggressive enforcement of multiple traffic

safety violations.

Harris Blackwood (left), Director of the Georgia

Governor’s Highway Safety

Program, and Bill Whatley (at podium), Public

Safety Unit Chief for the Alabama

Department of Economic and

Community Affairs, at a press

conference to kick off Operation

Southern Shield.

2THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

State public information officers spent hundreds of hours prepar-ing for multi-state press events and developing social media campaigns to both educate and warn motorists of the week’s events, as well as change driving behaviors for a lifetime.

Promotion and participation focused on overlapping jurisdic-tions covering many “hot spots.” Prior to assembling law enforce-ment, each state was asked to provide relevant crash data for analysis to determine the most appropriate hot spots to target. In turn, law enforcement prepared plans to initiate activity in those areas requiring the most atten-tion. The hot spots comprised specific locations impacted by heavy summer vacation travel, a time period when the rate of fatal and injury-causing crashes is highest in the Southeast.

Carmen Hayes, Regional Adminis-trator for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 4, expressed great enthu-siasm for the initiative. During a

According to data from

NHTSA, Region 4

saw a 14.2% increase in fatalities in

2015, with nearly 900 additional

roadway deaths,

the second greatest increase

among regions.

Operation Southern Shield

post-operation briefing she stated, “I have worked in highway safety for almost 20 years and I continue to be astounded by what the state law enforcement professionals do here. This program struck a chord with our state partners and it was positive, practical and most ben-eficial for the traveling public.”

Planning for Operation Southern Shield began in mid-January. According to data from NHTSA, Region 4 saw a 14.2% increase in fatalities in 2015, with nearly 900 additional roadway deaths, the second greatest increase among regions. Preliminary data show this increase continuing at the same alarming rate, with an additional 661 people killed in motor vehicle fatalities in 2016.

Regional data from 2014 show that the top five types of motor vehicle deaths in Region 4 were unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities (28.1%), alcohol-impaired driving fatalities (27.4%), speed-related fatali-ties (19.2%), pedestrian fatali-ties (16.0%) and motorcyclist

fatalities (16.0%). Four out of the five states in the region cite the top three types (un-restrained, alcohol-impaired driving and speed-related fatalities) as their major chal-lenge areas. In 2015, the greatest percentage increases in fatalities were motorcyclist fatalities (+24.0%), speed-related fatalities (+12.3%), pedestrian fatalities (+10.2%), unrestrained fatalities (+8.2%), and alcohol-impaired driving fatalities (+6.6%).

In addition to exceptional press coverage across the participat-ing states, social media ac-companied this initiative by providing individual state and law enforcement partners with highway safety-themed mes-sages for the motoring public. Video coverage of press events, as well as daily themed mes-sages related to aggressive driving, distracted driving, child passenger and adult safety belt use and the dangers of impaired driving enabled both public and private users to comment, re-post and share information.

During the course of Operation Southern Shield, participating agencies wrote nearly 50,000 citations, nearly half of which were for speeding violations, and the initiative generated more than 250 television, radio and print stories.

Chris Broome is a Regional Program Manager and the Region 4 LEL for NHTSA.

Law enforcement officers across

Region 4 coordinated traffic

safety efforts during Operation Southern Shield.

3THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

LELTHE

Law Enforcement Improving Traffic Safety

Vernon Betkey program manager

The LEL is published by the National Law Enforcement Liaison Program, a project of the Governors Highway Safety Association, funded

by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

444 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite 722,

Washington DC 20001-1534 www.nlelp.org

facebook.com/nlelp twitter.com/nlelp

program manager Vernon Betkey

editor Amadie Hart

creative Tony Frye Design

technical advisory group Glenn Cramer

Ted Minall Michael Morris James Sanders

Bill Sullivan Richard Sullivan

Encouraging Enforcement Efforts

AN AURA OF NEGATIVITY HAS pervaded police and communi-ty relations around the country and there are mixed attitudes across the law enforcement network regarding the role and importance of traffic safety and enforcement as an integral part of police patrol and special operations. The attitude is impacting safety, as traffic en-forcement is down and motor vehicle fatalities are up. In spite of the negativity, there are a number of leaders that recog-nize the dilemma and want to address the challenges.

I had the pleasure of listen-ing to a very refreshing and poignant speech at the GHSA Annual Meeting from Chief Steven Casstevens from the Buffalo Grove (IL) Police De-partment. Chief Casstevens is also the 3rd Vice President for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and has served on IACP’s Traffic Safety Committee for more than 20 years. He is a true highway safety advocate and champion. In his presentation, Chief Casstevens looked at two root causes of the current trend. One was the dip in the economy in 2008, which led to massive reductions in police resources and services, and the other is social unrest that has swept the country over the past three years, which has impacted police and commu-nity relations.

Although the economy has improved, law enforcement agencies still seem to be in recovery mode, and dedicated traffic enforcement is one area that continues to suffer. In addition, the move toward re-newed community policing can also drop traffic enforcement to the bottom of the priority list. Chief Casstevens’ retort to this was to say that traffic enforce-ment IS community policing. It is a prime example of interac-tion with and connection to the community. Each traffic stop represents a proactive step to prevent crashes, deaths, and associated injuries and is equivalent to a public service announcement for the law en-forcement agency. Each traffic encounter has the potential of making a positive impression about a negative experience.

The chief concluded by com-paring a traffic stop to the Dis-ney customer service training experience by paraphrasing the philosophy: the customer is not always right, but let them be wrong with dignity and create a positive impres-sion that can be long and lasting. Excellent job Chief Casstevens! Your message is a good mantra for fighting crime and/or enforcing traffic laws. Thanks for being a high-way safety champion.

Although the economy has

improved, law enforcement agencies still

seem to be in recovery mode, and

dedicated traffic enforcement

is one area that continues

to suffer.

4THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

Best PracticesLakewood PD Develops a Phlebotomy Program

By Chief Mike Zaro

THE BEST IDEAS FOR MY POLICE department often come from community members, other chiefs, or our own officers. Offi-cer John Babcock is assigned to the Lakewood (WA) Police De-partment traffic unit. Two years ago, Officer Babcock noted the delay and logistical difficulties in drawing blood from DUI suspects in the local hospital.

As it stood, taking DUI arrestees to the hospital for a blood draw was the only option available to every law enforcement agency in Washington State. The arrest-ing officer first had to write a warrant, get it signed by a judge, and then take the suspect to the hospital for the draw. The warrant process alone can create delays, and officers faced further potential delays at the hospital, including hospital staffing, where only one phlebotomist may be working and not available, or in cases where the hospital phlebotomist was either reluctant to draw blood or needed further authorization because they were uncomfortable with the warrant process.

Officer Babcock approached me with the suggestion that officers be trained to do blood draws. His research showed that Arizona and Idaho allowed officers to draw blood, and he noted that such a progrram would remove one unnecessary person from the evidentiary chain of custody.

Oftentimes the best thing a chief

can do is get out of the way

of a good idea.

With that, our phlebotomy pro-gram was born.

Launching the program was a true team effort. Officer Bab-cock’s partners and supervisor in the traffic unit, our legal advisor, and members of the Washing-ton Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) all recognized the merits of this program and did their part to see it through to fruition. My role was that of advocate and salesman; when you approach your insurance company and tell them you want your officers to start drawing blood, it takes a bit of selling.

The team working on this found that the legal authority already existed for this through the State Department of Health. It did not matter who drew the blood, as long as that person was certified by the state of Washington. Six of our officers volunteered for the program and went through the exact same training as the hospital phlebotomists.

Thanks to this team effort, we are the first police department in the state of Washington to have officers certified to draw blood. This is also a great example of the notion that oftentimes the best thing a chief can do is get out of the way of a good idea.

For a look at Arizona’s law en-forcement phlebotomy program, download the April 2016 issue of The LEL.

Chief Mike Zaro is Chief of Police for the Lakewood Police Department.

The Value of Law Enforcement Liaisons

By Glenn Cramer

CHIEF MIKE ZARO’S ARTICLE about the Lakewood Police Department phlebotomy program is a testament to the chief and his staff for their leadership, shared thinking to collaborate, and persever-ance to attain results.

The genesis of the program was a presentation I made two years ago at a meeting of the Washington Impaired Driving Advisory Council (WIDAC). The WTSC had asked me to provide the WIDAC with information on how other states were over-coming challenges in evidence collection for impaired driving. A representative of the Lakewood PD heard my presentation on the value of Arizona and Idaho’s phlebotomy programs and shared it with an officer in their department. Once the Lake-wood PD decided to move for-ward with their own phlebotomy program, they reached out to me for information about who to contact and how to navigate the development of their project.

Law enforcement liaisons provide value by creating de-pendable pathways to subject matter experts who can help complete critical tasks or pro-vide access to resources. LELs act as “knowledge brokers” for State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) and law enforcement agencies. An LEL can help discover and evaluate informa-

5THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

Best Practicestion and best practices to help SHSOs and law enforcement agencies improve service and develop better solutions.

Our value as LELs is in being a knowledgeable resource for oth-ers. Success in this comes from having a clear understanding of what we do and why, coupled with the relationships you have built, and informed by your years of experience and expertise in the field of traffic safety.

Glenn Cramer is the NHTSA Region 10 LEL.

Engaging Law Enforcement in Traffic Safety

By Amadie Hart

A KEY HIGHLIGHT OF THE RECENT Governors Highway Safety As-sociation (GHSA) 2017 Annual Meeting was the focus on how to encourage law enforcement participation in efforts to make our roads safer. One of the workshop sessions, “Re-Engaging Law En-forcement: From Rank and File to Executive Leadership,” moderated by Chuck DeWeese, Assistant Commissioner of the New York Governor’s Traffic Safety Com-mittee, examined the issue from a number of perspectives, and pro-vided visibility for approaches that increase buy-in and participation from officers on the ground.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been holding a series of law enforcement partnership forums across the country this past year

Sheriffs and Chiefs need to

make traffic safety a priority

within their office or department.

to solicit law enforcement’s con-cerns, challenges and suggested solutions regarding traffic safety engagement. NHTSA Region 2 Administrator Mike Geraci shared that the primary obstacles identi-fied during the forums fell into three main categories: leadership, resources and operational deploy-ment. Suggestions for overcoming those obstacles include:

●● Promoting that traffic enforcement improves quality of life in commu-nities and aids in crime reduction;

●● Encouraging the sharing of resources, equipment, personnel, and data;

●● Developing traffic safety alliances;

●● Providing more flexibility to conduct sustained en-forcement efforts; and

●● Making traffic safety a core value, and a part of an agency’s culture.

In addition, John Marshall, Direc-tor of NHTSA’s Office of Safety Programs, highlighted a number of initiatives the agency is pursu-ing to improve officer safety and demonstrate appreciation and support for the difficult and dan-gerous work that law enforce-ment does every day.

Similarly, the WTSC conducted an assessment of proactive traf-fic enforcement that began with a survey of partner law enforce-ment agencies and interviews with a subset of those agencies. WTSC Director Darrin Grondel shared the results of the as-

sessment, which found many of the same obstacles, but also saw concerns raised about the complexity of DUI investiga-tions. Their recommendations include a mix of short- and long-term strategies that cover operations, process and train-ing improvements.

Leadership was emphasized by several of the speakers. Both retired Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel and Robert Ticer, Chief of Police for the Loveland (CO) Police Department, said that Sheriffs and Chiefs need to make traffic safety a priority within their office or department. Both law enforcement leaders pointed to remarks made earlier in the day by Buffalo Grove (IL) Police Chief Steven Casste-vens that traffic enforcement is crime prevention and noted that efforts such as DDACTS (Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety) not only provide for more effective enforcement initatives, they also help demon-strate the crime-stopping aspect of traffic enforcement.

Chief Ticer challenged the law enforcement officers in at-tendance to consider seeking leadership positions to help “lead from the front” and make traffic safety a priority in agen-cies across the nation. Slides from the workshop are available for download from the GHSA website.

Amadie Hart is a Commu-nications Consultant for the Governors Highway Safety Association.

6THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

Solutions andCounter-measures

Engineering

Education

EMS

Enforcement

Increasing Seat Belt Use in Rural Areas

By Brett Reichart and Elizabeth Farrington

INDIANA’S RURAL DEMONSTRA-tion Project (RDP) is an annual grant program that provides Hoo-sier law enforcement agencies the ability to increase enforce-ment patrols in rural areas that have consistently low seat belt usage rates. RDP, which began in FY 2012, is managed by the Traf-fic Safety Division of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

The purpose of RDP is the promotion of a coordinated effort to improve occupant protection strategies while reducing fatalities and injuries in crashes related to seat belt usage in rural areas. The last two years have seen a more consistent selection of rural coun-ties eligible for grant funding with the inclusion of more traditionally conceptualized rural counties.

The official criteria for classifica-tion as a “Rural” or “Rural-Mixed” area include:

FY 2016-17 data revealed unrestrained crashes and

incapacitating injuries declined

during the three-week

enforcement period.

●● Rural: An area with a popula-tion of fewer than 40,000 people, that has fewer than 100 people per square mile, and where the largest city has a population of fewer than 10,000 residents.

●● Rural-Mixed: An area with a population between 40,000 and 100,000 people, that has between 100-200 people per square mile, and where the largest city has a population between 10,000 and 30,000 residents.

The selection of Rural and Rural-Mixed counties for the RDP program is based on the rate of unrestrained persons in crashes per 10,000 people. All law enforcement agencies within the top 30 counties that meet those criteria are eligible for grants to conduct enforcement activities over a 21-day period in the spring. Pre- and post-enforcement media campaigns are also used to sup-port enforcement efforts.

The overarching aim of the pro-gram is to improve seat belt usage in rural areas of the state through

occupant protection enforcement campaigns. FY 2016-17 data re-vealed unrestrained crashes and incapacitating injuries declined during the three-week enforce-ment period.

Acting by selecting an area of need according to your data, and developing a plan providing enforcement funding addressing specific traffic safety needs is a great place to start in includ-ing underserved areas within your state. This program was tweaked from its origins to better address Indiana’s goals. Additionally, this program was offered after funding opportuni-ties expired for the main occu-pant protection grants in Indiana as a method to recruit agencies into our traffic safety programs to promote positive results. This approach has improved enforce-ment in underserved areas of the state and made people safer.

Brett Reichart is an Indiana LEL and Elizabeth Farrington is a Research Associate with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

7THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

First Person

Data and the LELBy Wil Price

IN EARLY OCTOBER, THE U.S. DEPART-ment of Transportation and NHTSA released fatal crash data for 2016. The total number of people killed on our highways rose from 35,092 in 2015 to 37,461 in 2016—a 5.6% increase. If you are an LEL you know we spend a lot of time talking about data and how it affects decision-making and setting priorities. With resources, staffing, and capacity of-ten stretched thin, law enforcement needs the very best data to make the greatest operational impact in the field.

For LELs, good data is the coin of the realm. Our planning, and operational decision-making relies on data that is timely, accurate, and complete. But how we source that data and understanding where it comes from can be challenging. Information passes through a lot of hands before it comes to NHTSA for analysis and publication. We are often asked why it takes so long to get FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System) data out. The answer is complex; there are a lot of steps between the capture of data in the field by law enforcement officers and final coding and analysis of that information. What is clear, however, is that LELs need good data to be effective, and play an important role in working with law enforcement to reinforce the value of the collection and reporting of data from the field.

From time to time we still hear, “we only take crash reports to satisfy insurance companies.” Nothing could be further from the truth. It has been said that if you are not keeping score, then it is just practice.

The data that law enforcement officers col-lect in crash investigations, from property damage-only to multiple fatalities, is critical to all of us. It builds our understanding of the nature of crashes and paints a more accurate and complete picture that leads to more effective countermeasures. Getting that data in an accurate, complete, and timely manner is something every LEL can contribute to through your interaction with law enforcement organizations, officers, and leadership.

Become familiar with the data at your disposal—a good place to start is www.nhtsa.gov/research-data. The informa-tion can enhance your ability to influence action by conveying an understanding of the highway safety issues in your area. As an LEL, you can make an impact through continued advocacy for data collection and by talking about it with the people most directly involved in that process. The results might not be immediately obvious, but it will make all the difference in the world.

A planned webinar in 2018 will describe the data collection and analysis process and how LELs can support that effort.

Wil Price is a Highway Safety Specialist with the NHTSA Office of Enforcement and Justice Services and is the Con-tracting Officer Representative (COR) for the National Law Enforcement Liai-son Program.

The data that law enforcement

officers collect in crash

investigations, from property damage-only

to multiple fatalities,

is critical to all of us.

8THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

Partner

Operation CARE

By James Sanders

OPERATION CARE (COMBINED Accident Reduction Effort) was launched in 1977 by Sergeant Gary Ernst of the Michigan State Police and First Sergeant Gene Neff of the Indiana State Police to bring together patrol, enforcement and planning efforts committed to the goal of crash reduction.

Operation CARE mobilizations take place during designated holiday periods throughout the year, and have remained con-sistent as an effort to reduce crashes and fatalities through concentrated enforcement activi-ties. The program has expanded to include nearly all State Police and Highway Patrol agencies in the United States.

CARE is now transforming its mission and vision, and the initia-tive’s acronym has shifted to stand for “Crash Awareness and Reduction Efforts.” The revised

A goal of CARE will be

to establish relationships

with all law enforcement

agencies in an effort to coordinate

enforcement activities to

enhance traffic safety during

designated periods.

mission of CARE is to eliminate traffic deaths and injuries in sup-port of the Road to Zero coali-tion through increased public awareness of traffic safety op-erations by all law enforcement agencies. Its vision is to improve public safety and quality of life in our communities through the de-velopment of a national highway system that is free from motor vehicle crash fatalities and seri-ous injuries.

Plans are underway for CARE to be aligned as a section of the State and Provincial Division of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). A goal of CARE will be to establish re-lationships with all law enforce-ment agencies in an effort to co-ordinate enforcement activities to enhance traffic safety during designated periods.

The 2017 CARE conference was held September 17—20 in Oklahoma City, hosted by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Thirty-four State Police and Highway Patrol agencies were represented

at the conference. The Okla-homa Highway Patrol (OHP) led a presentation about their Impaired Driving Enforcement Program, which engages six full-time OHP Troopers as Impaired Driving Liaisons (IDLs) whose function is to establish and coordinate DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols, in partner-ship with local law enforcement agencies. Times and locations for the enforcement efforts are based on DUI crash data and special events. Over the past 18 months they have arrested more than 1,600 impaired drivers through this collaborative effort.

The location of the 2018 CARE conference will be announced soon and will be posted on the IACP website. With the proposed association with the State and Provincial Division of IACP, CARE is look-ing forward to a bright future in reducing crashes and improv-ing highway safety.

James Sanders is the NHTSA Region 6 LEL.

9THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

Tips to Testify

Standard of ProofBy Judge Earl G. Penrod

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFI-cers regularly testify in criminal matters brought by the government against an individual. Law enforcement may also be called upon to testify in a civil action, such as a lawsuit for personal injuries filed by one driver against an-other. In a number of jurisdic-tions, some traffic violations are treated as something of a hybrid, having some char-acteristics of both a criminal proceeding and a civil lawsuit. Regardless of the nature of the case, the facts to which the officer will testify will not change, but the court proce-dures may vary somewhat and some evidentiary issues will be impacted by the consti-tutional rights every criminal defendant enjoys.

One of the major distinctions between criminal and civil cases is the standard of proof necessary for a party to pre-vail. In criminal cases, which are brought by the Prosecut-ing/District/State Attorney in the name of the government, the defendant must be proven

guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. However, in a civil case, the plaintiff must prove the case by a preponderance of the evidence.

“Beyond a reasonable doubt” is defined in various ways, but it is not typically described in numeric terms. However, it is the highest standard of proof in our system of justice. At the risk of a circular oversim-plification, a case has been proven beyond a reason-able doubt when the jury (or judge) believes that based on all of the evidence, there is no reasonable doubt remain-ing as to the defendant’s guilt. Absolute certainty is not the standard and any remain-ing doubt must be reasonable and not based upon imagina-tion or speculation.

The preponderance of the evidence standard utilized in civil cases and for minor traf-fic violations in some jurisdic-tions is a considerably lower standard. The preponderance of the evidence may be de-scribed as tilting the scales in that party’s direction to some measureable degree.

There are other burdens of proof—such as probable cause standard, substantial

evidence and clear and con-vincing evidence—that may be used in some circumstances and types of cases.

As noted, the standard of proof will not impact the facts to which the officer will testify but the same evidence may result in apparently inconsis-tent results. Even experienced law enforcement officers may struggle to understand how a defendant can be found to have committed an act in a civil case but be found not guilty for the same act in a criminal case.

Tip to Testify: Understand that the standard of proof may lead to different out-comes in different types of cases.

The Honorable Earl G. Penrod is the Senior Judge for the Indiana Office of Court Services and the American Bar Association Judicial Fellow in cooperation with NHTSA.

Archives of past columns are available on the NLELP website. Have a testimony topic you would like to see addressed? Contact Judge Penrod at [email protected].

Even experienced law

enforcement officers may

struggle to understand how

a defendant can be found to have committed

an act in a civil case but be found not guilty for the same act in a criminal case.

10THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

Training &Research

Traffic Deaths Jump 5.6%

RECENT FIGURES FROM NHTSA show that 37,461 lives were lost on U.S. roads in 2016, an increase of 5.6 percent from the previous year. NHTSA found that distracted driving and drowsy driving fatalities declined, while deaths related to other reckless behaviors–includ-ing speeding, alcohol impairment, and not wearing seat belts–contin-ued to increase. Motorcyclist and pedestrian deaths accounted for more than a third of the year-to-year increase. For more information, read NHTSA’s Traffic Safety Facts Research Note, 2016 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview.

Motorcyclist and pedestrian

deaths accounted for more than a

third of the year-to-year increase.

Report Focuses on Bicyclist Safety

A recent report from GHSA, A Right to the Road: Understand-ing and Addressing Bicyclist Safety, takes a hard look at what can be done to help stem the rising tide of bicyclist fatalities. The report, authored by traf-fic safety expert Pam Fischer, analyzes national data to under-stand fatal bicyclist-motor vehicle crash characteristics, offering 30 actions that can help SHSOs and local communities assess and improve their current bicyclist safety programs. The report also

outlines federal safety efforts, possible funding sources, partner organizations, and promising state and local programs and policies that communities can use to encourage safer behavior by all road users. GHSA hosted a webinar to review the report findings, a recording of which is available for viewing.

LEL Professional Development Training

DATES FOR FY 2018 SESSIONS OF the LEL Professional Develop-ment Course at the Transporta-

tion Safety Institute (TSI) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, have been announced. This course provides foundational knowl-edge critical for LELs to be effective at the state and local level, and to develop/enhance the skills necessary to engage with law enforcement leaders in a meaningful way that can influence action. The course will be offered in 2018 on Febru-ary 27—March 1, May 15—17, August 14—16, and on an ad-ditional date to be determined. For more information or to enroll, visit the TSI Catalog and search for the keyword “LEL.”

A Right to the Road

Understanding & Addressing

Bicyclist Safety

®

This report was made possible by a grant from

11THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

Awards& Events

National LEL Training Conference

THE 2017 NATIONAL LEL TRAIN-ing Conference is almost here. The event, which will take place November 13—15 at the Mari-time Conference Center in Lin-thicum Heights, MD, is funded by NHTSA and organized by GHSA’s National LEL Program. Highlights of the two-and-a-half day event include a panel of law enforcement chiefs discussing traffic safety leadership and how to influence action, a panel discussion on integrating officer safety messaging and advocacy into daily operations, a discus-sion about communications strategies and tactics for maxi-mizing the impact of messaging and coordinated efforts, and a discussion about DUID and the impact of marijuana legaliza-tion on traffic safety. In addition, breakout sessions will allow attendees to participate in small group brainstorming on law enforcement engagement and next steps for LEL programs.

For more information, visit the conference webpage.

From left: Adrian Lund; Robert Beidler, representing the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office; Kay Brodbeck, representing Teen Driver Impact Program; Mark Ezzell, representing Watch for Me NC; Trenda McPherson; William Hall; and Awards Luncheon master of ceremonies Harris Blackwood.

TRAININGCONFERENCE

LELNATIONAL2017

GHSA Honors 2017 Highway Safety Awards Winners

THREE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE made a tremendous impact on improving highway safety and three programs tackling the na-tion’s foremost highway safety challenges were honored during the GHSA 2017 Highway Safety Awards Luncheon, held during the organization’s 2017 Annual Meet-ing in Louisville, Kentucky.

GHSA presented its most presti-gious honor, the James J. Howard Highway Safety Trailblazer Award, to Adrian K. Lund, Ph.D., President of the Insurance Institute for High-way Safety. Two individuals were recognized with the Kathryn J.R. Swanson Public Service Award:

William L. Hall, a Senior Research Associate with the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center; and Trenda McPherson, State Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Program Man-ager at the Florida Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Office. Additionally, three projects received Peter K. O’Rourke Spe-cial Achievement Awards:

●● The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office,

●● Mississippi’s Teen Driver Impact Program, and

●● Watch for Me NC.

For more information on the awards and this year’s recipi-ents, visit the Highway Safety Awards page on the GHSA website.

12THE LEL | October 2017 Issue

TrafficSafety Calendar

A calendar of events, recordings of past webinars, newsletter archives and many more resources for LELs are available at www.nlelp.org. For campaign materials and tools to help you with your traffic safety marketing and messaging, visit www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov.

NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER 2WEBINAR: QUARTERLY SHRP 2 NATIONAL TIM RESPONDER TRAINING PROGRAM This SHRP2 Solution provides a common platform for training the responder community, enhances quick clearance efforts and improves the safety of responders and motorists.

NOVEMBER 8-9BELOW 100 BEST PRACTICES SYMPOSIUMThe Woodlands, TX The goal of this one-and-a-half day symposium is to empower command-level officers with the tools and information they need to implement a lasting culture of common sense safety.

NOVEMBER 13-15NATIONAL LEL TRAINING CONFERENCELinthicum Heights, MDThis conference is designed to provide LELs with opportunities to network with their counterparts

across the country, participate in high-quality training sessions on best practices, and hear from leading experts about the most pressing issues in law enforce-ment and traffic safety.

NOVEMBER 13-19TRAFFIC INCIDENT RESPONSE WEEKEvery year hundreds of emer-gency responders representing fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, towing and transportation agencies are struck and either injured or killed while responding. Help raise awareness about the dangers emergency responders face at traffic incidents.

NOVEMBER 24THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY TRAVELPrimary Message: Buckle Up America. Every trip. Every time. Thanksgiving is one of the busi-est travel times of the year, and more people on the roadways means the potential for more vehicle crashes. For those Ameri-cans who aren’t wearing a seat belt, it can cost them their lives.

NOV 24-DEC 12PRE-HOLIDAY SEASON IMPAIRED DRIVING MESSAGINGPrimary Message: Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving

NOVEMBER 29LEL WEBINAR SERIES: MOVE OVER BEST PRACTICESThis session will provide infor-mation on best practices and lessons learned on enforcing Move Over laws and educating motorists about the importance of these laws.

DECEMBER

DECEMBER 13-31HOLIDAY IMPAIRED DRIVING MESSAGING & MOBILIZATIONPrimary Message: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over