ATSSA Signal July/August 2019

American Traffic Safety Services Association 6 ATSSA News Ohio “How To” Transportation industry meets to talk roadway safety in Columbus More than 200 roadway safety infra- structure professionals participated in ATSSA’s sixth annual Ohio “How To” Train- ing and Education Workshop in Colum- bus, Ohio, on April 10. The workshops provided information on the latest topics in the transporta- tion industry, including highway infra- structure funding, Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) implementa- tion, Connected and Automated Vehi- cles (CAVs), and smart work zones. Par- ticipants also learned about the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) new safety training. “It allowed all of these different organi- zations, agencies, and companies to come together to listen, learn, and share their best practices and their stories, and really get to know one another,” said Eric Hulme, Ohio ATSSA Chapter presi- dent and safety department director of Area Wide Protective, who helped to coordinate the event. “The collaboration between the Ohio Chapter, ATSSA, ODOT, the Ohio Turn- pike, and several other transportation safety organizations resulted in a very successful and fun event. Our goal was to put safety front and center for a day and to offer a diverse program of safety- related topics. The session mix had something for everyone and the event truly advanced roadway safety in Ohio,” said Cecil Brown, ATSSA board member, and national sales and marketing man- ager for Hill & Smith, Inc. Of the several sessions offered, one of the most popular discussed the chang- es ahead with standards from the ODOT. “The Ohio Department of Transporta- tion is making some progressive chang- es to its standards and specifications, working to improve the safety of the workers on the roadway. Ohio, as a state, is currently working to embrace the general trends within the industry to- ward Connected and Automated Vehi- cles. ODOT is working to make sure enough maintenance is done to our roadway network to ensure that tran- sition is successful,” said Hulme. The event also allowed non-members to learn about ATSSA, and the work the association does to make our roadways safer. “We were excited to have roadway safe- ty professionals from Ohio and the sur- rounding area attending our Ohio ‘How To’ workshop. ATSSA is committed to leading the roadway safety infrastruc- ture industry, and events where we can share information with these profes- sionals and make a difference in our mission to advance roadway safety,” said ATSSA’s Director of Meetings & Con- ventions Necoya Tyson. Workshop participants learned about highway infrastructure funding, MASH implementation, CAVs, and smart work zones. More than 200 roadway safety infrastructure professionals participated in ATSSA’s sixth annual Ohio “How To” in Columbus, Ohio.