ATSSA Signal November December 2020

The Signal | November/December 2020 5 ATSSA News CAV gets new meaning as ‘Connected And Vital’ Convention approaches Highway bill extension and tech advances are good news for roadway safety industry We are excited to have a one-year extension of the federal highway bill. We all know one year is certainly better than a continuation every two months. However, that doesn’t mean we are out of the woods. We don’t want to be in this same place in nine months, wondering about the future of highway and roadway improvement funding. Stacy Tetschner, President & CEO stacy.tetschner@atssa.com T he last few months working with ATSSA have been incredibly exciting and yet very intimidating. The work that you, our members, do is incredibly important and ensuring we provide you the best support possible is our team’s goal each day. As we shifted our traditional in-person events to virtual platforms, our entire team invested extra attention to ensuring these meetings remained relevant and engaging with an eye toward the future. We were pleased by the reviews that suggestedwewere successful in those efforts. We appreciate the feedback and look forward to the time when we can deliver these meetings in an environment that allows both face-to-face and virtual participation to provide you with even greater value. For me, these meetings helped develop my understanding of the industry acronyms that at first seemed like a foreign language. For example, the conversations that I have engaged in of late regarding CAVs (connected and autonomous vehi- cles), V2X (communication of vehicle to everything) and ITS (intelligent transportation systems) have brought new levels of excitement and challenge for the future of roadway safety. I have been reading articles about the latest developments in research and begun to grasp not only their meaning but also a greater appreciation for the work being done in our indus- try and its significance for the future of vehicle travel and ever safer roads. It is recognition of the critical role of technology to our industry that has ATSSA working to bring another special- ist on our staff to help us better represent roadway safety in these new technology conversations. As we recognize the opportunities these technologies can provide in making our roadways and our roadway workers safer, we canmake even greater progress in our vision of moving Toward Zero Deaths. Speaking of the future of the industry … we are excited to have a one-year extension of the federal highway bill. We all know one year is certainly better than a continuation every two months. However, that doesn’t mean we are out of the woods. We don’t want to be in this same place in ninemonths, wondering about the future of highway and roadway improve- ment funding. I encourage you to continue pursuing conver- sations with your legislators, participating in our ATSSA Town Halls and events like our Legislative Briefing & Fly-In, and engaging with us to ensure we secure a long-term highway bill for the future of our industry and the future of your busi- nesses. We have already seen some state departments of transportation (DOTs)makingcommit- ments with federal funds as well as investing their own state funds to ensure highway and roadway safety projects continue forward. This is a great start and I know our teamwill not rest until we get a long-term solution in place. As I mentioned, our team is continuallyengaged intaking our traditional in-person events and making them even more valuable in this current pandemic situation. So, as we turn our focus to the 51st Annual Convention & Traffic Expo, I assure you that you don’t want to miss Febru - ary’s event. This virtual gathering will provide the opportu- nity to make vital connections for our industry today and for the future of your business. You will be hearing from indus- try leaders and DOT officials and benefitting from expertise you won’t find anywhere else. The 2021 Convention & Traffic Expo will offer exciting new ways to participate, opportuni - ties to connect screen-to-screen with on-camera conversa- tions and include education and exhibit booths featuring the best of our industry. I encourage you to reserve a space to participate today.

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