MassDOT has received
the 2012 Safety Leadership Award from the American Association of State
Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
MassDOT joins the Minnesota Department of Transportation in receiving the national group’s highest safety honor, given to a state that takes significant action to reduce highway fatalities and injuries and improve transportation safety.
AASHTO’s award committee singled out MassDOT’s “strong leadership” in pursuing safety initiatives that have resulted in significant reductions in highway crashes causing injury or death while also creating a safer workplace for transportation employees.
“We have made safety priority one, embedded in every decision our employees make on behalf of all our customers regardless of transportation mode,” said Richard A. Davey, MassDOT Secretary & CEO, “and I am pleased to see this recognition of our efforts and thank our employees who work each day to keep Commonwealth roads and public transit safe.”
Under the leadership of Secretary Davey, MassDOT Highway Administrator Frank DePaola, and Chief Engineer Thomas Broderick, MassDOT:
- Created a Highway Safety Improvement Program Task Force, strategically investing over time more than $90 million in safety programs and projects;
- Partnered with other agencies on work zone enforcement, crash and safety data improvements, and performing approximately 120 Road Safety Audits statewide;
- Promoted a culture of safety among employees, including required defensive driving and work zone safety training along with CPR training and mandatory use of safety equipment.
AASHTO's Safety Leadership Award requires that states have a Strategic Highway Safety Plan and participate in AASHTO, Transportation Research Board/National Cooperative Highway Research Program, or Federal Highway Administration safety programs.
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