Last week, Ankeney hosted a crucial event that brought together bright minds and passionate advocates for traffic safety: the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) Traffic Safety Conference. The GTSB Traffic Safety Conference underscored the collective determination to make Iowa’s roads safer for everyone. With a lineup of distinguished speakers and engaging sessions, the conference served as a platform to share the latest on traffic safety statistics, automated driving, youth programming, driving under the influence, distracted driving, and more. The first half of 2023 saw 19,515 traffic fatalities. That would be like losing the population of Coralville in 6 months!
Iowa Safe Routes to School (SRTS) was able to briefly present their program and the partnership they have with GTSB, including two grants to help promote road safety for Iowa’s youngest road users.
The conference also provided ample opportunities for networking and collaboration. Attendees were encouraged to connect, share ideas, and form partnerships. Preventing fatalities on the road will take everyone working together to solve the systemic issues that make our roadways a public health hazard. These interactions are crucial for building a statewide network of traffic safety advocates who can work together to achieve the goal of zero road fatalities. You can help by obeying traffic laws, like driving under the speed limit for a change.
The Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau Traffic Safety Conference was a resounding success, bringing together a diverse group of individuals and organizations all committed to a common cause. The shared vision of zero road fatalities may be ambitious, but the passion, expertise, and collaborative spirit demonstrated at the conference suggests that it is an achievable goal.
