The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) may have finally put Kathi Holst in her place
The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) may have finally put Kathi Holst in her place. Over the last 16 years, the president of Alternate Construction Controls Inc., Romeoville, Ill., has sat in just about every chair ATSSA has to offer. But her latest one as president-elect seems to be a natural fit.
Transportation Management + Engineering was able to catch up with Holst to talk about her new role and agenda with ATSSA, as well as some of the barricades work-zone safety faces today.
What?s on your presidential agenda?
The thing that I hope to see during my term is a significant increase in ATSSA?s influence in government relations. I think, especially with reauthorization just around the corner, the time is right where we become a stronger voice for our own industry, and actually become the voice. I?d like to say by the end of my term we will not only be a voice but will truly be accepted as the voice for roadway infrastructure safety issues. I think that?s our expertise, that?s our arena, and I would like to see our association?s increased emphasis on government relations.
In addition to that, I would like to see a stronger impact at the local level through the strengthening of our chapter network.
What is the most important safety issue facing the industry today?
In my opinion, it all hinges on mobility. Because of massive amounts of congestion, mobility equals safety. The more congestion we have, the less mobility we have and, therefore, the less safe are our roadways in temporary traffic control situations. I?d like to see the improved use of current technology, like ITS, to increase mobility.
Deaths per 100,000 work-zone workers stayed relatively flat between 1997 and 1999. How do you interpret this?
I think the impact of increased funding for construction is going to provide a challenge in itself to try to decrease that number. Obviously, the more construction zones we have, the higher risk we run and the greater our challenge is to reduce that number. An increase in truck miles, an increase in older drivers, an increase in drivers period, increase in lane miles traveled . . . all those contribute to almost an offset of our improvement in safety measures. We can attribute the lack of increase as a success, but we still have a long way to go before we can look at each other and say we?ve arrived.
Do you think states are lax when it comes to monitoring work zones?
From my experiences traveling around the country for ATSSA in the last year, I think that in some cases in some states that is very, very true. I still believe there are a great number of states that continue to put safety last, and when budgets are squeezed and reduction in work force occurs with the highway agencies, like the DOTs, it tends to be one of the first things that goes. Designing construction zones and overseeing construction itself aren?t going to be the quickest to be eliminated compared to traffic inspectors. So more and more, I think our industry is going to have to rely on itself to police its own work zones to either maintain or improve the condition of them.
According to a recent International Safety Equipment Association survey, the reason workers fail to wear the proper safety attire or use the right safety equipment is lack of supervision. How should this problem be addressed?
That problem, especially in terms of lack of training, will continue to exist until the agencies themselves require training and certification. I think our industry needs to do everything it can to influence our highway agencies to take strides in that direction. Our industry does not perform 100% of traffic control protection, and therefore as long as there is a general contractor out there who chooses to do their own traffic control they don?t necessarily see the benefits of training. It?s a dollar-cost decision for them. Training may not necessarily be a cheap way to go but it certainly is the cheapest way to go in improving safety.
What legislation would you like to see active on Capitol Hill?
The reauthorization of TEA-21 is first and foremost. I?d like to make sure the firewalls are maintained. I?d like to see a redistribution of the formula. Illinois was a donee state and now it?s a donor state. We used to get, for every dollar we donated, more than a dollar in return. In TEA-21 for every dollar we give we get 93 cents back. I really want to make sure the son of TEA-21 continues to make improvements in our program. And from a small business standpoint I?d like to see the inheritance tax taken care of.
RSS: Roads & Bridges Articles
