Safe Systems for Rural Areas

The National Center for Rural Road Safety (Safety Center) and the National LTAP & TTAP Association’s (NLTAPA) Safety Working Group are hosting a FREE, 1.5-hour online webinar.

Webinar Description
This webinar will introduce principles of Safe Systems and provide context for the Safe Systems approach in relation to other traffic safety initiatives (such as Vision Zero) and paradigms. Through various examples and case studies, we will highlight processes, practices, and components of Safe Systems applications in rural settings and describe the state of research and practice in advancing systems approaches in rural areas.

Webinar Outcomes
At the conclusion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe the safety, health, and mobility needs of rural populations
Summarize core principles of Safe Systems
Differentiate Safe Systems practices from other approaches to roadway management
Illustrate specific Safe Systems processes or practices in rural contexts
Learn about the concept of micro-targeting and the inherent challenges in data mining for government agencies

Target Audience
This training is directed towards a very broad safety audience including, but not limited to, law enforcement, planners, engineers, first responders, elected officials, public health, tourism agencies, and safety culture experts. Participants should have some basic familiarity with transportation safety.

Course Presenters

Wes Kumfer, Research Program Manager, Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety; Research Associate, UNC Highway Safety Research Center.

Dr. Kumfer recently completed CSCRS-funded research to define Safe Systems approaches, and is active in several research projects to apply Safe Systems principles to intersection design guidance and other agency processes. Prior to joining HSRC, Dr. Kumfer worked at Texas Tech University (TTU) in Lubbock, Texas as part of the Texas Tech University Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Transportation, where he worked on a number of Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) projects related to rural road safety.

Seth LaJeunesse, Senior Research Associate, UNC Highway Safety Research Center.

Seth LaJeunesse evaluates behavioral interventions designed to enhance bicycle and pedestrian safety and access, and designs studies that draw from psychology, sociology, and systems science. Seth serves as the principal investigator of several state and federally funded research endeavors, including projects funded by the NC Department of Transportation, NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program, CSCRS, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Across all research projects, he aims to advance safe, equitable access to physical activity and community life.

Rob Sadowsky

Rob Sadowsky has more than thirty years of public experience in housing, economic development and transportation. He is the Transportation Safety Outreach Coordinator for the Department of Transportation and Development of Clackamas County, Oregon. He has served as the executive director of The Street Trust (formerly the Bicycle Transportation Alliance) in Portland, Oregon; the Active Transportation Alliance in Chicago; and the Chicago Mutual Housing Network. Rob served as the Director of Corporate and Foundation Giving at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and as the Director of the Community Ventures Program, an innovative program linking private investors in affordable housing and economic development projects. He brings experience in training low income housing residents in resident management and ownership. He conducts training and strategic planning workshops for emerging organizations and is a board member of the Training for Trainers Cooperative. Rob loves serving as a management or executive coach and helping dynamic nonprofits and companies level up to thrive.

Rob holds an Executive Masters in Public Administration at Portland State University and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Michigan’s Residential College in Social Science. He has served on committees focusing on climate change, affordable housing, transportation safety and low-income transit fares. Other organizations Rob has worked for include: Bark, POCA Technical Institute, the Madison Mutual Housing Association in Madison, Wisconsin; Peoples Housing in Chicago; the Chicago Mutual Housing Network and the North American Students of Cooperation in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

To register for the webinar, please click on the button below. Instructions on accessing the webinar will be sent after your registration is confirmed.