State, National Highway Safety Experts Meeting in Kansas City

Distracted Driving, Role of Technology Tops Agenda

WASHINGTON and KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and the Missouri Department of Transportation's Highway Safety Division are hosting GHSA's 2010 annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City, Sept. 25-29. Approximately 550 highway safety, law enforcement and public health officials from across the country are registered to attend—the largest expected attendance in GHSA's history.

The 2010 meeting theme is Technology and Highway Safety: What's Driving Our Future? General sessions and breakout workshops will examine both the benefits and challenges technology presents as GHSA works together with its members and partners toward the ambitious goal of zero deaths on our nation's roadways. The conference kicks off on Monday morning with the following keynote speakers:

• David L. Strickland, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is expected to reveal new data as well as discuss the Obama Administration's perspective on technology and highway safety.
• Peter H. Appel, Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), is expected to discuss initiatives within his agency, including the recent distracted driving summit and Intellidrive, a multimodal initiative that aims to enable safe, interoperable networked wireless communications among vehicles, the infrastructure, and passengers' personal communications devices.

During Tuesday's general session, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) President Adrian Lund will release a new report. Joining Lund as general session speakers for Tuesday are futurist Glenn Hansen and AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety President and CEO Peter Kissinger. Wednesday's closing luncheon features New York Times technology and business reporter Matt Richtel.

Throughout the meeting, breakout workshops will address a variety of traditional and emerging highway safety technology issues, including:

• Distracted Driving and Managing Technology
• Best Practices in Electronic Grants Management Systems
• Highway Safety Communication in the Age of Social Media
• Red Light and Speed Cameras
• Emerging Occupant Protection Technology
• Technology to Nab Drunk Drivers

A detailed meeting agenda is available online at www.ghsa.org/html/meetings/annual/2010/agenda.html. News media representatives may call GHSA Communications Director Jonathan Adkins on site in Kansas City at 202-669-9746 for a media pass. General session and workshop speakers will be available to the media following their sessions.

The meeting is supported by a variety of companies, including The Allstate Foundation, Ford Motor Company Fund, State Farm®, and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. A complete list of meeting sponsors is available online at www.ghsa.org/html/meetings/annual/2010/spons.html.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. GHSA provides leadership and representation for the states and territories to improve traffic safety, influence national policy and enhance program management. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans. Contact GHSA at 202-789-0942 or visit www.ghsa.org.

SOURCE Governors Highway Safety Association