The West Region Transportation Workforce Center (WRTWC) has partnered with the National Center for Rural Road Safety, the National Association of County Engineers (NACE), and the National LTAP and TTAP Association to develop the Road Safety Champion Program, one of two interrelated initiatives outlined in the WRTWC Career Pathways Implementation Plan. The Road Safety Champion Program establishes a training curriculum and an employee recognition program that can be implemented by employers and training providers nationwide to incentivize safety competency attainment.
There is growing evidence of industry demand for a skilled transportation workforce that is trained to identify and improve safety on our nation’s roadways through data-driven and evidence-based practices. Unfortunately, it remains difficult for transportation agencies to identify a structured safety training curriculum or program of study. The Road Safety Champion Program is open to staff from transportation, public health, law enforcement or other agencies who have responsibility for constructing, maintaining, designing, and operating roads and ensuring roadway safety. To obtain a “Level 1 Road Safety Champion” certificate, participants complete a series of seven core safety training courses and up to seven additional courses within their specific career pathway. Level 1 career focused pathways include Maintenance and Construction, Planning and Engineering, Public Health, and Law Enforcement. The graphic shown provides an easy reference to the program’s core curriculum and career pathway focus.
The National Center for Rural Road Safety is piloting in-person and online training modules, with each course topic covered by a two-hour session. Once curriculum is finalized, the Center will provide training modules and instructor manuals to agencies and training organizations wishing to administer the program. The Center will additionally lead “train the trainer” workshops with the intention of supporting multiple host organizations across the country in administering the certificate program locally. Host organizations will determine course equivalencies for comparable training obtained from other sources. Organizations interested in “train the trainer” workshops or in becoming a Road Safety Champion Program host should contact the Safety Center at “info@ruralsafetycenter.org“.
“These trainings will provide a great foundation to our Road supervisors and their crew members to build on in the continuance of their careers. Because the Road Safety Champion Program is aimed at a broad audience, there is something in each course that is relevant to everyone working on the roadways – in maintenance, construction, enforcement or management. It is a great supplement to LTAP’s core Road Scholar curriculum and Montana will be accepting these classes as equals in that program as well.”
– Matt Ulberg, Director Montana LTAP and Vice President NLTAPA
The National Center for Rural Road Safety provides coordinated, multidisciplinary, scalable, and accessible safety resources in order to empower rural road users to accelerate road safety improvements and save lives. It’s purpose is to help rural road stakeholders implement safety strategies based on their holistic approach that involves engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency medical services (EMS). Learn more about the Center’s vision, mission, and strategy.
To find out more about career pathways in Transportation Safety, check-out WRTWC’s Safety Career Pathways Initiative.