NAFA's St. Louis Gateway Chapter Puts Traffic Safety At The Top Of The List
On March 19, the St. Louis Gateway Chapter discussed the most important aspect of any organization with a vehicle component: driver risk and traffic safety. The meeting, which took place at the Missouri Department of Transportation's Transportation Management Center in Chesterfield, brought in 21 members, including five first-time attendees.
Anthony Vinciguerra, Vice President for Element Financial Corporation's Center for Transportation Safety, began the day using a combination of moving graphics, text, and video. His presentation showed the current state of driver safety, with a simple but prevalent overall question: What are we doing to protect our drivers?
The primary job of fleet professionals should always be driver safety, and Tony showed that, even though cars are getting progressively safer, being a professional driver is still one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. An average of four individuals die every hour in automobile crashes in this country.
The next presenter was Brandon Buse, also of Element Financial Corporation. Brandon is the new Chapter Membership Chair and he spoke briefly on the challenges of his new position as well as his goals. He spoke about how much he has learned by being involved with NAFA over the past year and is eager to help others see what a benefit NAFA can be to them. The upcoming year holds a lot of exciting happenings for current as well as future members, and Brandon encouraged all in attendance to get involved and help get other fleet professionals join.
The final presentation of the day proved to be equal parts entertaining and informative. Brian Umfleet, Transportation Management Engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation and Owen Hasson, Roadside Safety Supervisor combined for the finale. The two men outlined the challenges faced by the Missouri Department of Transportation managing increased transportation demands with limited revenue and space. In the past, transportation agencies were able to accommodate demand by adding lanes to existing roadways. In the 21st century it is necessary to better manage existing resources through electronic means such as digital warning signs and real time video monitoring.
The group was to get a tour of the main room where all the video feeds from around the St. Louis Metro area can be seen but it was a busy day for the department and it was not possible. Perhaps next time...
Special thanks to Chris Wenom and Chapter Chair Lisa Geringer, CAFM® for material in this article.
