DLN Consulting Staff Attend National Conference

Senior Consultant Tonya Kottre and DLN President Deb Nelson recently joined over 2200 other traffic safety professionals from across the nation at the 2006 National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities in Austin, Texas.  Kottre was a first-time attendee at the annual conference, which is commonly known as "Lifesavers".  Nelson has attended 14 of the last 18 conferences.

The conference focused on providing participants with specific programs and the latest trends in the areas of occupant protection, criminal justice, impaired driving, youth traffic safety issues, and data and research.

Several speakers were considered highlights of the conference by Kottre and Nelson.  Glynn Birch, national president of MADD, opened the conference with a tribute to law enforcement.  At the opening plenary session, participants heard from Ron Bersani, who was instrumental in the passage of "Melanie's Law", which enhanced the penalties and administrative sanctions for impaired driving in Massachusetts.  At the same session, Dr. James Durant, a pediatrician, and his son, David Durant, explained how they helped pass a primary safety belt law in South Carolina, primarily due to David's testimonial about how a safety belt saved his life.  The annual awards luncheon honored individuals and organizations for outstanding work in traffic safety with NHTSA's "Public Service Award".  This year, Robin Litke, the coordinator of the Red River Valley Safe Communities Coalition in Fargo, ND, was one of the recipients of the award.  She received the award from Jacqueline Glassman, Acting Administrator for NHTSA.

Kottre and nelson were both impressed with the exhibit hall, where more than 100 sponsors and trade exhibitors had booths and educational materials.  The 2007 Lifesavers conference is scheduled for March 25-27 in Chicago.