Two individuals and three groups are receiving the state’s 2015 People Saving People Award for their efforts to improve traffic safety on April 1 as part of the 21st annual Kansas Transportation Safety Conference in Wichita.
The award recipients are:
Master Trooper Jeff Schawe, with the Kansas Highway Patrol – Schawe initiated the Seatbelts Are For Everyone (SAFE) program in three Stafford County high schools and saw an 18.3 percent increase in the average usage rate of seatbelts in one year.
Charles Branson, District Attorney in Douglas County – Branson championed the effort to toughen a Kansas law to expand the definition of aggravated battery to include bodily injuries suffered from a drunk driver.
Kenneth Henderson Middle School science teachers and Garden City Police Officer Troy Davis – the group developed curriculum on the physics of a vehicle/pedestrian collision to teach students in detail the impact a crash can have. Officer Davis then demonstrated a simulated crash.
Shawnee County Fire District #4 – The district has taken a new approach to improving their operations while working along the highway to help improve safety for both the motorists and the workers.
El Dorado Student Safety Council – The high school students developed an interactive crosswalk safety program for elementary students and presented it to all to the classes at the four elementary schools in the district that included about 1,200 children.
The People Saving People Award highlights efforts of a person or organization that has a positive effect on transportation safety behavior. The Kansas Department of Transportation sponsors the award along with the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration.