Assessment of Traffic Safety Training for Local Agency Technical Staff and Elected and Appointed Officials

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of a study that investigated the impact of traffic safety training for two specific audiences in local agencies in Michigan: technical staff and elected and appointed officials. The impact of the training was assessed by measuring changes in attitudes and behavior with regard to traffic safety after both groups attended specialized training. The study was limited to local agencies in Michigan as a way to reduce the number of variables that could influence the outcome. Learning assessments, workshop evaluations, follow-up surveys, and innovative ethnographic interview techniques were used to verify learning and to detect changes in attitude and behavior. The study revealed significant positive attitudinal and behavior changes in both technical staff and elected and appointed officials that were attributed to what they learned in the training. The study indicates that there are significant benefits to traffic safety on local roads when local agency staff and elected and appointed officials are appropriately trained.