Inside

‘Progress Zone’ will encourage traffic safety
By Cecile Wehrman
The North Dakota Petroleum
Council and the North
Dakota Department of Transportation
this summer are
rolling out a new public
awareness campaign aimed
at making all drivers more
safe on the road.
“The biggest thing is addressing
the concern with the
increased amount of traffic,”
said the DOT’s Mark Nelson,
safety director.
Though the project is expected
to launch yet this summer,
it’s taken many months
to determine what the focus
of the program should be.
It all started last fall, said
Kelly Wald, communications
manager with the NDPC.
“We were really focusing
on safety,” she said, so they
formed a safety committee
to look at three keys: wellsite
safety, ground disturbance
and public safety.
As well, she said, her
agency conducted a public
perception survey last fall,
which identified housing and
roads/traffic safety as the top
two concerns among people
polled.
The DOT, in turn, received
a grant of $20,000 from the
National Highway Transportation
Safety Administration
to conduct a safety campaign.
That money was supplemented
with funds from an oil and
gas research program grant.
The goal -- to focus on creating
driver awareness of increased
traffic and to encourage
safe driving habits.
The name “Progress Zone”
was coined and a logo developed
to identify the messages.
Wald said the title seems to
fit what’s going on in the area
these days.
“Western North Dakota is
really a ‘progress zone’ right
now. There’s a lot of growth
and development,” she said,
and with that development
comes added traffic.
If there’s one overall message
she hopes people will
get from the campaign it is
“be patient.”
That message will be delivered
through billboards,
bumper stickers and giveaways
at events like the Oil
Can! Cookfest.
Key components of the
program, which will include
a number of secondary messages,
are still being developed,
but Wald said reminders
to pass with caution and
to buckle up are sure to be
among them.
But Nelson said the campaign
is not just aimed at the
general public. Though longtime
residents of North Dakota
are greatly impacted by
the change in trafic patterns,
the messages about patience
and safety are just as important
for the truck drivers to
receive.
That said, Nelson believes
the perception that an increase
in fatalities or accidents
involving semis is unfounded.
Though the number of
crashes and fatalities is definitely
up in recent years, “It
has not been disproportionate,”
he said.
He attributes the increased
danger on North Dakota
roads to “a lot of impatient
type of driving,” including
following too close for safety
and passing at times when it
isn’t safe.
“Our priority is safety for
everyone out there,” he said.
Coming as he does from a
law enforcement background,
Nelson believes enforcement
is important, “but I truly believe
our educational campaign
is necessary. It brings
the message to the public that
these are the issues we’re seeing
out there. If we don’t get
that message out there we’re
not doing our jobs.”
One thing is certain: Now
that traffic has increased, it’s
not going to go away any time
soon.
“Everybody has to get
How dangerous
are ND roads?
The North Dakota Department
of Transportation was
happy to partner with the
North Dakota Petroleum
Council on a program to create
awareness of the need for
more patience among driers.
Traffic accidents and fatalities
are up.
For instance, in 2010, there
were 105 fatalities during
the whole year, but already
in 2011, there have been 37
fatalities in the 17 oil and gas
producing counties alone.
“I think that number is telling,”
said Mark Nelson, safety
director for the ND DOT.
In fact, the number of
fatalities this year is up statewide,
so it’s not just the oil
patch.
The number of fatalities
statewide this year so far is
140 -- the highest since 1982.
along,” Nelson said, and that
means a change in driving
habits for everyone.
NORTHWEST
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Inc.
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Jeff Greaves, Owner
Crosby, ND 58730-0510
Call 701-965-6543
Cell 701-641-8614
Cell 701-240-6282
greaves@nccray.net
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