Traffic Safety Talk Newsletter

Welcome to our Traffic Safety Talk newsletter – the FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program (CTSP) news and information update. Each issue includes recent projects, community outreach events, and safety campaigns. We discuss Traffic Safety Team materials and resources available for members. Digital flipbooks of the most recent newsletters are available. Additionally, we have included the PDF documents below to view current and past editions.

Current Traffic Safety Talk News Update • August 2023 Flip Book:

In this most recent issue, various topics and projects are highlighted. They include:

Click here for the August 2023 Traffic Safety Talk PDF file.

Previous Traffic Safety Talk News Update • June 2023 Flip Book:

Click here for the June 2023 Traffic Safety Talk – PDF file.

June’s newsletter included:

April 2023 Edition Flip Book:

April’s newsletter included:

  • CTSP plays a critical role in community engagement.
  • Safety Lane: Districtwide discussions new in 2023.
  • Upcoming CTST meetings.
  • Traffic Safety Champions since 1994 – new video released for National Volunteer Week.
  • Elizabeth De Jesus is a Traffic Safety CHAMPION!
  • Highlighting engineering concerns solved in District 2.
  • Buckle Up Materials Available for Click It or Ticket!
  • Spring mocktail recipes for Cinco De Mayo and Memorial Day holidays.
  • New traffic safety activity books and bookmarks are coming soon!

February 2023 Edition Flip Book:

February’s newsletter included:

  • Recognizing team members, engineering concerns, and outreach in 2023.
  • Upcoming CTST meetings.
  • January was Florida’s Move Over awareness month.
  • Can you believe it’s been 25 years of “Recipes for the Road”?
  • Mocktail recipes trending in the New Year.
  • Working with local libraries for over 20 years!
  • Occupant protection and child passenger safety remain a priority.
  • Walt Duffany is a Traffic Safety CHAMPION!

Staying Positive and Engaged 

The landscape of the FDOT District Two CTSP has changed over recent years, with meetings and events held virtually. However, we continue to expand awareness of traffic safety issues and solve local traffic safety concerns throughout our 18-county district in Northeast Florida.

Our focus is reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities on our roadways as we move toward the goal of Target Zero. CTSP does this through the 4 E’s and more of traffic safety, which includes: engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services. We connect with team members and community partners throughout the year to share important traffic safety information, resources, and strategies.

Traffic Safety Talk Newsletters:

Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2022

FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program News and Information Update – Click here to download this edition of Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2022. In this issue, various projects from the past six months are highlighted. They include:

  • Safety Belt Use in Northeast Florida with four new occupant protection messages
  • 4 E’s and More in Traffic Safety
  • Reinforcing Florida’s Bike Safety Law
  • Move Over or Slow Down safety campaign and digital tip cards
  • Safety Town videos and coloring pages for children
  • Get Out and Move for Safety virtual event

Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2022 Newsletter Flip-book:

District Two Community Traffic Safety Outreach Online

Over the past year, TrafficSafetyTeam.org had 11,434 website sessions. New visitors make up of 76% of our visits. Our Instagram following has shown the most growth from 297 to 392. Our YouTube videos have had 689 hours of watch time. Pinterest views averaged 27,000 per month. Non-alcoholic mocktail drink recipes remain very popular on all platforms – St. Patrick’s Day Lucky Lime had 1,242 reactions in March 2022. A variety of posts exceeded social media engagement goals.

Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2022 CHAMPION –
Dr. Morya E. Willis

Targeting the best-of-the-best, Dr. Willis is the bullseye! We hope you will take a moment to read this article. She shared some of her Community Traffic Safety Team experiences – past, present and future. You will get insight on why she is a true Community Traffic Safety Program “Champion!”

Traffic Safety Outreach

If you have an upcoming event or an idea for community outreach that involves traffic safety, please let us know how we can help! We can share your event on our social media platforms, at team meetings, in an email, and highlight it in our next newsletter. Please email us at: trafficsafetyteam@dot.state.fl.us

Click here to read the complete CTSP Traffic Safety Talk – Summer 2022 newsletter and see upcoming projects.

Engineering Concerns

Our members are local highway safety advocates. They are committed to solving traffic safety problems through a comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional, multidisciplinary approach. A major function of the CTSTs is to submit, review and address solutions for these concerns. Since last summer, we have:

  • Followed 323 Engineering Concerns
  • Received 128 New Concerns
  • Closed 127 Issues

Tailing Traffic Safety

District Two CTSP wrapped 40 fleet vehicle truck tailgates. The three traffic safety messages included occupant protection, bicycle safety and stop speeding reminders. 

Traffic Safety Talk Winter 2022

FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program News and Information

Traffic Safety Talk Winter 2022 is now available. Click here to download the Winter 2022 edition of Traffic Safety Talk.

2021 Reflection + Planning for 2022  

The landscape of the CTSP has changed over the past year, yet we continue to expand awareness of traffic safety issues and solve local traffic safety concerns. We have met the challenge of staying positive and engaged over the past year. Team members and community partners received 47,243 emails this year. This number does not include meeting invitations. This kept us connected and gave us the ability to share important information, tips, and strategies. Through engineering, education, enforcement, emergency medical services, and by providing resources on our website and social media channels, we remain a strong voice in traffic safety.
– Andrea Atran, M.A., CPM
FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program Manager

Virtual Meetings + Engineering Concerns

Safety remains our number one goal as COVID concerns continue to impact everyone’s work and personal lives. Team meetings were held virtually through 2021 and will continue into 2022. Teams have used this opportunity to grow and welcome new members. We are proud to say our teams have risen to the challenge and continue to make progress in improving traffic safety in their communities. Over the past year, we held 72 virtual CTST meetings with a total of 924 attendees and 43 new members. Every CTST in District Two continued to address and solve traffic safety concerns. Since going virtual, we also reduced paper consumption and waste.

Picture of newsletter cover
Focused on Impaired Driving

Focused On Impaired Driving Prevention

We have promoted our annual Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver campaign and the Recipes for the Road booklet for 24 years. According to Florida’s 2021-2025 SHSP, one out of every four traffic fatalities in Florida involves a driver impaired by alcohol or drugs.

CTST Members Step Up for Safety

Celebrate Safely, Designate a Driver continues to be a popular, grassroots campaign. It is focused on stopping impaired driving in Northeast Florida communities. With one out of every four traffic fatalities in Florida involving an impaired driver, according to Florida’s 2021-2025 SHSP, this safety message is a top priority for us.

CTST Members Step Up for Safety

Help Message Traffic Safety

In 2021, the majority of our content was shared electronically. We also worked on shipping out key traffic safety materials. This year, we ask for continued support in sharing traffic safety messages online, distributing information, and displaying materials. We plan to produce new activity books and traffic safety pieces in 2022.

Click here to read the complete CTSP Traffic Safety Talk – Winter 2022 Newsletter.

Traffic Safety Engineering Concerns

We rely on CTST members. Our members are local highway safety advocates. They are committed to solving traffic safety problems through a comprehensive, multi-jurisdictional, multidisciplinary approach. A major function of the CTSTs is to submit, review and address solutions for these concerns. Since last winter, we have:

  • Followed 259 Engineering Concerns
  • Received 115 New Concerns
  • Closed 117 Issues

Most Popular CTST Messages

Most Popular CTST Messages

Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2021

FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program News and Information

We are excited to present Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2021. Click here to download the Summer 2021 edition of Traffic Safety Talk.

Staying Positive and Engaged 

The landscape of the FDOT District Two CTSP has changed over the past year, but we continue to expand awareness of traffic safety issues and solve local traffic safety concerns. We focused on reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities on our roadways. CTSP does this through engineering, education, enforcement, emergency medical services. We also provide resources on our website, with new blogposts and on our social media channels. Just under 45,000 emails, not including CTST meeting invitations, were sent to team members and community partners to help stay connected and share important traffic safety information, tips, and strategies.
– Andrea Atran, M.A., CPM
FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program Manager

Page 1 Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2021

Virtual Meetings + Engineering Concerns

In May, Andrea Atran presented to the WTS (Women in Transportation) Northeast Florida Chapter. She covered topics including our program history, Strategic Highway Safety Plan, local data, engineering concerns, resources available and virtual volunteering opportunities. Over the past year, we held 73 virtual CTST meetings with a total of 929 attendees and 49 new members. By going virtual, we reduced paper consumption and waste. This simple act of green saved over 30,500 sheets of paper during the past year. While virtual meetings have not been ideal for everyone, some Teams have used this as an opportunity to grow and for members to attend who would not have been able to in-person. We are proud to say our Teams followed 298 engineering concerns, received 108 new concerns, and closed 111 issues since last summer. 

Buckle Up Banners About Town

By now you have probably seen some of the occupant protection banners displayed around Northeast Florida. We distributed 2,009 banners and 1,714 posters and surpassed 43,622 social media impressions/views with our Buckle Up campaign. The images are available digitally, which includes social media graphics to download and share for free.

Countermeasures That Work

Our FDOT District Two CTSP created an educational series of cost effective safety engineering countermeasures that help reduce intersection, lane departure, and pedestrian/bicyclist crashes. The traffic safety strategies and treatments are based on proven measures of effectiveness by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). These countermeasures reduce serious injury and fatal crashes on our roadways. These were very popular across our social media platforms with almost 35,000 impressions. All three categories of countermeasures are posted on our website for viewing and sharing.  

  • LANE DEPARTURE COUNTERMEASURES help prevent running off the road, crossing the center median into an oncoming lane of traffic, and sideswipe crashes.
  • INTERSECTION COUNTERMEASURES incorporate roadway design, signage, traffic control devices, lighting, and other safety measures to help reduce crashes.
  • PEDESTRIAN/BICYCLIST COUNTERMEASURES use strategies and treatments of roadway markings, configurations, and traffic lights to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes by slowing traffic, allowing more space and safe areas for walkers and cyclists.  
Page 5 Traffic Safety Talk Summer 2021

New Flashback FAQ Series

Take a step back in time with us! From our video vault archive, we produced a new CTSP video series. Our Flashback FAQs showcase some timeless Traffic Safety Team talk. After more than 20 years, these clips provide insight into the essence of the CTSP in Northeast Florida that still apply today. 

The Flashback FAQs are featured on our social media pages. The Flashback FAQs answer some common questions we receive, like: What is the Community Traffic Safety Program?, Who are the members of a CTST?, What is the WHALE Check Program?, and How does CTST solve issues?  

Wise Words for Traffic Safety

This year we re-purposed artwork from a previous series we created into a fresh new Wise Words safety campaign. Grace Wilhelm with Duval Schools, submitted new Wise Words idea, Be Wise – Use Your Eyes, which we added with an eye-catching owl driver graphic. Just since January, there have been 7,969 Wise Words views and engagements on our social media platforms. 

Click here to view the complete newsletter which also includes how the Celebrate Safely program shifted since COVID-19, traffic safety materials distributed, and some of your favorite Community Traffic Safety Team messages.