People Saving People Nominations Now Being Accepted by KDOT

Nominations for the 2016 People Saving People Award are now being accepted by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The award is presented to a person or organization who advocates safety and has a positive effect in transportation safety behavior. Awards are presented in three categories: community leadership and engineering; education and information; and enforcement, emergency response, prosecution and adjudication.

More details about the awards and nomination forms can be found at www.ktsro.org. Nominations must be submitted by email, mail or fax by 8 a.m. Feb. 29, 2016.

The awards will be presented April 20 at the annual Kansas Transportation Safety Conference in Topeka.

The 2015 winners include:

Master Trooper Jeff Schawe, of 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, Douglas County District Attorney– 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.