An extraordinary champion for safety and a steadfast supporter of TxDOT's #EndTheStreakTX campaign, Commissioner Laura Ryan completed her six-year term on the Texas Transportation Commission on Feb. 1.
"It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the great state of Texas for the past six years," Ryan said. "We have taken some remarkable steps forward in terms of safety on our roads and our push to end the streak of daily deaths, but there is still work to be done."
Since Nov. 7, 2000, at least one person has died on Texas roads every day. For the past several years, approximately 10 people have died every day in crashes across the state.
Ryan, a fierce advocate for road safety and #EndTheStreakTX, said every Texan must do their part to end the deadly streak.
"TxDOT takes this shared responsibility seriously," remarked Ryan. "While we work to engineer our roads to be safer, we need drivers to do their part too. Don't drink and drive. Put away the cell phone. Buckle up. Drive the speed limit or lower when conditions require it. Obey traffic laws. These simple measures can save lives."
During Ryan's time as commissioner, TxDOT dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars directly to safety improvements on Texas highways. Those improvements included widening roads, adding rumble strips that help drivers remain alert, adding reinforced shoulders and turn lanes and implementing new technology that will increase safety across Texas.
In 2019, the Texas Transportation Commission approved a goal to end all fatalities on Texas roads by 2050.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Ryan to the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees statewide activities of the Texas Department of Transportation, in July 2016. Ryan was reappointed March 2, 2017 and confirmed by the Senate on April 19, 2017, for a full six-year term.
The Texas Transportation Commission consists of five commissioners appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate.
