The Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) announced that the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has won $75,000 in assistance as part of RSF’s Safer Roads: Building Safety into Your Drive public information and education campaign.

SCDOT and RSF will implement a public information and education campaign to raise awareness of the safety benefits and the need for rumble strips and paved shoulders to reduce Run-off-Road (ROR) crashes and the injuries and fatalities as a result of these crashes.

“Despite substantial progress in improving vehicles and driver performance over the years, significant challenges remain to assure that the nation’s roadways are as safe as they can and should be,” said Greg Cohen, executive director of RSF. “RSF’s support will allow SCDOT to educate the public about several types of safety improvements that will be implemented to prevent run-off-the-road crashes from occurring.”

During the last five years in South Carolina, almost 46 percent of the total fatalities reported involved a vehicle running off the road. A total of 2,384 persons were killed in these crashes in South Carolina, and an additional 48,462 injuries were reported.

“SCDOT is very pleased that our application was selected for funding by the Roadway Safety Foundation,” said Terecia Wilson, project manager of SCDOT’s campaign. “With RSF’s assistance, we will be able to fully develop and implement a statewide public information and education campaign to educate drivers about the safety benefits of rumble strips in preventing Run-off-Road crashes and how to safely recover if they do run-off-the road.”

RSF and SCDOT will work with Michelin North America and its professional drivers to produce a run-off-the-road safety DVD at its test track in Laurens, S.C. this winter. The DVD will be distributed via RSF, SCDOT and their safety partners not just in South Carolina but across the country.

The SCDOT program was one of six winning entries. Panel judges included representatives of RSF, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), AARP, and AAA.

The Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) is the only national organization solely dedicated to reducing deaths by improving the physical characteristics of America’s roadways — design and engineering, operating conditions, removal of roadside hazards, and the effective use of safety features. RSF works to attain its goals by building awareness through media campaigns and outreach activities, developing educational materials and forming roadway safety partnerships between the private and public sectors. It is a private non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization chartered in 1997 by the American Highway Users Alliance.

For more information, visit www.roadwaysafety.org.

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