MADISON — Community members and transportation partners joined the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) for a special event July 30 in Madison showcasing the partnerships and programs designed to improve safety throughout Wisconsin’s transportation system.

The Safer Together — Summer Safety Event features children’s activities, educational booths and demonstrations to give attendees a first-hand look at WisDOT’s safety initiatives in all modes of transportation.

“Safety is at the center of everything we do at WisDOT — whether it’s our officers enforcing traffic safety laws, our engineers implementing new technologies to design better roads, or our team educating Wisconsinites to prevent crashes and injuries — but we can’t do this alone,” WisDOT Secretary Craig Thompson said. “This event demonstrates how everyone in Wisconsin has an important role in making our roads safer, including our day-to-day travelers.”  

The event is part of WisDOT’s Safety-First Initiative, which brings together subject matter experts across WisDOT divisions to share knowledge, best practices and research to leverage new technologies for data gathering and engineering countermeasures. The initiative draws on the USDOT’s Safe System Approach to address transportation safety, which uses a variety of methods to design a transportation system that anticipates potential problems to prevent crashes. 

“Efforts to improve the safety of Wisconsin’s multi-modal transportation system can be found throughout WisDOT’s divisions and offices. Our Safer Together — Summer Safety Event provides an opportunity to learn more about the tools, equipment, programs and partnerships that, as we all work together, make Wisconsin’s transportation network safer for everyone,” WisDOT Division of Budget and Strategic Initiatives Administrator Lea Collins-Worachek said.

Throughout the morning and afternoon, visitors could drop by Hill Farms State Office Building to see demonstrations of work zone safety equipment, crash scene reconstruction tools, and bridge inspection technologies. Educational booths highlighted rail safety messaging, pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle safety, car seat fitting instructions, traffic management technologies, and impaired driving detection. Attendees were able to ask questions of DMV examiners, and meet first responders including Wisconsin State Patrol officers, K-9s, a DNR warden, and local firefighters. 

Learn more details about our safety initiatives and guidelines for safe driving on the WisDOT website.