The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) welcomed transportation partners and the public Tuesday for the second annual Safer Together Open House in Madison. The event, hosted at the Hill Farms State Office Building, showcases the many projects and programs designed to improve safety across all modes of transportation in Wisconsin.
Attendees could participate in kids’ activities, safety demonstrations and educational booths focused on safety themes. Demonstrations included drone and bridge inspections, a State Patrol K-9 team, crash reconstruction, and workplace safety gear. Experts were on hand to talk with visitors about additional programs and initiatives, including the Traffic Management Center, work zone safety, the driver education program, blood alcohol level testing and car seat installation.
“WisDOT is focused on safety in everything we do to improve roads, bridges and Wisconsin’s network of alternative transportation options. Despite our many initiatives, crash trends remain a concern, but this event shows us how safety is truly a shared responsibility. Everyone has a role to reduce crashes and injuries in Wisconsin, to help us all be safer together,” WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman said.
Dangerous driving behaviors continue to lead to incidents on our roads. In 2024, 576 people died and more than 33,000 were hurt in crashes in Wisconsin. WisDOT’s mission is to develop and maintain a safe and efficient transportation system that, combined with public education, will help us eliminate those tragedies and achieve our goal of zero deaths on Wisconsin roads.
Partnerships key to safety improvements
The Safer Together Open House is part of WisDOT’s Safety First Initiative, which brings together subject matter experts to share knowledge, best practices and research to leverage new technologies to improve safety. 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.
The event continued this effort by featuring the programs of some of WisDOT’s transportation partners to advance safety in bicycling, railroad crossings, Connected and Automated Vehicle technologies, road construction and more.
“A key principle of the Safe System Approach is the idea that stakeholders at all levels of government, industry and the public come together to keep our roads safe,” WisDOT Division of Budget and Strategic Initiatives Administrator Lea Collins-Worachek said. “The Safer Together Open House brings together not only our WisDOT specialists across all modes of transportation, but also our partners who are working to improve safety in their respective fields of expertise. We thank every participant for their partnership to help us reach our goals.”
WisDOT has identified a number of safety related priorities that remain a focus throughout the year and into the future, including research into safety technologies, the Buckle Up Phone Down awareness campaign, motorcycle safety training, sign upgrades to reduce wrong way driving and aviation safety training.
Learn more about the Safety First Initiative on the WisDOT website.
