Blue Courage, a new way to protect and serve

June 28, 2016

To protect and serve. This motto, first adopted by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1955, is now a generally recognized mantra for law enforcement. Policing is a necessary, but sometimes extremely challenging, undertaking. Those challenges, especially the mental and emotional aspects of the job, can take a toll on an officer.

A new program, Blue Courage, was recently brought to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Office of Motor Vehicle Enforcement by Chief David Lorenzen. According to Lorenzen, Blue Courage is a process focused on the human development of a police officer. It draws on relevant, proven literature and research on human effectiveness, positive psychology, leadership development, and neuroscience. The goal is personal and cultural transformation through institutionalizing the heart set, mindset, skill set, and tool set of our police officers.  

NASCAR’s Joey Gase holds event at Iowa DOT to support organ donation

June 27, 2016

As an 18-year-old, Joey Gase of Cedar Rapids, faced a very adult decision, whether or not to donate his deceased mother’s organs. Since Gase’s mother, Mary Jo, was not married when she died of a brain aneurysm in 2011, the decision of whether to donate her organs, eyes, and tissue to save the lives of others was left to her son. Gase chose donation and in doing so, saved or improved the lives of 66 people. He said, “We knew that if my mom couldn’t continue with her life, she would want to do whatever she could to help others continue theirs.”

That reality resonated with Gase, now 23, who dedicates much of his time and celebrity as a NASCAR driver to promoting organ donation around the country. Back in Iowa to race June 20 in Newton, Gase and his race team, along with his partners at the Iowa Donor Network, came to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Division headquarters in Ankeny June 16 for a “hands on” event to promote organ donation.

Message Monday - June 27, 2016 - Air bags are not pillows. Rest before driving

June 27, 2016

When you think of impaired driving, what comes to mind? There are the obvious impairments of alcohol and drugs, but there is a more subtle impairment that you might not think about – drowsiness.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says drowsy driving is not just falling asleep at the wheel. Driver alertness, attention, reaction time, judgment, and decision-making are all compromised leading to a greater chance of crashing. According to NHTSA’s National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Study, drowsy drivers involved in a crash are twice as likely to make performance errors as compared to drivers who are not fatigued. In extreme cases, a drowsy driver may fall asleep at the wheel.

Research shows that for every time you recognize that you’ve dozed off, you have already fallen out of conscious up to 15 times that you didn’t realize. This “microsleep” can last from a fraction of a second to up to 30 seconds.

Personnel Updates for June 3-June 16, 2016

June 23, 2016

Information provided by the Office of Employee Services

The great standoff: The value of standing desks in a sitting world

June 23, 2016

After a long day of sitting at your desk, nothing beats the feeling of taking a good stretch. But then it hits you, “How long was I sitting?”

If you’re like a majority of Americans with an office job, you sit for the majority of your work day.

When it comes to doing your job, it’s easy to forget the strain you put on your body from sitting too long. The obvious solution for sitting too much is standing.

Reality check – engineering can be an adrenaline rush

June 21, 2016

For those with analytical minds, there is certain rush when an idea morphs into a design and then into something real.

Developing the minds of budding young engineers is the goal of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ TRAC™ program, which is a hands-on program designed for use in science, math, and social science classes. Part of the program involves a nationwide, annual bridge building competition for kids in seventh through 12^th grades, culminating in a national completion at AASHTO’s annual spring meeting.