For many of us, springtime in Iowa means getting out and about. Whether you’re in a passenger vehicle, commercial truck, motorcycle, bicycle, farm implement, or simply out for a walk, we all need to be aware of other road users and safely share the space.
Information supplied by the Bureau of Budget and Business Systems
An important key to hitting our 10-year target of “Safest – smartest – made to last” and our 5-year priority to grow innovation is being able to collect and utilize reliable and consistent data. We continue to refine the data we collect, how it is stored and how it interacts to make help drive decisions that improve the safety and mobility of travelers in our state.
Peggi Knight, director of the Research and Analytics Bureau, co-leads the Data Management Committee which is made up of transportation professionals from many different disciplines. She said, “We treat data as an asset that must be managed to be as effective as possible. The goal is to understand the data we have, its format, storage, and interaction.”
Part of learning to drive includes gaining an understanding of the laws and rules that are put in place to improve safety. Some of those laws and rules are for your protection as a driver and some are designed to keep those who work on the road safer. Many of these statutes serve to enhance the safety of everyone.
This is the first in a series of stories of how Iowa transportation projects impact the lives of our friends and neighbors, improving safety and making lives better through transportation.
In March 2019, a bomb cyclone struck several western and midwestern states, dropping intense rain and melting heavy snowpack on frozen ground. The subsequent runoff breached levees, flooded roadways, and decimated communities. One of those flooded roadways, Iowa 2 in Fremont County, severed the Iowa/Nebraska 2 corridor, which connects I-80 in Lincoln, Nebraska, to I-29 in Iowa. This unique connection is vital for commercial traffic traversing the region and area residents who live on one side of the Missouri River and work on the other. When Iowa 2 flooded and was closed, a commute for the locals that typically took 10-15 minutes suddenly turned into a 60-90- minute trip, and freight traffic was impacted at a similar level.
Are you wondering what to get your mom for Mother’s Day? Flowers and candy are always nice, but what most moms want are happy, healthy kids who do what it takes to stay safe at all times, including behind the wheel.
Information supplied by the Bureau of Budget and Business Systems
