Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) and You
1:00 pm, December 19, 2023
Watch Recording
Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) and You
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
1 PM - 3 PM EST
Please join us for the next Regional Safety Task Force (RSTF) meeting, which will be devoted to Vulnerable Road Users (VRU). Guest presenters will highlight current VRU needs in the region and innovative ways to address those needs, in accordance with the Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) Safety Special Rule, as established by the BIL. Discussion will tie back to attendees’ own relationship with being a vulnerable road user. RSTF attendees will also be able to inform DVRPC’s upcoming Regional Vision Zero webpage, dashboard, and other in-development resources.
Featured Speakers
Jason Hershock, PennDOT
Jason Hershock is the manager of the Safety Engineering & Risk Management Unit at PennDOT’s Highway Safety & Traffic Operations Division. Jason has over 23 years of experience in the private and public sectors in engineering design, construction, and traffic engineering & safety analysis. He currently manages Pennsylvania’s HSIP, Low Cost Safety Improvement Program, safety research, highway safety training committee, and Risk Management/tort liability programs. He serves as a member to national pooled fund study groups which include the Evaluation of Low Cost Safety Improvements, TPF-5(317), and the Highway Safety Manual Implementation pooled fund group, TPF-5(255). Jason is a current member of the AASHTO HSM2 steering committee and is a NCHRP 17-71A, Highway Safety Manual, Second Edition, panel member, and also a panel member of NCHRP 20-123, Highway Safety Manual Development and Research Roadmap. Jason will present on PennDOT’s recent Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Safety Assessment.
Hannah Younes, PhD, Rutgers University
Dr. Hannah Younes is a Post Doctoral Research Associate in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University. In her role at Rutgers University, Dr. Younes is focusing on crash detection from micromobility, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on everyday behavior, and on reducing vulnerability to crashes in New Jersey. Prior to her work as a post-doc, she was a research assistant for the Maryland Transportation Institute (MTI) in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UMD, focusing on transport geography issues. Hannah will present the work behind the paper "Pedestrian- and bicyclist-involved crashes: Associations with spatial factors and infrastructure, and equity impacts," which was published this May in the Journal of Safety Research.
Announcements
- Call for nominations for the RSTF’s next NJ co-chair! More information about co-chairs can be found here. Please email any nominations directly to Kaylen Phillips at kphillips@dvrpc.org.
- THIS SUNDAY, November 19th is World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims. The Bicycle Coalition is hosting a gathering at the Lil’ Safety Village in Hunting Park for families of traffic crash victims and street safety advocates.
- DVRPC’s Public Participation Task Force (PPTF) is looking for new members! Please share the attached flyer with your contacts, especially community groups. Applications are accepted year-round and reviewed annually in December/January.
- DVRPC and the City of Trenton won a NJ Complete Streets Excellence Award for the “Our Streets” Bike Plan public outreach efforts! Check out the video here.
Read the recent APA PAS Memo on Achieving Vision Zero in Practice, written by Jersey City planners.