Officers Gather to Prepare for Series of Highway Safety Initiatives

NHTSA Deputy Administrator and Experts on Latino Motorist Issues Featured What: Fourth Annual North Carolina Law Enforcement Summits When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 9 Where: Tuesday-Sheraton Atlantic Beach Hotel Thursday-Hilton University Place Hotel, Charlotte

RALEIGH, N.C., May 3 -- The Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will come to North Carolina to commend law enforcement officers across the state for their dedication to improving transportation safety while reducing the incidence of serious- and fatal-injury traffic crashes.

Annette Sandberg will deliver the keynote address at the fourth annual North Carolina Law Enforcement Summits sponsored by the Governor's Highway Safety Program. The first event will be held May 7 at the Sheraton Atlantic Beach Hotel; the second will be held May 9 at the Hilton University Place Hotel in Charlotte. Among the issues she will address are the upcoming "Click It or Ticket" campaign, May 17-June 2, and how North Carolina's enforcement and public education model will be implemented in at least 28 states during the spring mobilization.

Sandberg was appointed by President George W. Bush in February. She is a former chief of the Washington State Patrol and earned her law degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law. She is second in command at NHTSA, whose Administrator is Dr. Jeffrey W. Runge of Charlotte.

Luncheon speakers at both events will focus on ways law enforcement can help Spanish-speaking motorists travel more safely. Preliminary findings of a new national study to reduce the incidence of motor vehicle crashes among newly-arrived Latinos also will be discussed. The study was conducted for NHTSA by the Midwest Latino Health Research, Training & Policy Center of the University of Illinois at Chicago. It focused on three locations with growing Latino populations, one of which is Durham.

The topic will be addressed Tuesday by Gabriel Cano, Program Analyst with NHTSA's Office of Communication and Outreach. On Thursday, Dr. Aida Giachello of the Midwest Latino Health Research, Training & Policy Center will speak.

Several other speakers will address a range of highway safety issues and training options.