BMC’s Bala Akundi, Principal Transportation Engineer and contributor to the LOOK ALIVE Pedestrian Safety Campaign, participated in a panel, alongside representatives from the Baltimore County Police Department, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s (MDOT MVA) Highway Safety Office at the Maryland Quality Initiative (MdQI) Conference on January 23, 2020.
The “Pedestrian Safety- Education and Enforcement Side” panel discussion focused on education and enforcement activities that are currently underway to help address highway safety challenges. In 2018, pedestrians accounted for 25% of the State’s highway deaths. Reducing pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries is a key emphasis area in Maryland’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
The MdQI Conference, which took place at the Baltimore Convention Center, drew hundreds of speakers, exhibitors and attendees to network and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing transportation professionals. MdQI aims to provide the Maryland transportation industry with a forum that supports improvements to ensure safe, efficient and environmentally sensitive and sustainable systems.
LOOK ALIVE, is a campaign in the greater Baltimore region to raise awareness and educate drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists on how to be safe on our roads. The campaign is a collaboration between BMC, the MDOT MVA Highway Safety Office and State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA), Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems and regional transportation and law enforcement officials from Baltimore City, and Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Howard, Harford, Carroll, and Queen Anne’s counties.