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Permian Basin Safety Road Coalition honors region’s road safety championsPermian Road Safety Coalition honors region’s road safety champions
Every day since Nov. 7, 2000, at least one person has lost their life on Texas roads, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
It’s a grim statistic and a primary motivator for the Permian Road Safety Coalition (PRSC), which, at the regional level, supports a statewide effort to “End the Streak of fatalities.” The PRSC, which formed in 2016 and became a nonprofit in 2019, routinely brings government agencies, industry and community stakeholders together to find solutions to reduce roadway fatalities and accidents in the Permian Basin.
With a 20 percent reduction in fatalities in the region since 2022 despite booming industrial activity, the collaborative efforts appear to be making a difference. The PRSC’s quest for road safety was made evident at its 2nd Annual Road Safety Champions Awards, which was sponsored by Texas Mutual Insurance and held at the Odessa Marriott Hotel on Jan. 31. Chevron sponsored a reception on Jan 30. The sold-out event of more than 250 people recognized individual safe drivers, and companies whose safe driving programs contribute to overall road safety and help to reduce fatalities.
Michael Smith, managing director of the PRSC, said that while it is important to call out unsafe behavior and conditions, it is also important to highlight examples of those who are doing their part to make roadways safer.
“We recognize there were many companies and many individuals in the Permian Basin who are doing the right thing,” Smith said. “They are teaching, they are driving safely, they are having milestones inside their companies because of programs they developed that are setting them up for success.”