2025 AASHTO Annual Summit Salt Lake City
What a week in Salt Lake City! I wanted to share a brief overview of the key events and accomplishments from AASHTO’s Annual Meeting, hosted by the Utah DOT. Several board members attended, including Robin Barfield (NCDOT), Rod McDaniels (Utah DOT), Brian Hurlock (ConnDOT), and myself.
Meeting With AASHTO Leadership
On Monday afternoon, we had the privilege of meeting with AASHTO leadership. The meeting was scheduled for 50 minutes—but it lasted 90. Those in attendance included:
- Commissioner Eucalitto, Connecticut DOT – AASHTO President
- Commissioner McMurry, Georgia DOT – Incoming AASHTO President
- Director Darin Westby, Wyoming DOT
- Jennifer Hall, Deputy Director & Chief of Staff (AASHTO)
- Joung Lee, Director of Policy and Government Relations (AASHTO)
- Jill Hyland, Program Director, Transportation Workforce Management (AASHTO)
This meeting was truly historic. We secured an immediate and enthusiastic commitment from Commissioner McMurry to extend the MOU at the next AASHTO Annual Meeting in Louisville in November 2026.
Employee Safety Network (ESN) Updates
Our outstanding ESN liaisons, Robin and Rod, provided an overview of the ESN’s work as NAATSHO’s internal community of practice. Commissioner McMurry also committed to attending both the February 2026 and June 2026 ESN meetings. Please find the meeting details here: www.NAATSHO.com/ESN
Nationwide SIF and Near-Miss Database
Brian Hurlock raised the need for a national DOT SIF and near-miss database that all states can use to contribute and share critical safety information. During discussions, an AASHTOWare-style platform was proposed.
Following our meeting, the NAATSHO Board met with AASHTOWare leadership, and we are pleased to announce that they have committed to creating a trial program. Several states will be sending SIF data—without PII or HIPAA-protected information—for initial uploads and testing.
Recognizing DOT Employees as First Responders
As we concluded, a desire was expressed to classify DOT employees as first responders in certain situations. Our teams are often first to encounter roadway hazards, motor vehicle crashes, and natural or human-caused disasters. I fully support this direction.
NAATSHO’s Priorities for the Coming Year
AASHTO asked us to identify our top three priorities for the year ahead. I shared the following:
- Ensuring DOT employees are included under the “vulnerable road user” terminology.
- Expanding funding opportunities for DOT occupational safety
- Developing a national DOT SIF database
Roundtable Discussion: Employee Health, Well-Being, and Safety
I also had the privilege of participating in a roundtable discussion focused on employee health, well-being, and workplace safety. I reinforced the need for unified national data collection for DOT employee SIFs. We can report how many members of the traveling public were killed on our roads last year—but we cannot say how many DOT employees were. This needs to change.
I also addressed mental health and stressed the importance of supporting employees after high-stress events. Our workforce encounters crashes, large-scale disasters, and employee SIFs regularly. Expanding Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Teams across state DOTs is essential. Additionally, I emphasized the importance of reframing PTSD by dropping the “D”—stress is not a disorder but a real, natural response for our teams.
Final Thanks
I want to thank Robin, Rod, and Brian for their dedication throughout the conference. We met with numerous state and federal DOT leaders, and I believe our team secured AASHTO’s firm commitment in helping NAATSHO protect our greatest asset: the DOT employee.
For more information on the ESN, please visit NAATSHO’s website: www.NAATSHO.com/ESN
Respectfully,
Jordan Striff – NAATSHO President
