ABOUT US

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission was started in 1967 to promote traffic safety through educational campaigns, law enforcement support and roadway engineering solutions. The Commission is a small state agency with 19 employees and a yearly budget of $15 million. Most of the funding is provided by the United States Department of Transportation through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This funding is largely dispensed in the form of grants to law enforcement, other state and local government agencies, and non-profits who partner with the Commission to promote traffic safety through education, enforcement, and engineering solutions.

The goal of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission is to prevent fatal and serious injury collisions on Washington roadways. To achieve this goal, the Commission conducts and supports impaired driving programs such as the Drive Hammered-Get Nailed campaign, occupant protection programs such as Click It or Ticket, speed reduction programs, and pedestrian, bicycle, and motorcycle programs.

Other public safety campaigns that the Traffic Safety Commission supports include:

• Promoting booster seat and child car seat use;
• Combating distracted driving;
• Working with local communities to provide safety improvements on roadways with high crash rates;
• Increasing the knowledge of Intermediate Drivers' License (IDL) rules for teen drivers and their parents;
• Reducing speeding in school and playground zones;
• Improving training accessibility for commissioned law enforcement.

The Commission also works with community stakeholders to identify local traffic safety problems and to develop materials that educate community members and projects that help solve those problems. In addition, the Commission partners with other agencies with similar traffic safety goals. Stakeholders include:

• County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Forces
• Washington State Safety Restraint Coalition
• Law enforcement agencies
• Court personnel
• Emergency response professionals and trauma nurses
• Washington State Department of Transportation
• Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs
• School Resource Officers
• Hospital Health Educators
• Child passenger safety teams
• Local health departments
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving
• Insurance professionals
• Washington Trucking Association
• Driver education instructors
• Other non-profit organizations with traffic safety in their mission

The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) is located within the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. Washington State FARS is responsible for gathering data on 600-700 fatal crashes yearly.