CEO recognized for two decades of innovative traffic safety leadership
Jim Santilli, CEO of the Transportation Improvement Association, accepted the Richard H. Austin Long-Term Service Award on Wednesday from Katie Bower, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, and Michigan’s Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie, during the Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commission (GTSAC) Awards ceremony, part of the two-day Michigan Traffic Safety Summit held in East Lansing.
Jim Santilli, CEO of the Transportation Improvement Association, has been recognized by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commission (GTSAC) for his years of dedicated leadership in transportation and traffic safety.
Santilli was presented with the Richard H. Austin Long-Term Service Award on Wednesday during the GTSAC Awards ceremony as part of the 27th annual Michigan Traffic Safety Summit in East Lansing, hosted by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. The GTSAC honors organizations, programs and individuals for distinguished involvement in traffic safety.
Macomb County Sheriff Anthony M. Wickersham; Jim Santilli, CEO of the Transportation Improvement Association; Senator Ruth Johnson; and, Matt Saxton, CEO of the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association.
In his more than 22 years dedicated to addressing transportation and traffic safety issues, Santilli has created and led numerous engineering, education and enforcement initiatives to improve traffic safety in Michigan. These initiatives resulted in changes to road infrastructure to improve safety, a significant increase in public education and new and much-needed traffic enforcement mobilizations.
Santilli has led many innovative programs, including the development of the “Remembering Ally: Distracted Driving Awareness Campaign,” named after Michigan high school student Ally Zimmerman, who died from injuries she sustained in a motor vehicle crash caused by a distracted driver. The campaign was one of five traffic safety programs in the nation to receive the Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement Award from the Governors Highway Safety Association in 2013.
Santilli also worked on hands-free local ordinances, and publicly announced the Hands-Free Michigan Campaign in March 2016. After conducting extensive research, he provided language for a hands-free, distracted-driving bill that was introduced in the Michigan Legislature in 2016 and 2017.
The Richard H. Austin Long-Term Service Award is named for the longest-serving secretary of state in Michigan’s history (1971-1995). Austin earned a national reputation as an outstanding and effective advocate for traffic safety.
The GTSAC was formed in 2002 to serve as the state’s forum for identifying key traffic safety challenges and developing and implementing plans to address those issues. The commission includes representatives from the departments of State Police, Transportation, Education, State, and Health & Human Services, as well as the Office of the Governor, the Aging and Adult Services Agency, and the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. There are also three representatives from local government appointed by the governor.
