GHSA looks forward to working with Morrison, a proven safety professional, to tackle key roadway safety challenges, unlock safety innovation and remove administrative burdens that hinder safety.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Adam Snider, 202-365-8971
Statement by Jonathan Adkins, Chief Executive Officer, Governors Highway Safety Association
WASHINGTON, D.C. – GHSA congratulates Jonathan Morrison on his confirmation as Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The U.S. Senate just voted to confirm a list of Trump administration nominees to a variety of posts, including Morrison to lead NHTSA.
Morrison has a proven record of collaboration and putting roadway safety first. During his tenure as Chief Counsel of NHTSA during President Trump’s first term, he worked effectively with GHSA and its State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) members. He prioritized identifying and reducing administrative work that only served to burden SHSOs and not improve safety. That focus on outcomes over processes will be essential to building on recent safety successes and saving more lives on U.S. roads.
GHSA also thanks Peter Simshauser for his leadership of NHTSA during the preceding nine months. In that short time, Simshauser has helped the agency become more forward-thinking, transparent and accountable to the needs of SHSOs and their partners. The culture is beginning to change for the better at NHTSA, and Simshauser is a large part of that. We are eager to continue our safety collaboration with Simshauser in his role as Chief Counsel.
We look forward to working with Morrison to continue to reform the practices of NHTSA’s Regional Operations and Program Delivery (ROPD) division, which too often serves as a roadblock instead of a safety collaborator despite its stated mission of supporting SHSO administration. The complexities of existing and emerging traffic safety challenges require fresh thinking and the testing of new techniques, an approach that is often inhibited by unnecessary restrictions and a lack of forward thinking by ROPD. With Morrison at the helm, I am confident the NHTSA-state relationship will continue to improve as the focus shifts to supporting state-led safety innovation.
With innovation at the forefront of our evolving approach to traffic safety, we are hopeful that the agency will continue to advance a technology-based solution to address the wholly preventable crime of drunk driving within our lifetimes. Lifesaving technology exists today, and the public is depending on federal leadership to ensure no family loses a loved one to a drunk driver ever again.
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The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) is a nonprofit association representing the highway safety offices of states, territories, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. GHSA provides leadership and representation for the states and territories to improve traffic safety, influence national policy, enhance program management and promote best practices. Its members are appointed by their Governors to administer federal and state highway safety funds and implement state highway safety plans.