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Your Monthly Update
August-September 2025
| | As summer winds down and school zones heat up, we’re wrapping up August and September with big highlights. From a statewide anti-speeding campaign and teen driver training to national safety conferences and community snapshots, dive in to catch up on the stories, events, and wins that are keeping California’s roads safer for everyone. | | The OTS Collaborates with State and Local Leaders to Reduce Speeding-Related Crashes | | On August 14, 2025, state and local leaders gathered at Phoebe A. Hearst Elementary School in Sacramento to officially launch the “Slow the Fast Down” education campaign, aimed squarely at reducing speeding-related crashes just as students return to school. The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), Caltrans, California Highway Patrol (CHP), Sacramento Police Department, the City of Sacramento, and nonprofit Slow Down Sacramento teamed up for the initiative, which combines education with enforcement and infrastructure changes to protect those walking, biking, riding, and driving in the community. “Speeding is dangerous and puts everyone on the road at risk,” OTS Director Stephanie Dougherty said. “Students, parents, teachers, and staff are safer when drivers slow down. Through the ‘Slow the Fast Down’ education campaign, we want to promote a culture of safe driving. Your daily choice to drive within the speed limit protects our youth and everyone in the community.” | | OTS Grantee Highlight: UCI School of Medicine Hosts Teen Safe Driving Event | | In mid-August, the Ford Driving Skills for Life program came to Angel Stadium in Anaheim to help teens and their parents learn about safe driving. The University of California, Irvine, in partnership with the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and Ford Philanthropy, hosted a two-day event that paired newly licensed teen drivers and those holding a learner’s permit with professional driving instructors for hands-on driver training. The training courses addressed vehicle handling, hazard recognition, speed and space management, distracted driving and impaired driving. OTS Director Stephanie Dougherty attended the event and spoke to the crowd of parents and students. Dougherty discussed how staying safe on the road requires teamwork between families and young drivers, reminding parents that they play a significant role in teaching and encouraging safe habits, even after their teens obtain their licenses. The UC Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine hosted the event as part of its grant to support the Youth Thriving in Life Transitions with Transportation program, which focuses on traffic injury prevention and road safety in California. Central to the program is Dr. Federico Vaca, who directs the UCI School of Medicine’s Brain, Body & Behavior Driving Simulation Lab (B3DrivSim Lab) and leads the OTS-funded program. | | GHSA 2025 Annual Meeting:
Key Takeaways from Pittsburgh | | The OTS team joined hundreds of roadway safety leaders, law enforcement officials, technology experts, and state agency staff in Pittsburgh for the Governors Highway Safety Association’s 2025 Annual Meeting. Our team participated in workshops on emerging trends such as telematics and tech-enabled safety tools, speed management strategies, social media campaigns to reach youth, and new programs to reduce impaired and distracted driving. OTS Director Stephanie Dougherty also moderated a session on leveraging youth voices to create impactful traffic safety campaigns, emphasizing the importance of authentic engagement in shaping messages that resonate with young drivers. Key sessions explored how law enforcement and state highway safety offices can streamline regulatory processes and strengthen cross-agency collaboration. The conference underscored how recent declines in traffic fatalities can be built upon through innovation, collaboration, and partnerships — insights our team is eager to bring home and apply to ongoing efforts to make our roads safer statewide. | | Partnering for Safety:
The OTS x CA State Parks | | On September 3, during the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission’s Safety Summit workshop in Redding, the OTS delivered a presentation titled “Effective Messaging & Marketing for OHV Safety.” The session explored how creative, targeted communications can reduce risks in off-highway vehicle riding, including messaging that resonates with riders, emphasizing responsibility, awareness of terrain and conditions, and respectful use of trails. Key components included using social media platforms strategically, leveraging compelling visuals and storytelling, and coordinating with law enforcement and recreation agencies to ensure message consistency. The presentation stressed that safety campaigns are more effective when they understand the audience’s motivations, meet them where they are, and deliver clear, actionable messages. | | |
OTS Staff:
People On The Move
| | Nicole Osuna – Join us in congratulating Nicole Osuna on her appointment to Grant Operations Manager, Grant Operations Branch in the Program Planning and Grant Operations Division. Nicole began her career with the OTS in March of 2017, working as an assistant to the Director and was promoted to a Program Coordinator in July of that same year. Since 2023, she served as one of the Traffic Safety Specialists focusing on Impaired Driving and our Young Drivers program, placing emphasis on expanding our Impaired Driving grant program. | | | Brian Huynh – Join us in welcoming Brian Huynh as Chief Traffic Records Officer. Brian has over 25 years of experience at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). While at NHTSA, he served as the Region 9’s Traffic Records Subject Matter Expert, providing technical assistance to State and Territory Traffic Records Coordinating Committees (TRCCs) and assisting TRCCs throughout the region to identify data gaps, perform analyses, and engage stakeholders. | | | Safety Snapshot of the Month | | On July 16, the San Jose Police Department conducted a “Know Your Limit” campaign event at PayPal Park. The “Know Your Limit” program raises awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving and is an interactive way to show how much, or little, it can take to reach the legal limit to drive. | | |
Publications, resources, training opportunities, and other relevant updates from our state and national traffic safety partners.
📈 Report: Early estimates of traffic fatalities in first half of 2025
NHTSA released early estimates for motor vehicle traffic fatalities in the first half of 2025, projecting a substantial 8.2% decline in national roadway deaths compared to the projected fatalities in the first half of 2024. Read the report.
📈 Fact Sheet: 2023 State Traffic Data
NHTSA released a fact sheet with information about traffic crashes based on data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Read the fact sheet.
📈 Report: Comparing crash fatality trends in Canada and U.S.
Researchers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Canada’s Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) examined the divergence in traffic fatality trends between the United States and Canada from 2007 to 2021. Read the study.
🖥️ Autonomous Vehicles Safety Dashboard
The dashboard is a new tool created by UC Berkeley SafeTREC to visualize all reported AV crashes and mileage from 2019-2024 for AVs with testing permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). View the Dashboard.
🎙️ GHSA “The Intersection” Podcast: New Episode
In the latest episode of “The Intersection,” GHSA CEO Jonathan Adkins brings together two national leaders focused on traffic safety. Check out the episode.
| | The OTS participates in community outreach and engagement events to connect with residents, local partners, and stakeholders to share information, gather feedback and encourage Californians to Go Safely. These events provide valuable opportunities to build relationships, support local initiatives and ensure our traffic safety efforts are informed by the voices and needs of the communities we serve. | | Back to School Night – On August 27, the OTS engaged with students and parents/guardians at El Camino (Fundamental) High School’s Back-to-School and Senior Parent Information Night in Sacramento County. ECHS is in the Arden-Arcade area — a hot spot for traffic incidents, especially bike and pedestrian injuries and fatalities. More than 200 attendees heard a short presentation from the OTS, and more than 75 people stopped by the OTS booth to provide feedback on improving traffic safety in their community, and walking and biking to school. | | La Familia Health and Safety Fair – On September 19, La Familia Counseling Center held an event to provide the community with health and safety resources, including an on-site free clinic for preventive care and educational booths focused on personal and public safety. Approximately 500 people attended the event, and OTS interacted with about 100 participants through public engagement and hands-on safety education, such as one-on-one surveys. The OTS team engaged with attendees to raise awareness about safe driving behaviors, proper helmet use, the importance of seat belts, and the dangers of impaired and distracted driving, among other subjects. | | |
📌 October 1-31: National Pedestrian Safety Month
📌 October 8: Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day
📌 October 19-25: National Teen Driver Safety Week
📌 October 20-24: National School Bus Safety Week
📌 October 31, 2025: Halloween
Keep an eye on your inboxes for campaign templates and social media assets. Additional outreach materials are always available at GoSafelyCA.org/MediaToolkits.
| | The OTS administers traffic safety grants that deliver traffic safety programs to prevent people from being killed and seriously injured in California. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). | | |
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