The 2025 NYS Highway Safety Symposium aims to revitalize our state’s efforts to improve traffic safety. We acknowledge that the traditional pillars of traffic safety — engineering, enforcement, and education — have encountered challenges that tested their established practices. Now is the time to renew our commitment to safer driving and roadways in New York State. Together, let’s collaborate and innovate on projects and initiatives to enhance road safety across the state, aiming to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities. This symposium will unite safety professionals and stakeholders, including law enforcement, traffic engineers, policymakers, public health officials, and community organizations.
Keynote Speaker
Sheriff Michael Lewis, Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland
Elected November 2006, and now serving his fourth consecutive four-year term, Sheriff Lewis has worked tirelessly to transform the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland into one of superior service to its citizens, an office that is very proactive while on patrol, while providing its officers and command staff with the tools and resources they need to educate the public and build sustainable community relationships. He is recognized as an expert in the areas of highway interdiction, hidden compartments, and drug valuation.Presentations & Topics:
- Addressing Roadway Safety at the SUNY UB Transportation Research and Visualization Laboratory – Austin Angulo, University at Buffalo – SUNY
- Advancing Highway Operational Strategies Through Connected and Automated Vehicle-Driven Data and Safety Performance Measures – Jingqin Gao, C2SMARTER Center, New York University
- An Interactive Sample of Law Enforcement Training Courses – Panel Presentations
- Analyze Safety Impacts of Lane-changing Behaviors in Highway Traffic – Dachuan Zuo, C2SMARTER Center, New York University
- Benefits of Non-intrusive Detection at Traffic Signals – Christina Doughney, NYS Department of Transportation
- Creating Youth Transportation Safety Advocates Through Opportunity – Stacey Tisdale, Texas A&M Transportation Institute – Youth Transportation Safety Program
- Criminal Charges in Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes – Christine Savoia, Niagara County District Attorney’s Office
- Distracted and Impaired Driving: A Personal Perspective – Pam O’Donnell, Catch You Later Foundation
- Emerging Issues in Commercial Vehicle Safety & Enforcement – Jonathan Nicastro, NYS Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Safety and Mobility
- Emilee’s Challenge – James Allard, Steuben County Sheriff’s Office
- Helping State and Local Municipalities Prepare for and Respond to Severe Weather – Ethan Burwell, NYS Weather Risk Communication Center
- Highway Safety Community Engagements with Special Needs Populations – Panel Discussion
- How to Grow a Traffic Garden: Planting the Seeds of Road Safety – Joe Mushock, Cayuga County Health Department
- Learn About the New Police Crash Report (MV104P) – Panel Discussion
- Lessons from New Jersey v. Olenowski – Erik Daab, New Jersey Office of the Attorney General
- Leveraging Academic and Industry Partnerships to Optimize NYSDOT Bridge Deck and Highway Railing Designs – Frank DarConte, C2SMARTER Center, New York University
- MADD’s Underage Substance Use Programming – Cara Rosebeck, MADD New York (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
- Micro-modal, multi-agent extended reality simulation to improve safety with connected automated vehicles (CAVs) – Chaozhe He, University at Buffalo – SUNY
- Mind on the Road: The Intersection of Mental Health & Safe Driving – Lauren Zimmerman-Meade and Louis Pratt, SADD, Inc.
- Motorcycle Safety Trends and Strategies for a Safer Ride – Mary Harding, NYS Department of Transportation
- Navigating the Evolving Vehicular Crimes Landscape: Legal Updates and Emerging Challenges – Stephanie Dellinger, Office of the District Attorney, Suffolk County
- Neighborhood Traffic Calming and the City of Syracuse’s Approach to Connecting Neighborhoods – Effective Tools to Reduce Speeds in Neighborhoods – Tim Faulkner, Fisher Associates
- Implementing 25 MPH in Your Community – New York Bicycling Coalition
- New York State Motorcycle Safety Program – Brandi Behling, New York State Motorcycle Safety Program (NYMSP)
- Partnerships Advance Road Safety in New York State Through the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES) – Michael Bauer, New York State Department of Health
- Pedestrian Safety in a Vehicle Centric World – Aisha Phillips, Dutchess County Department of Health
- Predicting and Recommending Safe Driving Speeds Using High-Resolution Connected Vehicle and Weather Data: A Machine Learning Approach – Wen Zhang, University at Buffalo
- Think Tank: Diverse Stakeholder Collaborations – Panel Discussion
- Traffic Enforcement Training – Sheriff Michael Lewis, Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office
- Traffic Incident Management (TIM) – Panel Discussion
- Traffic Safety – A Core Mission of Policing – NYS Association of Chiefs of Police, Inc
- Trust in Automation: A Driving Simulator Analysis (Broader Impacts, Methodology, and Implementation) – Kevin Hulme, The Stephen Still Institute for Sustainable Transportation
- Underreporting of Phone Use in Police Crash Reports – Aimee Cox, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
- Updates on the NYS Driver Point System – Joshua Vinciguerra, NYS Department of Motor Vehicles
- Use of E-Bikes, ATVs, and UTVs: What Can Be Done – Panel Discussion
- Utilizing CLEAR for Safety Analysis: A Case Study Approach – Robert Zitowsky, NYS Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Safety and Mobility
- Vision Zero Safety Action Plans – Carrie Ward, Capital Region Transportation Council
- What All Drivers Should Know About Motorcycles – Bruce LePorte, Traveling Memorial Wall for Fallen Bikers, Inc.
- Why Are Young Drivers So Anxious Behind the Wheel? Uncovering the Hidden Causes and Impacts on Perceived Driving Skills – Gongda Yu, University at Buffalo – SUNY
- Working Together to Achieve a Safe Work Zone (AWZSE) – Michael Fariello, NYS Thruway Authority
(All presentations and speakers are subject to change)
We hope you’ll join us October 14 –17, 2025, at the Lake Ontario Event & Conference Center in Oswego, New York. You can register at https://nyshighway2025.eventbrite.com
