NEWS RELEASE

Transportation Safety Summit to be Held in Butte June 19

Butte-Silver Bow Residents Invited to Participate FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 31, 2012 Contact: Roger Ebner, Director Butte-Silver Bow Emergency Management 406-497-6295

Butte, MT Transportation safety is an issue affecting everyone in Butte-Silver Bow, regardless of age, gender, or income. Local officials have received support from the Montana Department of Transportation to develop a Community Transportation Safety Plan to assess what is contributing to our accidents and identify strategies to address them. Butte-Silver Bow, through the Local Emergency Planning Committee, is hosting a Transportation Safety Summit to provide a forum for all residents to discuss ways to improve safety. The Summit will be held at the Butte Civic Center-Annex on June 19 from 6-9 PM. All members of the community who are interested in transportation safety are invited to attend. From 2006 to 2010 there were a total of 3,355 vehicle crashes in Butte-Silver Bow. Of these crashes, there were 23 fatal crashes and 115 crashes resulting in serious injuries. The goal of the plan is to reduce the annual number of all crashes by twenty percent within five years. This planning effort and coordination is important to us and will benefit our community by giving us a road map where we can improve the safety on the roads in our area, making our citizens as safe as possible. said Butte-Silver Bow Sheriff John Walsh. At the Safety Summit, participants will identify strategies for reducing young driver and inattentive driving crashes, improving safety at intersections, and increasing safety belt use; four of the most significant factors in Butte-Silver Bow crashes according to Montana Department of Transportation crash data. Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive Paul Babb urges all citizens to attend Even one accident is one too many, and I encourage everyone to attend and share your thoughts and ideas on how to improve transportation safety in our community. Community members are invited to participate in the Community Transportation Safety Summit. Participation is open to anyone interested in improving the safety on our roadways. To RSVP (optional) or for more information, please contact Roger Ebner, Butte-Silver Bow Emergency Management Agency at rebner@bsb.mt.gov or 406-497-6295. Refreshments will be served. ###