NEWS RELEASE



For further information please contact:

Capt. J. Tim Hull

(573) 526-6115

Q9066

September 28, 2006

EMPHASIS: Association Honors Patrol



Colonel James F. Keathley, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, would like to inform the public of an award bestowed upon the Patrol. Each year, the National Safety Council’s Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals (ATSIP) recognizes an exemplary state or federal project intended to improve the timeliness, accuracy, or accessibility of traffic safety data with a Best Practices Award. This association also looks for projects that are good examples of implementation of new technology, or which demonstrate the use of traffic safety data in problem identification, project management, or project evaluation. In July 2006, ATSIP presented the Patrol with its annual Best Practice Award for the Missouri Traffic Arrest System/DWI Tracking System (TAS/DWITS).



TAS/DWITS replaced the Traffic Arrest System/Alcohol and Drug Offense Records System (TAS/ADORS) in February 2005. The system improved upon ADORS by being a web-based, computerized database of alcohol-related driving offenses. The new system included more detailed information than ADORS, such as arrest information, prosecutorial actions, and court dispositions. It is an automated system available statewide to any law enforcement officer, prosecuting attorney, or municipal and circuit court via the Internet. This technological advancement was made possible through a grant from the Highway Safety Division of the Missouri Department of Transportation.



In 2005, a total of 21, 494 convictions and 293,171 dispositions were encoded into TAS/DWITS. These records can be accessed and monitored by criminal justice personnel more efficiently with this new system.



“I want to thank the National Safety Council’s Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals for this recognition,” said Col. Keathley. “The Patrol also appreciates the continued support and assistance provided by MoDOT’s Highway Safety Division. The professional relationship between Highway Safety and the Patrol continues to be important to the safety of the citizens of Missouri. I also want to congratulate the Patrol employees in the Information Systems and Traffic divisions who work with and support this new system every day.”









PHOTO: Available upon request.



Caption: ATSIP Board Member Robert Rasmussen presents a “Best Practices” award to Mr. Ronald G. Beck, director of the Patrol’s Statistical Analysis Center, and Captain Bradley W. Jones, director of the Patrol’s Traffic Division, at the 2006 Traffic Records Forum held in Palm Desert, CA.