We here at Respondersafety.com are pleased and proud to welcome you to our new home.  I would ask you to spend a few moments exploring our updated webpage.  Our site has been growing and expanding over the past several years.  We now have reached a new plateau.  There are so many things to do we had to create a new platform to accomplish the work of our critical highway safety mission.

We have adopted a new look and feel for you our valued readers. It has been almost 10 years since we launched this site with the sole purpose of Protecting Emergency Responders on the Highways. Were it not for our partners we never would have gotten this far.  There are many people without whose help we could never have come this far.

We would be completely remiss if we failed to thank our friends at the United States Fire Administration in the Department of Homeland Security.  They have helped us reach the fire and EMS service.  They have been on board since day one (and maybe a bit before that).

The Office of Justice Programs in the Department of Justice has stood up and supported our efforts to reach law enforcement.  Most recently through a cooperative effort with the Sheriffs Association of Texas and the DOJ we have been allowed funding to provide greater access to the law enforcement community.  We want to stress the importance of high visibility garments to police officers everywhere.

Since the beginning very beginning of our whole undertaking, VFIS and Provident, two major pubic safety insurers, have been there when we needed them.  It has long been our experience that almost every public policy issue can be best addressed by pubic-private partnerships.  That's why we are a part of the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition and the Safety Health and Survival Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

We are continually working to increase the number of partnerships that will allow us to reach the broadest range of the fire, police, and EMS audiences.  If we do not work to reach out to others, someone may pay the price for our lack of zeal and devotion.  That price comes in the form of pain, suffering, and death.

Each of us on the CVVFA/Respondersafety.com team is here because of the personal impact of a highway-related death or injury with which we are intimately familiar.  We know we are making progress because people tell us so.  Our training efforts are growing and the number of people we reach grows more each year.

Let me share a couple of unsolicited testimonials with you from people who are pleased with our highway-safety training efforts.  The first one comes from a Mr. Mike Cox from Pennsylvania.  He writes:

"I just wanted to say it was great to see all of you who were able to make it to the Fire Expo in Harrisburg. While we will always have to work with the firefighters who put their head in the sand, I think we made a difference in at least a few officers. I expect to see more and more pictures of responders wearing the public safety vest as the year goes on.  Thanks again for the opportunity to help. I have finally found an outlet that allows me to spread the word with strong informational backing. I look forward to seeing everyone again at the next expo.

Our next testimonial comes from Mr. Tom Kupiszewski, a fire police official in Pennsylvania.  He stated that:

"There is a new class available for fire police, but it is not just designed for fire police.  It is designed for everyone who responds to emergencies, particularly emergencies on highways (but literally any emergency), including fire and EMS personnel, fire police, police, DOT, tow truck operators, media, etc. The class deals with responding to incidents (especially on highways), working together and communicating effectively with the other responding  agencies (both emergency responders and civilians), staying safe while on the scene, clearing the incident as quickly and safely as possible and getting home safe. It lasts 6-8 hours so it only takes one day or two training nights to complete.  It consists of both a power point slide show and hands-on tabletop role-playing exercises, so you not only get the information in the class, you practice it and put it to use … The class is free, so don't be shy."

It seems to me that these two fine folks are pleased with what we have been able to accomplish with our team's effort.  I want you to rest assured that we are continually researching, traveling, and writing about the important issues facing everyone who must operate on the highways and by-ways of our great nation. We continue to work to improve our available training and educational offerings.  I invite you to stay with us as we move to the next level in protecting our responders.