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HSRC
Director Doug Robertson:
A
Man with a Plan
story
contents:
introduction | where we've been | where
we're going | Robertson's roots
"When
there are no longer deaths and injuries and property damage in transportation,
then and only then, can we move on to something else" |
Introduction
When Dr. H. Douglas Robertson was interviewing for the directorship
of the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, one thing that peaked the
selection committee's interest was his plan to help HSRC reach its full
potential.
Within two months on the job, Robertson gathered his staff at the William
and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education and, together, they came
up with a strategic plan. As Robertson put it, "What I have learned
is if you want to have control over your own destiny, you need to not
only know where you are but have a sense of where you are going. Then
you can come back and say, ‘What do I need to do to get there?'"
Robertson admits that coming up with a comprehensive strategic plan
is a difficult, ongoing task. He says, "I am not a compulsive planner,
but I hate to be without a plan."
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Where We've Been
In the 1960s, when the HSRC was formed by the North Carolina State Legislature,
the United States hit an all-time high with 54,000 fatalities in one
year. During the life of HSRC there has been significant progress in
the field of highway safety. There are now about 41,000 traffic-related
fatalities annually. In terms of miles driven, motor-vehicle-related
deaths are only one-third as likely as they were 30 years ago.
However, 1,600 people still die on the road each year in North Carolina
— an average of four lives a day. Says Robertson, "And this is just
fatalities. There are 150,000 nonfatal injuries each year in North Carolina
and $10.1 billion in total costs, which is a tremendous drain on the
state's economy, on society and especially a drain on the emotional
stability of citizens who are affected by these events." In Robertson's
view we still have a long way to go, "I think if anything we need to
accelerate our efforts to try to bring those numbers down. When there
are no longer deaths and injuries and property damage in transportation,
then and only then, can we move on to something else."
"We have made great strides in this country toward making vehicles and
the roadway safer and more forgiving. Therefore, I think the future
solutions to many of the continuing problems that lead to crashes is
largely on the human side," Robertson said. "It is not just in the ability
of the operators of vehicles and of pedestrians and bicyclists to be
safer, but it is also in the willingness of legislative bodies to deal
with safety issues and make some hard decisions. And more importantly
it will be the willingness of society as a whole to accept the necessity
of more stringent operating parameters, and even to demand their implementation.
Transportation deaths and injuries are a tragedy that the American people
should not tolerate. We have the means to stop this on-going tragedy;
we lack only the willingness to do so."
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Where We're Going
Simply put, the HSRC's goal is to make travel safer. In terms of an
immediate priority, there are two objectives. First is to maintain the
momentum for quality research that the Center is noted for. Second is
to seek additional support for the Center's activities so that it can
better perform its mission.
Currently, 34 staff
members are working on 46 projects. "Staff here is heavily loaded. While
that is good for the short term, it is not good for the long-term quality
and overall effectiveness of our efforts," Robertson said. "One of the
first things we are looking to do is to attract additional funding to
support the overall operation of the center, as opposed to project-specific
funding. That will allow the senior staff some time to assist in getting
the lessons learned into the hands of safety practitioners and decision-makers
where our results can be used."
"If there is a soft spot in what the Center has been doing, it has been
in not having the staff or time to better disseminate its findings."
Robertson believes an essential part of fund-raising is making HSRC
more widely known so people can decide if the Center is something to
which they would like to contribute.
Robertson will continue to increase cooperation with other organizations
on the UNC campus and elsewhere, such as the Injury Prevention Research
Center, the Institute on Aging, the UNC School of Medicine, City and
Regional Planning, Health Behavior Health Education, the Institute for
Transportation Research and Education and the Carolinas Medical Center.
"There is tremendous potential here in the UNC system to bring together
new perspectives, tools and thinking to make a difference in travel
safety." Robertson sees HSRC helping to seize that opportunity.
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Robertson's Roots
Doug Robertson began his journey in Waynesville, N.C., and is glad to
be back in his home state after most recently working as a business
executive with Science Applications International Corp. and TransCore
in Alexandria, Va. His career has included positions with the U.S. Department
of Transportation, UNC-Charlotte and the Intelligent Transportation
Systems Society of America.
Robertson holds a doctorate in civil engineering from the University
of Maryland, and has also spent 34 years in the Army and the Army Reserves.
Major General Robertson currently serves as the Commanding General of
the 108th Division, a unit of more than 3,400 soldiers located across
the two Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Puerto Rico.
When asked what he is most proud of in his transportation safety career,
he pointed out his earlier work on symbolic pedestrian signal displays
that led to the adoption of the "hand-walking man" symbols as a national
standard for pedestrian signals in the United States.
Second, he said, "I feel good about the ability I have been able to
develop, with a lot of help from others, to work effectively with people.
I feel like I am a pretty decent facilitator. I get a lot of satisfaction
both in terms of doing it and from seeing the results."
He is also happy to be a part of the work that HSRC is doing, "I look
back and say, ‘Doug, you started out your career with four years in
the army in the infantry. That is safety only if you are on our side!'
At this stage of my career, I am grateful for the opportunity to again
be contributing in a meaningful way to saving lives and reducing injuries
throughout our transportation system."
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