2023 Winners
International and Region 4
California Department of Motor Vehicles
Innovative Program Helps LAX/United Customers Get Onboard with REAL ID
In the first of its kind event, the CA DMV teamed up with Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and United Airlines (UA) to target employees and specific UA passengers traveling on designated days to encourage them to complete their REAL ID application at the airport. In addition, a news conference at LAX was held on the first day of the outreach to amplify the pilot program and to encourage all Californians to get their REAL ID well in advance of the May 2023 federal enforcement date. Representatives from all three organizations participated in the news conference, which included a media kit that contained various REAL ID information materials. The pilot program was held on July 19, 21, 26, and 28, 2022. The pilot resulted in 116 UA passengers and employees completing their REAL ID application at the airport. The news conference and news release generated at least 19 local and national news reports on TV, radio and in print. TV news stories reached approximately 887,874 households, which can represent numerous viewers in each household, and earned media was estimated to be at least $48,413. More than 12 news reports aired on local news radio stations.
Region 1
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration
MDOT MVA Simulation Crash Event
On a July morning near an isolated stretch of pavement in Baltimore County, Maryland, a car crashed into a concrete barrier at 35 mph. The vehicle suffered significant damage, and the four occupants inside – none of them using seat belts – were thrown about with tremendous force, turning them into projectiles colliding into one another. The crash could have been deadly – except the occupants were mannequins. The simulation crash was designed to offer a sobering reminder that, even at low highway speeds, crashes can result in severe injuries or fatalities for unbuckled travelers. The event was planned after analyzing the data and seeing that most crash-related deaths happen within 25 miles from a person’s home and at speeds of less than 40 miles per hour. According to the annual Roadside Observational Survey completed in June 2021, Maryland’s statewide seat belt usage rate is 91.4%, meaning nearly one in 10 front-seat passengers are not buckling up. To reach the last 9 percent of Marylanders who aren’t buckling up, MDOT MVA’s Highway Safety Office wanted to create a visual for the simple physics at hand - an object in motion will stay in motion at constant velocity, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Even at low speeds, unbuckled occupants in a crash continue forward, resulting in occupants flying into the windshield resulting in serious injuries or even death for themselves and others. The demonstration included two simulated crashes, in which varying occupants were buckled or unbuckled. In the first, most passengers (mannequins) were buckled, including a toddler-size mannequin in a rear-facing car seat, properly restrained. The only unrestrained passenger was behind the driver. The demonstration showed that even a single unrestrained passenger can become a projectile in a crash, leading to serious injury or death for others in the vehicle. In the second simulated crash, all occupants, including a child mannequin, were unrestrained – and all became projectiles.
Region 2
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
Driven to Protect: Schneider Partnership Announcement Event
Picture this – A tractor trailer, under a giant tent, smack dab in the middle of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) very active headquarters parking lot, just down the street from the commonwealth’s capitol building. This set up, which also included a “learning experience” trailer, test car outfitted with new technology and room for more than 50 guests all underneath the tent, served up an opportunity to announce the next partnership to test Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS), passive in-vehicle alcohol detection technology. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), DADSS, the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) and Schneider, announced a collaboration that made Schneider the first truckload carrier to conduct a trial deployment of lifesaving technology developed through the DADSS Program. A media advisory was sent out to attract local media to the in-person event and included a link to the live virtual stream for outlets that weren’t able to attend. Since 2018, the Driven to Protect Initiative, a public-private partnership between the Virginia DMV and the DADSS Program, has been helping to test in-vehicle alcohol detection technology that will determine if a driver is impaired with a blood alcohol concentration at or above the applicable legal limit in the commonwealth - and prevent the vehicle from moving. Having hands-on technology and training at the event to see and experience both the system and sensors proved to be a hit for attendees and media partners alike. Subject matter experts were also made available to the media after the event both in-person and virtually to help share the news. The story was shared across the commonwealth resulting in stories in all of Virginia’s media markets. This new trial deployment brings the technology one step closer to saving countless lives on roadways by outfitting eight cabs with the latest breath sensors to log nearly one million sensor miles collectively. This pilot is helping to refine the technology by increasing the stress that the system is put under on the road and exposing the system to new drivers and a wider range of environmental conditions - all key to the DADSS Program's quest to commercialize fully passive vehicle-integrated breath technology.
Region 3
Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Indiana BMV and the Indiana State Fair
The Indiana BMV hosted a booth at the 2022 Indiana State Fair July 29 to August 21 with the goal of providing transaction opportunities to our customers in a fun and engaging environment. The booth housed our mobile branch, where customers could complete transactions normally available at a branch location, and a BMV Connect kiosk, where customers could complete more than a dozen of the most common transactions including registrations and driver’s license renewals. The kiosk and mobile branch completed almost a thousand transactions during the fair. During this time, the BMV also had the opportunity to host a BMV Discount Day, offering fairgoers an opportunity to attend the fair at a discounted ticket price, another way of showing our customers our appreciation. Additionally, each year the BMV looks to create an inviting booth environment for customers and 2022 was no different. In addition to helping Hoosiers complete transactions, visitors could ride the RSI motorcycle simulator (a huge draw for our visitors) and ask questions of our RSI staff, view an antique license plate collection provided by one of our customers, and take an interactive quiz on BMV history. Representatives of the BMV and Ride Safe Indiana (RSI), the motorcycle program within the BMV, were also on hand to answer any questions visitors might have while at the fair. The BMV also provided informational fliers, table displays with QR code providing visitors access to our driver’s manual, and coloring pages for younger visitors to decorate their own license plate. And all visitors left with a fun souvenir ranging from BMV branded ice scrapers to stress balls. This activity and success would not have been possible without a multifaceted marketing campaign leading up to and during the fair. The BMV promoted the fair partnership via social media, website, posters, video, and podcast, Further, there was an increased footprint within the fairgrounds highlighted by a Skyride messaging campaign and scavenger hunt on BMV Discount Day where fairgoers were encouraged to visit the various fair attractions. With fair attendance just over 800,000 in 2022, the booth provided a wonderful vehicle for the BMV to meet Hoosier citizens outside of the normal branch environment.