ODOT Press Release -ODOT Divisions, Crews Awarded for Safety in the Workplace

Safety in the work place is imperative when your office is literally inches away from a road full of fast moving vehicles. Mere seconds of distracted driving by a careless motorist can have devastating consequences for the men and women of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation who devote their lives and safety to construct, maintain and repair our highways, bridges and interstates. Meanwhile, ODOT continues to place emphasis on onsite reviews, accident follow up, continued safety education and other aspects of its worker safety program.

At Monday’s monthly meeting of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission, ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson handed out awards to ODOT crews who demonstrated a continued commitment to safety and have shown great improvement in safety practices this past year.

Since the safety awards began more than 20 years ago the total number of employee injury accidents has declined over 72 percent.

The Governor’s Safety Excellence Award is presented each year to the ODOT field division with the best overall safety record in the past year. This year’s award went to Division Four, which increased its safety performance record by 98 percent compared to the previous year. Total accidents, accident severity and lost work days are all taken into consideration in determining the Governor’s Safety Award winner.

Division Four, headquartered in Perry, consists of Canadian, Garfield, Grant, Kay, Kingfisher, Logan, Noble, Oklahoma and Payne Counties and Brian Taylor is the Division Engineer.

The Progressive Excellence Award, which is presented to the ODOT field division that has most improved its safety rating during the past year, was awarded to Division One, headquartered in Muskogee. The division improved its safety performance 91 percent from last year. Division One consists of Adair, Cherokee, Haskell, McIntosh, Muskogee, Okmulgee, Sequoyah and Wagoner Counties. Darren Saliba is the Division Engineer.

The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to the unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record.  This year’s winners are:

• Division One, Sequoyah County Maintenance and Cherokee County Maintenance
• Division Two, Pushmataha County Maintenance
• Division Three, Division Three Crew A        
• Division Four, Payne County Maintenance
• Division Five, Division Five Traffic Crew
• Division Six, Division Six Bridge Crew
• Division Seven, Duncan Residency
• Division Eight, Pawnee County Maintenance
• Division Nine, Right of Way Division -Outdoor Advertising Branch

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(Editors and News Directors: For more information, call the ODOT Media and Public Relations Division at 405-521-6000.)

The Governor’s Safety Excellence Award was awarded to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Division Four Engineer Brian Taylor at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The award is given to the field division which had the best overall safety record for the past year. Division Four increased its safety performance record by 98 percent compared to last year. Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, Transportation Commission Division Four member Tom Love, Taylor and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

The Progressive Excellence Award, which is presented to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation field division which  has most improved its safety rating during the past year, was awarded to ODOT Division One, headquartered in Muskogee, at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The division improved its safety performance 91 percent from last year. Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, Transportation Commission Division One member John Fidler, Saliba and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Sequoyah County Maintenance Crew and Cherokee County Maintenance Crews was both awarded the Director’s Safety Award at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to a unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record.  Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, Transportation Commission Division One member John Fidler, Sequoyah County Maintenance Superintendent Billy Jacobs, Cherokee County Maintenance Superintendant Jeff Perry and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Pushmataha County Maintenance Crew was awarded the Director’s Safety Award at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to the unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record.  Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, Pushmataha County Maintenance Superintendent David Hyde and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Division Three Division Wide Crew A was awarded the Director’s Safety Award at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to the unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record.  Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, , District Three Transportation Commissioner Dan Overland, Division Three Engineer Paul Rachel and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Division Four Payne County Maintenance Crew was awarded the Director’s Safety Awardat the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to the unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record. Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, District Four Transportation Member Greg Love, Payne County Maintenance Superintendent Robert Kirkpatrick and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Division Five Traffic Crew was awarded the Director’s Safety Award at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to the unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record.  Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, Transportation Commission Secretary Todd Huckabay, Division Five Traffic Crew Superintendent William Cornell and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Division Six Bridge Crew was awarded the Director’s Safety Award at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to the unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record.  Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, Division Six Bridge Crew Superintendent Jarrid Drew and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Division Seven Duncan Residency was awarded the Director’s Safety Award at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to the unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record.  Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, Duncan Resident Engineer Jerry Harwell and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Pawnee County Maintenance Crew was awarded the Director’s Safety Award at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to the unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record.  Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, District Eight Transportation Commission Member Pete Regan, Pawnee County Maintenance Superintendent Melvin Marshall and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation's Right of Way Division Outdoor Advertising Branch was awarded the Director’s Safety Award at the April 6 Transportation Commission meeting. The Director’s Safety Awards are presented to the unit in each of ODOT’s eight field divisions and its Oklahoma City headquarters with the best safety record.  Pictured left to right are Oklahoma Transportation Commission Chairman David Burrage, District Four Transportation Member Greg Love, ODOT Outdoor Advertising Branch Manager Montie Smith and ODOT Executive Director Mike Patterson.

At Monday’s monthly meeting of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission, Oklahoma Department of Transportation Executive Director Mike Patterson handed out awards to Oklahoma Department of Transportation crews that demonstrated a continued commitment to safety and have shown great improvement this past year.. Pictured left to right are Division Five Traffic Crew Superintendent William Cornell, Pushmataha County Maintenance Superintendent David Hyde, , Division Six Bridge Crew Superintendent Jarrid Drew, Sequoyah County Maintenance Superintendent Billy Jacobs, ODOT Outdoor Advertising Branch Manager Montie Smith, Cherokee County Maintenance Superintendent Jeff Perry, Payne County Maintenance Superintendent Robert Kirkpatrick, Duncan Resident Engineer Jerry Harwell and Pawnee County Maintenance Superintendent Melvin Marshall.