January 28, 2019

The new Road Safety Professional Certification, offered by the Transportation Professional Certification Board (TPCB), represents a national call for quantitative, substantive safety analysis in the transportation profession.

Safety is central to the work we do as transportation planners and engineers. We share a vision for a future where no fatalities or serious injuries occur on the streets and roads where we live, work, and play. Motivated by AASHTO, the Transportation Research Board Highway Safety Performance Committee, and many other transportation- and safety-related organizations, the RSP certification is part of an effort to further promote and institutionalize a practical and deliberate safety-centric approach across all transportation projects. Initiatives such as Toward Zero Deaths, Vision Zero, and the Road to Zero demonstrate global awareness of the acute need to reduce fatalities and improve safety on our highways and roads.

The goals of the RSP certifications are to recognize road safety as a profession, establish a recognized level of practice and knowledge, and incentivize safety education.

Level 1 of this certification was offered for the first time in October 2018, and is planned to take place again in spring of 2019. Under development is Level 2, geared toward professionals whose primary job functions are directed at improving the safety performance of the surface transportation system. The first Level 2 exam is scheduled to be offered in late 2019.

Eight Kittelson staff were enthusiastic to pursue this certification the first time it was offered because of its close alignment with our core values of “raise the bar” and “lifelong learning.” As a profession, we should always look for ways to do better. It’s not an option to approach a planning or engineering project without close and deliberate consideration of the people it will affect, and it’s important to us to look for ways to set higher expectations in the way this happens with respect to road safety.

With increased awareness of the certification and what it means, many of our staff are excited to take the exam next time it’s offered. If you work in the transportation profession, we hope you’ll consider joining us. You can learn more about the certification here, and with specific questions, feel free to reach out to one of Kittelson’s newly certified Road Safety Professionals:

We are supportive of this national step toward increased road safety. We hope to see RSP certification become widespread in the profession, representing a collective dedication to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on our streets, making day-to-day quality of life better for everyone.