Minnesota Highways, April 1954

              Mai ww
VOL. 3, NO. 6
1246 University Ave., St. Paul 4, Minn.
APRIL,  1954
Director of Highway Safety Will  Be Named
A first step in the management improvement program of
the Highway Department, resulting from a continuing study
seeking to bring the Department abreast of current needs,
will be made soon with the appointment of a yet-to-be-
selected Director of Highway Safety. As most Hiwaymen
and women know, announcements regarding an examination
for   the   new   post   were   issued
600,000
Minnesota State employees,
through the cooperation of the Mutual Service Insurance companies,
got into the National Safety Council's Safe Driver Award program
just in time to have one of our
fellow-employees, Ing Knutson of
Maintenance District 13, become
the 600,000th winner of one of
these awards. He will receive his
National Safety Council award, in
addition to his 12-year safe driver
award from the Department, at the
safety meeting in Owatonna April
Our photographer "just happened to be around" when Ing
and his wife came to St. Paul to
receive the congratulations of Governor C. Elmer Anderson. They
are shown above in the Governor's office, with Commissioner
Hoffmann looking on.
The center picture shows one of
the reasons why Ing has been able
to operate a truck for 12 years
without an accident—he believes
in checking his truck before he
starts out. "You can't be a safe
driver," says Ing, "if you aren't
absolutely sure your vehicle is in
first-class condition. Taking a little time to check the headlights
and warning lights on a truck, especially before going out to plow
snow, is one way to stay out of accidents."
The domestic scene in the lower
photo shows Mrs. Knutson about
to pour some of her good coffee to
make Ing's breakfast complete.
"One of the good things about Ing
driving a truck for 12 years without an accident," she says, "is that
I don't have to worry about him.
I believe that he'll stay out of
trouble if he keeps on being the
kind of a driver he's been in the
past."
were
Civil  Service
new
March 24th by" the
Department.
Following the appointment of
the new director, a new Division
of Highway Safety will be formed
which will have as its three major
sections driver licensing, safety
education and the highway patrol.
Commissioner Hoffmann stated
that there will be no changes made
within these sections, but that the
new organization will make possible greater efficiency and effectiveness of the Department's role
aimed at the reduction of traffic
accidents and deaths.
The new Director of Highway
Safety will be responsible for planning, developing and directing a
stepped up statewide program of
safety on the trunk highway system. And although he will be in
charge of the Department's activities as listed above, another important phase of his work will be
maintaining liaison with private
and semi-public citizen groups,
such as state and local safety councils, automobile clubs, chambers of
commerce and insurance groups,
which are active in the promotion
of traffic safety and have, to date,
carried much of the load in this
field.
The proposed changes, under
consideration for some time, are
being put into effect as another
step to combat the appalling and
continuing slaughter on the trunk
highways, county and township
roads and on city and village
streets.
Governor Anderson, in making
the announcement of the proposed
changes in conjunction with Commissioner Hoffmann, praised "both
the  full  time  salaried workers  in
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