It seems like there was a time, roughly five or six years ago, when the consensus was that we were rapidly approaching a time when American auto makers would only be turning out electric vehicles. But has that changed? President Trump slowed down the federal government’s effort to link federal highway funding to states to electric vehicle infrastructure development. What I now see with my own eyes is that the vast majority of trucks and cars on the roads in Arkansas are still traditional, gas-powered vehicles.

EV power stations certainly exist in many store parking lots, but centralized charging stations available alongside the road don’t seem to be that widespread right now. When I came on as Good Roads Executive Director in 2018, a seasoned Arkansas political leader said to me, “The federal government has never had to subsidize the building of gas stations in this country, so why are they doing that with electric vehicles?”

The same month I heard that comment, another Arkansas leader told an audience one day that Arkansas was not preparing for the day three years away when it would be tough to find and buy a gas-powered vehicle.

It’s easy now to find articles based on the premise that forcing the American trucking industry to convert to electric trucks would result in massive cost increases for shipping and delivering goods. Perhaps the day is coming when all our children will be driving electric vehicles. Still, whatever policy leaders say today, it’s tough to walk or drive in Arkansas and feel like the conversion is imminent.

What is very clearly on the horizon in Arkansas is the continued expansion of technology to manage traffic flow and enhance road safety. ARDOT is making significant efforts to identify and implement technologies that improve road safety for everyone. In this issue, you will find stories about technology helping to prevent cars from traveling in the wrong direction on certain roads, as well as other traffic systems that collect a significant amount of data and transmit it to central locations.

In Arkansas, new ways to keep drivers safer remain a vibrant issue. However, you will also find in this issue an update on how ARDOT is using both policies and technology to make life safer for the men and women who work each day building and repairing roads. In the fall, ARDOT will dedicate the new memorial to the individuals who have lost their lives while working on our streets over the past 75 years.

What is very clearly on the horizon in Arkansas is the continued expansion of technology to manage traffic flow and enhance road safety. ARDOT is making significant efforts to identify and implement technologies that improve road safety for everyone.

A profound and sincere thank you to the Good Roads members who led the effort to raise the funding to build this memorial. Our members never asked who would get the credit for funding the project; they asked what their company could do to help.

The fundraising effort was another reminder that the Good Roads community in Arkansas operates on the simple assumption that we can get more done working together than arguing over things that don’t matter. This cohesive approach by the people who build, design, fund, ship cargo, and make the products that go on our roads matters more than ever. Removing politics from the dialogue and focusing on what is good for the future serves us all well.

If you would like to learn more about issues like this, please attend the Good Roads Summer Meeting in Hot Springs on July 24-25. We would love to have you. Look on page 28 for the registration information.

In the meantime, slow down and put that phone down while you drive.