{"id":24566,"date":"2024-01-24T16:28:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/ayton-recognized-by-transportation-research-board\/"},"modified":"2024-01-24T16:28:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:28:53","slug":"ayton-recognized-by-transportation-research-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/ayton-recognized-by-transportation-research-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Ayton recognized by Transportation Research Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mark Ayton (right) receives his lifetime achievement award at the TRB AGM. (Photo courtesy of RSG International)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mark Ayton has become the first Canadian to be recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) for his role in designing safe roads, and for pushing the boundaries of engineering as he works to continually find better solutions to keep road users safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t tend to beat our own drum or celebrate our successes, it\u2019s nose to the grindstone, but every now and then we do need to look around and maybe honk our own horns which is something I\u2019m not that good at,\u201d remarked Ayton. \u201cNow that I look back, over the years we have saved a lot of lives, especially on median barrier projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ayton is a civil engineer and technical expert on geometric and road safety design for Safe Roads Research & Development, an Aurora-based organization that designs, develops, and tests cutting-edge road safety products.<\/p>\n

Before joining Safe Roads, Ayton spent more than 30 years with Ontario\u2019s Ministry of Transportation, with his last 18 years working in the Engineering Standards Office where he was responsible for the MTO\u2019s roadside design policies, guidelines, and construction standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI met Mark around 2000, and his passion for roadside safety was immediately evident.\u00a0 Ontario and all of North America have benefitted from his passion,\u201d stated Dean Alberson, a senior research engineer at Safe Roads Research & Development. \u201cFatalities from roadside accidents have continuously diminished under his watch at MTO.\u00a0 Working with him since 2018 has been a capstone to my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Presented at TRB\u2019s 103rd Annual Meeting, the Kenneth A. Stonex Roadside Safety Award recognizes lifetime contributions to roadside safety. Established in 1991, the award was originally sponsored by General Motors, and named after an employee who was a pioneer for roadside safety long before the seriousness of run-off-road crashes were recognized by transportation agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some heavy hitters on that list, to be considered in the same breath as them is pretty overwhelming,\u201d said Ayton, who remains dedicated to his work at Safe Roads even though he\u2019s battling pancreatic cancer. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a better team out there, we\u2019re disrupters, we\u2019re looking at changing how things are done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur success as an industry hinges on people like Mark Ayton, a brilliant mind whose goal is to create safe roads for motorists and prevent fatalities,\u201d added Lisa Laronde, president of RSG International. \u201cWe\u2019re proud of Mark\u2019s accomplishments and are confident in his ability to mentor the next generation of road safety leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

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