Keep Your 2026 Resolutions on the Road!

So here’s the interesting thing about the annual transition from one year to the next. As we watched the clock tick toward midnight on December 31, we reflect on and celebrate what we’ve accomplished in the past 12 months.

From a professional standpoint, I’m celebrating that current Minnesota data shows crash deaths declined by about 100 in 2025 from 2024’s very disturbing preliminary figure of 477. This vastly improved 2025 statistic represents the hard work of traffic safety professionals, law enforcement and many others to help reduce unsafe driving behaviors.

The other side of this equation is waking up on January 1^st with the realization that even one crash death is too many and we need to persist in our prevention and education work and do even more.

My professional resolution for 2026 is to take the great work we all do together and amp it up yet another notch. We’re committed to bringing you compelling campaigns around impaired and distracted driving that change minds, transform behaviors and save lives.

Personally, I’m committed to intensifying my mindfulness around my own driving behaviors. Safety is always top-of-mind for me, but we’re all human and it’s too easy to take a chance “just this once.” My daily mantra from the driver’s seat for 2026 will be the same as the one I share professionally each day – hands on the wheel, eyes on the road, mind on driving.

I’ll hope you’ll each adopt that same personal resolution and share it with colleagues, loved ones and friends. Safety on our roadways begins with each of us.

Professionally, I encourage you to start planning your 2026 education program safety year now. The National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) has already posted its 2026 traffic safety campaign resource calendar which literally kicks off in early February with Super Bowl “Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk” materials. And watch for the January DriveSafeMN newsletter, each month’s issue and our  website for information on this year’s Minnesota-focused campaigns focusing on impaired and distracted driving, excess speed, the 100 Most Deadly Days and car seat safety and more.

Here’s to a great new year and to great traffic safety work that leads to even lower crash deaths and injuries.

Yours in traffic safety,

Lisa Kons