December 21, 2023 — Since joining state service six months ago, PEF member Jiangni Brown, a Highway Safety Program Analyst with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), already wears a few hats and spends a lot of time out in the community ensuring safety on the road.
Shortly after she came aboard, Brown took on the role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator for outreach in the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.
“When program representatives go out to counties to meet with our partners, I tag along and meet as many as possible to discuss their DEI initiatives or any plans they have pertaining to DEI issues,” Brown said. “Together, we come up with new ways to engage their communities, especially parts they have historically not been able to interact with.”
Sometimes the outreach is as simple as making sure those communities have traffic safety materials in multiple languages.
“As a DEI coordinator, my role is not limited,” she said. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion can be applied to any and all individuals.”
Safe fits
Brown didn’t stop there, jumping into additional training for a variety of jobs and programs with a direct impact on the community.
“When I first came on to the job, I realized I wanted to take a more hands-on approach,” she said. “I trained to become a CarFit technician, a car seat technician, and became part of the Child Passenger Safety Advisory Board.”
CarFit is an educational program that aims to help older adults determine how well their personal vehicles “fit” them and provides information and materials about resources that can enhance their safety as drivers and allow them to be more mobile in their communities.
“As a CarFit technician, our main goal is to get individuals who come to us the right fit for their car,” Brown said. “Our events are education only, but we assure that everyone that comes in will not have to worry about their license being taken away or anything of that nature. All we want to do is help drivers be safe in their cars.”
Kids and teens
For the youth in the community, Brown’s work in child passenger safety can mean the difference between life and death in an accident.
“As a new car seat technician, I can say that I have been astounded by the impact we have on the people that come to our events,” she said. “It was very apparent during my training that the people who choose to become technicians do it for the sole purpose of making the world safer for children.”
Brown has participated in three low-income car seat distribution events. Funded by a Child Passenger Safety grant, event organizers can offer one free car seat to low-income individuals and families.
“It is a very rewarding program for everyone,” she said. “Those who come to obtain car seats are given education throughout the time they are there: from learning what car seat is the best and determining what seat they need, to how to install the seat and buckle in their child.”
Attending events like these can be daunting, Brown said.
“It takes a lot of courage for these individuals to come to these events and admit they need help and be open to assistance,” she said. “Some of the individuals who volunteer at these events are law enforcement and for some people that can be scary.
“Through this program, a level of trust and communication is built,” Brown said. “The amount of lives this program saves every day is immeasurable and it creates a positive connection between the technician and individual.”
The DMV is also working with Teen Driving Solutions out of Virginia to bring their multi-day, hands-on driving program to New York teenagers.
“It’s more than a defensive driving course, it’s a two-day course that both the teen drivers and their parents go through,” Brown explained. “The teen drivers go through hours of hands-on training with instructors through a predesigned course that focuses on almost every situation one might run into when driving.
“Hard breaking, weaving through cones, how to maintain control in slippery conditions, what to do if you spin out, and many more,” she said.
The list goes on
Brown touted other Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee programs, such as the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety program, where representatives hand out safety materials, a water bottle, and a small snack; pedestrian and bike programs catering to New Yorkers who do not have a car; and the impaired driving program.
“I hear of all the hard work the impaired program does to train law enforcement to become drug recognition experts,” Brown said. “Attempting to pick one program out of all our safety topics that we cover is impossible. They all connect to each other.”
The programs Brown highlighted are just a peek at what the DMV does every day.
“The amount of lives our programs save daily is immeasurable,” she said. “Everything that everyone does in this office is for the betterment of road safety in New York. Road safety pertains to all – drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, anyone who uses the roads.”