Nebraska Safety Center Marks 40 Years of Serving State

The Nebraska Safety Center (www.facebook.com/nesafetycenter) celebrated its 40th anniversary on July 11 with events at its Lincoln office, located on the Nebraska Innovation Campus at 2021 Transformation Dr. The celebration included a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting, prizes, activities, refreshments and several safety simulators attendees got to try out.

The center, part of the University of Nebraska at Kearney, was created by the state Legislature in 1978 to serve as a hub for safety training and education in five areas – traffic, industrial, home, fire and recreation. Today, the center serves 2,000-plus Nebraskans each year through its programs, which include driver education, ATV and motorcycle safety, driver improvement courses, school bus driver certification, instruction for passenger van and recreational vehicle operators, mining safety and CDL training.

The Safety Center also provides training for every public transit driver in Nebraska through a partnership with UNK, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Nebraska Department of Transportation. These entities work together to improve and expand public transportation throughout the state, particularly in rural areas that lack convenient or affordable options. The Safety Center has 14 full-time staff members and 71 part-time instructors. Its main offices are in West Center on the UNK campus, with a second location in Lincoln. The Ron and Carol Cope Nebraska Center for Safety Education and Research, a one-of-a-kind facility located just south of the UNK campus, features a large range where drivers hone their skills, simulators that mimic a variety of driving conditions, classroom space, a service shop and fleet of vehicles.

For more information on the Nebraska Safety Center, visit unk.edu/offices/safety_center or call (308) 865-8256.