TOWSON, MD—This week, the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office honored 18 members of the Baltimore County Police Department as Traffic Safety Specialists (TSS). This designation requires members to obtain additional training and skills proficiency. To earn the designation of TSS III, a member of law enforcement must also submit a traffic safety project to members of the TSS Executive Committee for their review and approval.

Baltimore County Police Officer Lori Hippensteel was honored as the sole TSS level III designee in 2021. Officer Hippensteel is only the second TSS level III designee since the inception of the program.

“The TSS Level III designation is a significant accomplishment and demonstrates Officer Lori Hippensteel’s sincere commitment to traffic safety,” said Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt. “I am incredibly proud of the work Officer Hippensteel and her colleagues are doing throughout the State of Maryland to keep motorists and pedestrians safe.”

Established in 2008, TSS is open to police officers, deputy sheriffs and state troopers from across Maryland and federal law enforcement agencies. The program offers TSS I, TSS II and TSS III designations, each requiring specific levels of experience, training, job performance and skills proficiency. Specialized requirements, such as Speed Detection Device certification, Standardized Field Sobriety Test certification and participation in High Visibility Enforcement campaigns, are examples of specifications needed to achieve one of the three TSS levels. To be eligible, officers must enroll in the program and submit required documentation for the level they are seeking.

Photo via Baltimore County Police Department