Dr. Ryan C. Smith is the Senior Director of Traffic Safety Research and Innovation. In this role, he oversees a national traffic safety research agenda for Responsibility.org and the National Alliance to Stop Impaired Driving (NASID). Dr. Smith brings extensive experience from both the public and private sectors and is a national leader in impaired driving data, research, and countermeasures.
Dr. Smith most recently served as a transportation research analyst in the Office of Research and Engineering at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). His primary duties involved conducting safety research studies, supporting major crash investigations, and providing broad technical expertise in the areas of alcohol and other drug impairment. This included advocating for key safety recommendations through media requests, legislative testimony, and stakeholder engagement. He also served as a project manager and senior highway accident investigator in the NTSB’s Office of Highway Safety where he managed high-profile crash investigations and report development. Dr. Smith also completed an interagency detail in the Office of Behavioral Safety Research at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Prior to joining the NTSB, Dr. Smith was a Research Scientist and founding group leader for impaired driving research at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. His duties involved overseeing over $7M in extramurally funded research and leading a diverse team of faculty on projects spanning impaired driving prevention and advanced vehicle technologies.
Dr. Smith brings a national perspective to his work, having led cross-agency efforts to improve impaired driving prevention through research, data analysis, and policy engagement. He is an active member of both national and international working groups focused on impaired-driving prevention, including the Transportation Research Board, International Council on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety, and the Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals. He is a peer reviewer for numerous leading scientific journals and serves on the Editorial Board of The Journal of Safety Research.
He obtained his Ph.D. and Master’s Degree in Industrial and Organization Psychology from Virginia Tech. He also holds Bachelor’s Degrees in Psychology, Sociology, and Political Science – all from Virginia Tech.