Behind the Travel Alerts: How This Communicator Makes Roads Safer
How do communicators protect the local traveler? Communicator Scott Klepach reflects on his work keeping travelers safe in Washington State.
Have you ever received an alert telling you to stay off the roads because of severe weather? Or had to reroute your commute because of unexpected construction? These kinds of messages show up in our daily lives, and it’s easy to take them for granted. But behind the scenes, communicators are working hard to keep people informed, safe, and protected from potential dangers.
Every time someone travels, especially by car, they face risks that can be life-altering. There were 40,901 deaths from motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This doesn’t include the many more who were seriously injured. Numbers like these remind us why clear, timely communication is essential for protecting people on the move and why the work of communicators like Scott Klepach is so vital.
Scott Klepach is a communications consultant for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), where he helps people navigate risks and make informed decisions on the road. Interestingly, his work in communications is shaped by another dimension of his life: his chaplaincy work in hospice care, where he provides companionship and spiritual support. This dual perspective of clear, practical messaging on one hand and deep human empathy on the other makes his approach to communication both unique and impactful.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature and a Master of Arts in English from Central Washington University as well as a Master of Divinity from the Claremont School of Theology. In addition to his role at WSDOT, he has also served as a Writing and Learning Specialist at the Washington State University.
In this interview, Scott shares how he combines technical communication with compassion to keep people in Washington State safe, healthy, and connected. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.
This interview was edited for length and clarity. All views expressed are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent any organization.
Suraj: I’ve known your work as a hospital chaplain for the past few years, but recently learned that you work as a communications consultant for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Could you tell me more about your work?
Scott: In 2023, I started my role as a communications consultant with the Washington State Department of Transportation. In that role, I brought my English degree and some previous journalism experience. Part of the role is being a Public Information Officer (PIO), which includes how we respond as a state operation, crisis communications, and more.
Suraj: Working in the transportation sector, what types of messages do you communicate?
Scott: So, there is an inside joke that there are only two seasons in transportation: construction and winter. I’m in the South-Central region of Washington State, which covers south central to eastern Washington all the way up through the Cascade Mountains and the Snoqualmie Pass, which is a heavily traveled areas across Interstate 90. A lot of traffic happens there.
Between construction work and the winter season, we want to make sure people are prepared for safety. We collaborate with Washington State Patrol and some other agencies to make sure that people are safe and know what the dangers would be. The messages include narratives of safety, which people need to hear over and over again. That’s how humans work, right?
Suraj: Definitely. As someone who also worked in travel communications, I recognize the importance of message repetition. These messages aren’t that exciting, so they don’t always stick. Yet, they are life-saving, so we need to figure out ways to ensure they stick. How do you get the messages out?
Scott: We do everything from text message alerts, which a lot of people have signed up for. The texts go right to their phones. We do email blasts. We have travel advisories and news releases that go to various media across the region. Then, the media outlets report that out and often circle around and interview us as communication consultants or PIOs. We use social media such as Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok.
See sample news stories where Scott was interviewed:
If there is any literal or figurative bump in the road with people’s plans to get to work or school or wherever, people get pretty upset understandably. So, we want to make sure we’re putting messages out that really get to people in time. And we like to inject a little bit of humor every now and then when it's appropriate to reach our audience and keep them engaged.
Suraj: That’s great! I’d love to hear more about the humorous messaging you have used. Do you have an example message you could share?
Scott: Yeah, depending on the platform like TikTok, we try to be entertaining and more humorous while still getting the messages across to the people. We can take more liberties with creativity and humor on certain social media platforms, but the message would be different if we are speaking to news outlets.
My close team in the South-Central region of Washington State did this great project. It had to do with responding to internet trolls. Most of the time, we ignore them. But there’s sometimes a good opportunity to get a message out. So, someone posted something about us [communicators] spending too much time on social media, and told us to go out and fix our bridges and fix our roads. So, we had one of our communicators put on the hat and safety vest, go out to the nearest bridge with a fake hammer and pretend to fix the bridge. That’s the last thing you want, have a communicator fix the bridge. We wanted to poke fun at that idea.
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Suraj: That’s hilarious. It’s a fun way to showcase the different jobs that exist in the transportation sector, as the engineers and builders are not the ones posting the social media messages. Humor is a great way to lighten the mood, and it works really well on social media. However, I’d love to discuss the messages that warrant the opposite tone. In transportation, there is the potential for scary and life-threatening accidents. As a communicator, what is your role in those spaces?
Scott: If a big wreck happens or the workers on the road have been in a bad accident or even if workers have responded to calls where they have seen the gory aftermath of a collision, they have to know how to deal with that. They have to know how to process that. I’m part of a team that offers a space to process. We are not forcing anything, but we’re allowing space for people to come together to at least start a process of figuring out what this means and how they can live with trauma.
It’s a highly confidential. We can go to a certain region to respond, but our names are also on a list with contact information. Sometimes, some of the staff reach out for a one-on-one to say, “Hey, I’m going through this thing right now.”
Suraj: That’s incredible. This shows the different ways communication can have an impact. We were previously talking about using communication to increase access to safe travel information, but this particular work focuses on interpersonal communication that helps people process traumatic events. That seems like a different skill set. I’m sure your background as a hospital chaplain helped prepare you for this type of work?
Scott: Well, we are trained in critical incident stress management, which I had exposure to in the hospital and hospice settings previously. I still do some work with hospice as a spiritual counselor or chaplain. I work with an interdisciplinary team made of up doctors, social workers, nurses, health aides, and chaplains. We are all communicators. Our goal is to provide patient-driven care, usually comfort or peace. We treat the whole person. My role focuses on the realm of emotional and spiritual support. I try to convey that I don’t have an agenda. My goal is to be a companion alongside folks in whatever season they are going through. Spiritual care might look quite different from one person to the next. For some, it might mean connection to a religious institution and for others, it might mean they are seeking something beyond themselves. I can help them walk through that and notice what they are feeling, but not try to force anything. I help people understand how they can communicate what their needs are and what their big questions are about life and death, meaning and purpose…and we explore that together.
Suraj: What approaches do you use to help people open up about their experiences?
Scott: Deep listening and presence, first and foremost. Frankly, that may not look like a lot is happening, but deep listening and engaged presence requires a lot out of us. To be able to really hear somebody and to wait, to pause, to not direct force, nor redirect or come in with an agenda, is counter to some of our default human responses. To be able to sit with something is pretty tough.
Suraj: You are also a person who holds your own traumas and experiences. How do you avoid inserting your own agenda or views into the conversation with folks?
Scott: It’s difficult enough for me to understand what I’m feeling in my gut, but I try to understand myself better and then be a better caregiver for people. When I’m in the room with somebody and I hear something, I don’t want to automatically think I know what they mean since that thing happened to me. It’s not about me, and yet, I’m a presence in the room. So, I try to ask open questions. Often they are just invitations for people to share more. I want them to maybe share a story or go deeper with a feeling they might have identified.
Suraj: It’s a great approach. I love how your work as a chaplain has been useful in your work as a communications consultant.
Scott: For me, storytelling is a nice thread between the two. I love learning people’s stories. In hospice, as a team, when we honor and take time for those who die, we create a space to be able to talk about their lives and impact. We get to follow up with their families through bereavement. Telling these stories is huge because it’s about the people. So even in my role as a communications consultant, we aren’t just telling the story about a road. We are telling stories about the people, the work they are doing, and the why. Everyone has a story, and for me, that’s always fascinating.
Check out these stories written by Scott for WSDOT:
Suraj: As a fellow storyteller, I could not agree more. To end, what advice do you have for other communicators who are interested in your line of work?
Scott: It’s helpful to have a passion for the written word, seeing how words can be conveyed in so many ways. There is room for creativity in this work. Get some practice with public speaking. Learn how to engage with the media as well. You can come in with that skill set, but you’ll get extra training on the job as well. Be able to work as a team. Build those relationships so you have a sense of community with your coworkers. That’s what I love as a communicator. To be able to engage with people and ideas. Also, always be learning. Things change so fast.
Suraj: Great advice. Thank you so much for your time.