From Crash Scenes to Crash Prevention: Rethinking Vehicle Safety with Jennifer Morrison
"What we're trying to do is prevent (protect) the most precious cargo, the people. Right? And that's what the systems are designed for. That's why we're really proud to have some of those top safety ratings in the industry.”- Jennifer Morrison, Director, Vehicle Safety Strategy at Mazda
Most of us don’t think about vehicle safety until something goes wrong. That’s a problem. Because the real work of safety happens long before impact. In this episode of The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with Jennifer Morrison, Director of Vehicle Safety Strategies at Mazda North America, to talk about what it really takes to prevent crashes, not just investigate them. With two decades of experience at the NTSB and NHTSA, Jennifer brings a powerful perspective on why affordability should never mean compromising protection.
We unpack how data is proving that technologies like automatic emergency braking prevent up to 60% of rear-end crashes, why making blind spot monitoring standard is a leadership decision, not a luxury one, and how regulators, manufacturers, and human drivers intersect at highway speeds. If you care about fleet safety, workplace risk, or the people riding in your car, this conversation is for you.
"What we're trying to do is prevent (protect) the most precious cargo, the people. Right? And that's what the systems are designed for. That's why we're really proud to have some of those top safety ratings in the industry.”- Jennifer Morrison, Director, Vehicle Safety Strategy at Mazda
Most of us don’t think about vehicle safety until something goes wrong. That’s a problem. Because the real work of safety happens long before impact. In this episode of
The Canary Report: Safety & Risk Management, I sit down with
Jennifer Morrison, Director of Vehicle Safety Strategies at
Mazda North America, to talk about what it really takes to prevent crashes—not just investigate them. With two decades of experience at the NTSB and NHTSA, Jennifer brings a powerful perspective on why affordability should never mean compromising protection.
We unpack how data is proving that technologies like automatic emergency braking prevent up to 60% of rear-end crashes, why making blind spot monitoring standard is a leadership decision, not a luxury one, and how regulators, manufacturers, and human drivers intersect at highway speeds. If you care about fleet safety, workplace risk, or the people riding in your car, this conversation is for you.
- How to shift from reactive crash investigation to proactive safety strategy
- Why making safety standard, not optional, is both a moral and business imperative
- The connected vehicle data advantage that most companies aren't leveraging
- How to exceed compliance without becoming compliance-obsessed
- Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) vs. autonomous vehicles
- The overlooked intersection of occupational and vehicle safety
Jennifer Morrison is the Director of Vehicle Safety Strategies at Mazda North America Operations, bringing over two decades of expertise in crash investigation, regulatory compliance, and automotive safety innovation. With a background spanning the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and 15 years as a highway crash investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Jennifer has witnessed firsthand the real-world impact of safety failures and the life-saving potential of prevention. At Mazda, she leads the company's vision for a no-fatalities society by 2040, spearheading the deployment of crash avoidance technologies, occupant protection systems, and evidence-based safety strategies that exceed federal minimums.
Episode Chapters:
- 00:00 Intro: Welcome to the Canary Report: Risk Leaders and Safety Professionals
- 02:23 From Midwest Freedom to Vehicle Safety Innovation
- 12:42 From NHTSA Investigator to NTSB Crash Scene Responder
- 18:19 The Toll of Emergency Response Work on Family and Career
- 21:47 Translating Engineering Innovation Into Real-World Safety Compliance
- 26:06 Connected Vehicle Data Proves What Actually Saves Lives
- 28:51 Automatic Emergency Braking Prevents 50-60% of Rear-End Crashes
- 30:53 The Moment Technology Saves Your Teen Driver
- 32:32 Why Affordable Safety Should Be Standard, Not Optional
- 34:14 Standardizing Measurements Across EHS and Vehicle Safety Ecosystems
- 38:19 Fleet Safety Bridges Occupational and Vehicle Risk Management
- 40:44 Human Behavior Remains the Primary Safety System
- 41:35 SAE Levels Explained: Why Mazda Focuses on Level 0-2 ADAS
- 45:26 Blind Spot Monitoring as Standard—A Philosophy, Not a Feature
- 46:10 Key Takeaways: Prevention Over Reaction, People Over Technology
Episode Resources: