GA’s Governor’s Office of Highway Safety awards GOHS National Priority Safety Program Grant to Road Ready Foundation

Road Ready Foundation has announced it has received a $207,956.96 from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). The grant will help finance programs addressing documented traffic safety issues in key priority areas. The Road Ready Foundation’s initiatives target young drivers, a group statistically more vulnerable to crashes because of inexperience. The foundation focuses on tire tread awareness, inflation checks and replacing worn or expired tires—simple steps that significantly reduce the risk of hydroplaning and loss of control.

GOHS is looking to implement innovative ideas that assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to educate the public on highway safety and to facilitate the implementation of projects designed to reduce crashes and eliminate deaths and serious injuries on Georgia highways and roads.

The education project awarded to Road Ready Foundation is believed to be the first of its kind in highway safety in teaching teens and young drivers on the importance of routinely inspecting their tires and being able to know when they need to be replaced. Replacing worn or damaged tires will prevent crashes and reduce the number of people who are seriously injured or killed on Georgia highways and roads.

“Innovative projects like this are designed with the intent for Georgia and our nation to reach the realistic goal of zero traffic deaths by the middle of this century,” said Allen Poole, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “Each life saved on our roads is one less family that will have to live with the pain of losing a loved one whose life was taken from them in a traffic crash that was completely preventable.”

“This award is a tremendous vote of confidence in our mission and a powerful acknowledgment that tire safety saves lives,” says Road Ready Foundation founder Alex Bebiak. “We are grateful to partner with GOHS to prevent tragedies like the one that took our son Jackson, and we are committed to helping families across Georgia understand how critical proper tire maintenance is to safe driving.”

The grant year for this award will be Dec. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026.

Receiving a GOHS grant is considered a mark of distinction, signaling that an organization’s work aligns with statewide safety priorities and demonstrates measurable community impact.

The Road Ready Foundation was created after the Bebiak family lost their 19-year-old son Jackson in a 2023 car crash caused by severely worn tires. Though the vehicle’s occupants were wearing seatbelts and driving below the speed limit during a rainstorm, the lack of tread caused the car to hydroplane. Jackson did not survive, but his decision to be an organ donor saved three lives.

“The only thing between your car and the road is that tire,” Bebiak says. “By helping young drivers understand that, we can protect more families from preventable heartbreak.”