# Presentation: 063678

## Slide 1

**Notes:**
The “Safe Communities: Getting Started” presentation is designed to serve as an orientation tool for new coalitions and potential coalition members by giving them a basic understanding of the Safe Communities model of injury prevention and control.  Special emphasis is placed on the leading contributor to unintentional injuries and deaths -- motor vehicle crashes.
The Notes section of this presentation gives presenters basic guidance and talking points for each of the slides.  Please review all the Notes and run the presentation in the Slide Show mode to see the order of points on each slide. 
Presenters are encouraged to modify this presentation to fit necessary time constraints, add your own insights, and customize the presentation to reflect the injury problems and concerns in the State, county or community where the talk is being given to make it more relevant to the local audience.

## 150,000 deaths per year

- 2,850,000 hospitalizations
- $325 billion cost to society
- American culture accepts traffic deaths/injuries as routine

**from Intentional & Unintentional Injuries Annually**

**Notes:**
There are 150,000 otherwise healthy Americans who die every year from intentional and unintentional injuries.  40,000+ of these fatalities annually are caused by motor vehicle crashes.  In the past, we focused almost of our attention on deaths.  But deaths are just the tip of iceberg of a larger injury problem.

For every death, there are 19 persons hospitalized from injuries.  And 15 times that number end of in hospital emergency rooms.

All this injury costs society $325 billion a year in the form of medical costs, insurance premiums, lost wages, lost productivity, and other expenses.

What’s really mystifying about this is that Americans just seem to be willing to accept these costs in lives and money as the routine price we must pay to drive.

## TOTAL = 50%

**Motor Vehicle**
**Occupant 23.3%**

**Pedestrian 12.1%**

**Motorcyclist 6.1%**

**Bicyclist 6.1%**

**Assault 11.1%**

**Self-inflicted**
**9.1%**

**Falls 9.1%**

**Fires/Burns 6.1%**

**Struck by Object 7.1%**

**All Others 7.1%**

- DEATHS & HOSPITALIZATIONS due to TRAUMA

**Notes:**
(This chart shows the break out of all deaths and hospitalizations due to trauma).

First, point out the percentage breakdown of deaths and hospitalizations due to non-transportation related trauma.

Then, click the mouse to reveal the breakdown of transportation-related trauma one-by-one show that they account for slightly over half of all deaths and hospitalizations due to trauma.

MESSAGE:  Isn’t it about time your community quit being complacent and did something to reduce this needless toll?

##  Crashes cost society $150 Billion annually -- OF THAT AMOUNT:

-  **$17 Billion**** is medical costs**
-  **$37.5 Billion**** is employer costs**
-  **$54.7 Billion**** is lost productivity**

**Notes:**
The cost of motor vehicle crashes alone are a huge economic drain on all of us as consumers, employers, and as taxpayers, costing society $150 Billion annually.

## One murder every    31 minutes

**One ****violent crime****    every 20 seconds**
**One ****crime**** every 3 seconds**

**One ****fatality**** every 13 minutes**
**One ****injury**** every 16 seconds**
**One ****crash**** every 5 seconds**

**Notes:**
One of the biggest public concerns in communities across America is the growing impact of crime.  
But for every murder every 31 minutes, there’s a person who dies in a crash every 13 minutes.
There’s a violent crime every 20 seconds.  Compared to a motor vehicle injury every 16 seconds.
And there’s a crime committed every 3 seconds compared to a crash every 5 seconds.
While we all agree crime is a problem that must be addressed, let’s not overlook the larger problem of crashes.

## Safe Communities is a process, not a program.

**Safe Communities is a **_**process**_**, not a program.**
**Safe Communities is a coalition centered, data driven injury prevention model.**
**Safe Communities emphasizes motor vehicle crashes as a leading injury prevention issue.**

**Notes:**
Safe Communities is not a program in and of itself.  Rather it is a process or a model for communities to use to address it’s injury programs.  It’s designed to be flexible to allow communities to focus on their most pressing injury problems and come up with strategies and programs to reduce those problems.

The Safe Communities model works best when the process is conducted by a broad based community coalition that looks closely at local injury data to define prevention interventions.

In most communities, data shows that motor vehicle crashes are a leading injury prevention issue.

## Safe Communities looks at transportation injuries and their costs.

**Safe Communities looks at transportation injuries and their costs.**
**Safe Communities is most successful when the coalition involves new partners in the process.**
**Safe Communities is geographic-based and involves local citizens.**

**Notes:**
The Safe Communities approach looks at both reducing the number of injuries, as well as reducing the costs of injuries to the community and its residents. By tracking the money saved when injuries are reduced, coalitions can clearly show health providers, local leaders, businesses, and the public that resources given to injury prevention produce a profitable return on investment to the community.

Coalitions can forge potent alliances with a wide variety of organizations, resulting in increased resources and a growing number of profitable public/private partnerships. 

Safe Communities can be set up to target a neighborhood, a school district, a community, a county or a region where residents are actively involved in addressing their own local injury problems and in implementing effective programs.

## First used as an injury prevention model by the World Health Organization in 1989

**First used as an injury prevention model by the World Health Organization in 1989**
**Adopted by NHTSA to address traffic related injuries in 1995**
**Nearly 1,000 Safe Communities coalitions exist nationwide**

**Notes:**
The Safe Communities model was first used by the World Health Organization as a means to address injury reduction in 1989.

In the mid 1990s, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted and adapted the model as a means to assist communities in addressing their transportation- related injury problems at the local level.

The approach has grown from a handful of coalitions in 1996 to nearly 1,000 Safe Communities actively working on motor vehicle injury prevention across the U.S. 

## Injuries are not accidents.

**Injuries are **_**not**_** accidents.**
**Injuries are predictable and preventable.**
**Local people are in the best position to solve local problems.**
**Every community has effective organizations working to prevent injuries.**

**Notes:**
For over a century, we disguised the way we thought of traffic crashes and the resulting injuries by labeling them as mere accidents.   By doing so, we preserved the myth that crashes simply happen.  It couldn’t be helped.  No one’s to blame.  They’re an inevitable part of life.  But crashes and injuries are not accidents.

Most medical conditions are predictable and can either be prevented or controlled.  And so can motor vehicle injuries.

The best approach is to enable and empower local people to solve their local injury problems.

Forming a Safe Communities coalition gets agencies and organizations already concerned about injuries working in closer collaboration and brings new partners in to help.

## Form a core community coalition

**Form a core community coalition**
**Create a community profile**
**Examine local injury data**
**Prioritize injury problems using data**
**Organize coalition with subcommittees**
**Identify/implement prevention  ****	****	****	****strategies**
**Measure impact and cost benefit**

**Notes:**
In the next few minutes, we’re going to take a closer look at the list of things our community needs to do to get started:
Forming a core coalition or working group to get the ball rolling;
Creating a community profile to better understand who’s living and working and being injured and dying in our community;
Examining and analyzing local injury data;
Prioritizing injury problems using our data;
Organizing a larger community coalition with working subcommittees;
Identifying prevention strategies and implementing effective programs;
And measuring the impact and cost benefit of our programs.

## Identify and recruit stakeholders

**Identify and recruit stakeholders**
**Find host or lead organization**
**Appoint Safe Communities Coordinator **
**Enlist keepers of the data**
**Recruit injury data expert**
**Identify meeting times & places**

**Notes:**
First, it’s necessary to identify those individuals and organizations already working in the community or having a vested interest in preventing injuries.

Next, one of these organizations needs to step forward and take the lead or host the Safe Communities initiative.

Early on, an individual needs to be designated to coordinate your efforts. This can be a full-time paid position or it can be someone the lead organization allows to work part-time or it might be a community volunteer.

Then, you need to find out who in your community keeps the injury data and enlist their cooperation and assistance.

Finally, try to recruit someone who can help you and your coalition to analyze the data.

## Demographics (age, ethnic background, gender)

**Demographics (age, ethnic background, gender)**
**Roadway user behavioral data**
**Environmental data**
**Citizen & Community Leader Input**

**Notes:**
It’s important to know your community’s unique identity in order to assess risk factors, prioritize mechanisms of injury, appropriately target interventions, and evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts.
First, gather general demographics including information about population breakdowns, cultural features, household income, major businesses and other important factors.  Sources include the Chamber of Commerce, city government, census data, occupantional licensing, historic societies and the media.
Next, take a look at your community’s roadway users and their behaviors.  Things like leading causes of death by age/gender, leading causes of injuries by age/gender,costs of injuries by cause, risk factors in injury (like seat belt use and impaired driving), etc.
Also examine environmental factors such as high crash locations, time of day, day of week, etc.
Most important, conduct informal focus groups with community leaders, business people, and everyday citizens to learn what’s on the community’s mind regarding injury prevention.

## Emergency department

**Emergency department**
**Hospital discharge**
**Emergency run report**
**Police crash reports**
**Trauma registry**

**Notes:**
There are many accessible sources of injury data in every community.  Here’s the first places you need to work with to learn more about who, when, where, why and how injuries are occurring your community.

## Significant contributor to fatal and nonfatal injuries

**Significant contributor to fatal and nonfatal injuries**
**Significant contributor to health care costs**
**Disproportionately affects specific population groups**
**Major concern of community residents**

**Notes:**
When you have enough data to examine your community’s injury profile, then you can begin to prioritize your local injury problems.  Some factors you will want to analyze are:

1.  What the significant contributors are in fatal and nonfatal injuries.
2.  What the significant contributors are to health care costs.
3.  What injuries might be disproportionately affecting certain population groups.
4.  What injury problems are of most concern to the residents of your community.

## transportation

**transportation**
**insurance companies**
**law enforcement **
**businesses**
**hospitals/physicians**
**public health**

**schools & colleges**
**traffic safety groups**
**EMS**
**citizen advocates**
**military bases**
**civic clubs**

**Notes:**
There are many groups and organizations with a vested interest in injury prevention in your community.  Here’s a getting started list of potential coalition members.

## Enforcement strategies

**Enforcement strategies**
**Enact laws or policies**
**Education/awareness strategies**
**Engineering and technology improvements**
**Evaluating results**

**Notes:**
There are 5 E’s in implementing prevention interventions.

## Red light running

**Red light running**
**Alcohol impaired driving**
**Pedestrian collisions**
**Non seat belt use**
**Non or misuse of child car seats**
**Speeding or aggressive drivers**
**Inexperienced drivers**
**Distracted drivers**

**Notes:**
Examples of Traffic Safety issues that data may show are high injury prevention priorities.

## Number of injuries

**Number of injuries**
**Hospital costs**
**Emergency room visits**
**Behavioral change**
**Local policies or ordinances**
**Community attitudes**
**Community resources**

**Notes:**
If possible, get advice and assistance from professional evaluators before you implement interventions.  With or without a pro, there are several readily available “yard sticks” you can use to measure the effectiveness of your interventions.

<go thru list>

When you do a good job of evaluating or measuring your results, not only will your coalition know what works and what doesn’t work, but your evaluation results are also an effective tool for selling the program to the community and getting additional resources to continue and enhance your work.

## Providence RI

**23% reduction in motor vehicle-related emergency visits by children under 18**
**48% reduction in bike-related trauma**
**26% reduction in physician billings**

- Dallas TX
**13% reduction in injury crashes among Hispanic populations**
**$470K savings in hospital costs**

**Notes:**
Here are some examples of places where the Safe Communities model was used to prevent injuries and reduce costs.

## Palm Beach County FL

**Palm Beach County FL**
**bicycle injuries decreased from 2.5 to .5 per month**
**average hospital costs decreased from $400 to $175 per injury**

**Derry NH**
**teen fatalities dropped from 9 to none per year**
**teen belt use increased by 30%**

**Notes:**
More successful examples.

## Customer

**Customer**
**Service Center**

**Safe Communities**
**Newsstand**

**Safe Communities**
**Town Square**

**Best Practics**
**Showcase**

**Product**
**Shop**

**Partnership**
**Emporium**

**Notes:**
There’s plenty of technical assistance on the Web to help communities in their injury prevention efforts.  Your best starting point is the USDOT’s Safe Communities Service Center. Here’s what you’ll find:
CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER:  An overview of the Safe Communities approach
SAFE COMMUNITIES NEWSSTAND:  News briefs from local coalitions nationwide, as well as national and USDOT news and special features on injury prevention
TOWN SQUARE:  Includes a directory to coalitions across the country and a Virtually Library of links to useful safety and prevention documents on the Internet
BEST PRACTICES SHOWCASE:  Success stories of programs conducted by other communities
PRODUCT SHOP:  Helpful materials you can download and on-line ordering of free traffic safety materials
PARTNERSHIP EMPORIUM:  Hundreds of links to traffic safety and injury prevention Web sites worldwide

## Slide 22

## Slide 23