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1999 Safe Communities Demonstration Sites Report To Congress On

Progress

Number 249 May 2001

U.S. Department of Transportation

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590

1999 Safe Communities Demonstration Sites

Report To Congress On Progress

Each year, one in every four Americans have an injury serious enough to require medical

attention, and deaths and injuries from motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death from

age 5 to 29. A Safe Community addresses the injuries that occur within that community, with

traffic positioned within this overall context. From a handful of Safe Communities in 1996, the

overall Safe Communities program has grown to 1089 in June 2001. The defining characteristics

of a Safe Community are:

data from multiple sources are used to define the community's injury problem and target

resources

partnerships are built across the community, including health, education, and enforcement

systems, and the private sector and government

citizen participation is an integral component for identifying and implementing effective

injury prevention measures

an integrated and comprehensive injury control system is established

To measure the effectiveness of the Safe Communities model, demonstration and evaluation

projects were awarded to the Greater Dallas Medical Center in Dallas, Texas and to East Carolina

University in Greenville, North Carolina in 1997. The next year, awards were made to two more

sites: Providence Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska and to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence,

Rhode Island. The model had each community spend the first year in a planning phase, during

which it collected and analyzed data, convened a coalition, prioritized the injury problems

identified, and selected countermeasures. The second year was spent implementing the

countermeasures, and the third year evaluating ongoing progress.

This report to Congress documents the activities of the four sites and evaluates the Safe

Communities Model. It describes how each site formed its partnerships, how they gathered data

to define their injury problems and addressed the problems, and the results they had achieved

through the end of 1999.

Anchorage, Alaska

Providence Medical Center is the lead organization for this program, which started as a handful of

concerned citizens who wanted to work on the injury problem in Anchorage (population 259,000).

In 1997, the coalition received a Safe Communities Demonstration Grant from the National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which enabled the group to expand its activity to

a much higher level and attracted additional funding from other sources as well. They emphasized

pedestrian safety, impaired driving, teen driving, child safety seats, and seat belts.

Results

correct child safety seat usage improved 20 percentage points

motor vehicle-related hospitalizations continue to decrease since 1996

no vehicle-related deaths on holiday weekends for the first time in 1997; one occurred on

New Year's Eve in 1998

Pitt County, North Carolina

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The Pitt Initiative for Safe Communities Evolving Successfully (PISCES) is comprised of about 60

organizations and concerned citizens, including health care professionals, local government

representatives, law enforcement, human services, and business representatives. Pitt County's

emphasis is on traffic safety in a rural area (population 120,000). Because there already were

significant efforts underway to prevent motor vehicle crash injuries in the county by law

enforcement and others, the coalition chose to focus its efforts in two areas: bicycle safety and

driver improvement.

Results

distributed 600 bicycle helmets

changed helmet laws in two communities

evaluation underway

Providence, Rhode Island

The Providence Safe Communities Partnership (PSCP) became a Safe Communities Demonstration

Program in 1996. They focus on reducing traffic-related injury through research, education, and

community outreach. The project is led by two hospitals (Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children's

Hospital), and a coord-inating committee representing the Providence Fire and Police

Departments, the Mayor's Office, the Governor's Office of Highway Safety, the Rhode Island

Department of Health, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, the Providence School

Department and a local community center. Their area is the Enterprise Community, which has a

population of about 49,000, and is a culturally diverse, low-income area.

Results

injury prevention centers founded at emergency departments at two hospitals

conducted Community Safety Day

distributed bicycle helmets, conducted child safety seat checks, held a bicycle rodeo

child safety seat education and loaner programs

media outreach with radio, television, newspaper in English and Spanish

evaluation underway

Dallas, Texas

The Northwest Oak Cliff Demonstration Project is sponsored by the Greater Dallas Injury

Prevention Center, which serves a population of more than 2.1 million people. In 1996, it became

the first U.S. site to be certified by the World Health Organization as a Safe Community by

international standards. They focus on Northwest Oak Cliff, a mostly Hispanic community of about

110,000. The program works through neighborhood groups (Los Altos Neighborhood, Calumet

Moms, Las Haciendas, and Arcadia Park). They set up child safety seat loaner programs and

focused on seat belts.

Results

placed about 2,000 child safety seats

child safety seat usage increased from 23 percent to 65 percent

seat belt use by Hispanic drivers rose from 61 to 75 percent in 1999

seat belt use rose for Hispanic passengers from 49 to 65 percent by 1999

The Report to Congress describes the status of the Safe Communities Program, case studies of

exemplary Safe Communities, and results from the four demonstration sites through 1999.

HOW TO ORDER

For a copy of Safe Communities 1999, Report to Congress, (28 pages) compiled by Preusser

Research Group from Demonstration site reports, write to the Office of Research and Traffic

Records, NHTSA, NTS-31, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590 or send a fax to

(202) 366-7096. Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D. was the contract manager.

U.S. Department

of Transportation

National Highway

Traffic Safety

Administration

400 Seventh Street, S.W. NTS-31

Washington, DC 20590

Traffic Tech is a publication to disseminate information about traffic safety programs, including

evaluations, innovative programs, and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish.

If you would like to receive a copy contact:

Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., Editor, Evaluation Staff

Traffic Safety Programs

(202) 366-2759, fax (202) 366-7096

E-MAIL: lcosgrove@nhtsa.dot.gov
Traffic Tech Publications | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA) | U.S. Department of Transportation

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