PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Motor vehicle travel is the primary means of transportation in the United States, providing an unprecedented degree of mobility. In recent years, motor vehicles have become crash- worthy, equipped with safety devices such as seat belt restraint systems and air bags, and equipped with "friendly interiors" such as padded steering wheels, padded dashboards, and touch pad control dashboards. Yet, for all these safety improvements, deaths and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for persons of every age from 6- to 27-years-old (based on 1996 data). In 1996, 41,907 lives were lost, 3,511,000 people were injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes, and 4,548,000 crashes involved property damage only. The economic cost of motor vehicle crashes in 1996 was reported to be more than $150.5 billion.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Walk In Our Shoes project, developed by the injury prevention and medical outreach specialists at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 5 office, was to reduce the injuries, fatalities, and economic costs which result from motor vehicle crashes. The objectives of the project were:

• To raise the public's awareness of the health and economic benefits of proper use of air bags, safety restraints, and child safety seats
• To engender collaboration between the medical and enforcement communities for the purpose of promoting traffic safety
• To promote a more active role by medical professionals in traffic safety and motor vehicle injury prevention activities

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In Spring 1997, the NHTSA Region 5 injury prevention and medical outreach specialists developed the Walk In Our Shoes project—an easy-to-replicate educational program that involved the combined efforts of medical and law enforcement professionals to promote goodwill while providing public information on traffic safety. The program developed a collaboration among nurses, law enforcement professionals, firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) professionals—those professionals who are regularly exposed to the senseless injuries and fatalities because of unsafe traffic practices, and whose simple philosophy was: "If the general public could just walk in our shoes for even one day, they would know the frustration of coping with needless injuries and deaths."

The Walk In Our Shoes project featured the medical and law enforcement professionals spending a few hours together distributing traffic safety materials to motorists stopped at traffic lights. Restrained motorists received compliments, and those who were not restrained were strongly encouraged to buckle up. Citations were not issued to motorists not using safety belts during the Walk In Our Shoes project; however, they were warned that, as seat belt use is the law, further violations would be enforced.

The project was piloted in three communities in Illinois during the summer of 1997, and received an overwhelming response from the local media, including features in regional and local community newspapers, radio announcements, and television coverage. During each of the three pilots, the effort was supported by at least two representatives from each of the four partner professions, who provided additional visibility for the project with ambulances and fire engines.