Regional Traffic Safety Workshops |
MISSOURI |
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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Missouri has a population of more than
five million residents. Each of the state's largest cities, St. Louis and
Kansas City, has a population of approximately 500,000, with the remaining
4 million residents scattered among smaller communities of under 50,000.
Traffic safety education for the 1 million residents of St. Louis and Kansas
City was facilitated by the large concentrations of people; however, traffic
safety messages were not reaching the majority of Missouri's residents spread
among smaller communities throughout the state.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Regional Traffic Safety Workshops was to raise awareness
of the importance of traffic safety for the majority of Missouri's residents,
through the following objectives:
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In 1992, the Missouri Department of Public Safety, Division of Highway Safety,
set aside a small portion of their State and Community Highway Safety Grant
Program funds (Section 402) to develop and implement a program that would
educate all Missouri citizens about reducing deaths, injuries, and economic
losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. Traffic safety planners developed
a strategy to initiate this education effort through a series of workshops
to be held in locations throughout the state. The workshops were developed
in a "train-the-trainer" format, whereby participants were invited
from key organizations who could then implement further education activities
within their local communities. These organizations included: local law
enforcement agencies, community leaders, American Association of Retired
Persons (AARP)
representatives, school administrators and educators, public health professionals,
hospital/medical professionals, parent educators, child care organizations,
civic organizations and other advocates for traffic injury prevention.
The one-day workshops featured a series of individual breakout sessions
led by professionals trained in a variety of traffic safety areas. For example,
a session on occupant protection was led by the coordinator of Think First
Kids, who would present an overview of child restraint issues and current
laws. Another breakout was led by a representative of Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD), who would discuss programs on alcohol and other drugs. Another
breakout provided a discussion of various programs on public transportation
and school bus safety. Other sessions included presentations on motorcycle
safety, pedestrian safety, public health, public information and education,
emergency medical services, programs for senior citizens, and bicycle safety.
In 1997, the Regional Traffic Safety Workshops
offered Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to local day care providers, who
are required by the terms of their license to maintain current information
on a variety of subjects.
RESULTS Eight Regional Traffic Safety Workshops have been held for each of the past five years. During the 1997 Workshops, 427 traffic safety advocates were trained to carry the safety message into Missouri's smaller communities. Feedback from these communities indicates that many of the traffic safety programs presented at the Workshops have been implemented locally. |
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Winter 1998 |