Project Extra Mile

NEBRASKA

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  Innovative or non-traditional approach   Youth Programs
  Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population Alcohol and Other Drugs
       
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  Multijurisdictional    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  Youth   700,000


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Traffic safety professionals in the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan area were familiar with the many national studies and programs concerning the two-fold problem of underage drinking and underage impaired driving—a problem affecting the youth of Omaha and the surrounding counties. Through the years, many recommendations had been made for addressing the problem in Omaha, but these recommendations were made without prior knowledge of the unique situations and issues involving Omaha's youth, resulting in less effective approaches to the problem.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of Project Extra Mile was to reduce alcohol-related crashes, fatalities, and injuries among the driving youth of the Omaha metropolitan area. The project was conceived as a three-phase approach to the problem:


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

In 1995, concerned citizens in the Omaha area created a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to addressing the problems of underage drinking and impaired driving among youth. This coalition developed what became known as Project Extra Mile, whose membership approached the problem systematically through a three-phased strategy. The first phase of this strategy was to conduct the research necessary to arm the coalition with data specific to the Omaha metropolitan area. During this first phase, several key activities were completed:

RESULTS
As a result of Project Extra Mile, the rate of non-compliance by retailers of alcohol sales to minors dropped to 29 percent in 1997 for the Omaha metropolitan area, down from 41 percent in 1996.

In addition, all Omaha metropolitan law enforcement agencies agreed to undertake coordinated enforcement efforts four times each year.

FUNDING
  Section 402:

$88,000

  In-Kind:

$12,000

CONTACT  
  Diane Riibe, Project Director
Project Extra Mile
2027 Dodge Street, Suite 501
Omaha, NE 68102
(402) 341–2777


National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Winter 1998