OHIO
Clermont County Safe Communities:
Traffic Safety Video Program

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In 1997, Clermont County, Ohio recorded 5,247 motor vehicle crashes (308 alcohol-related) resulting in 30 deaths. In 1998, 5,808 traffic crashes resulted in 24 traffic deaths. These traffic deaths represented approximately 17 for every 100,000 county residents, ranking Clermont County second highest statewide in the number of traffic fatalities.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Clermont County Safe Communities program is to reduce traffic crash- related injuries and fatalities in Clermont County, Ohio. Objectives of the project include the following:

• Increasing traffic safety awareness among county residents
• Increasing proper use of seat belts
• Promoting community involvement in traffic safety efforts

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In 1998, several local community advocacy groups collaborated to develop the Clermont County Safe Communities coalition as a focus for traffic safety efforts in the county. The Safe Communities coalition quickly grew into a partnership of more than 25 local organizations concerned with the reduction of traffic crash-related injuries and fatalities.

The new coalition created an inaugural activity designed to meet their goals. Using a concept developed by the State Highway Patrol, the coalition produced a 14-minute traffic safety video illustrating common traffic violations and county traffic trouble spots.

The video featured appearances by the Ohio State Highway Patrol Post Commander, the county sheriff and the University of Cincinnati's winning basketball coach, who is a county resident. Groups throughout Clermont have requested that the video be presented at events and locations including town meetings, safety booths at malls, churches, local high schools and community association meetings. A typical demonstration of the Traffic Safety Video Program includes the following activities:

• Participants are first administered a quiz of true/false questions regarding traffic safety
• After administration of the quiz, the 14-minute video is shown
• Participants score their own quizzes, revealing how much they learned from the video
• Finally, Safe Communities representatives host a question and answer session during which safety issues described in the video are discussed

RESULTS
The Traffic Safety Video Program has been operational only since mid-September 1999 and, although results are not yet available, there is an observed increase in awareness of traffic safety issues, countywide. For example:

• More than 2,200 people have participated in the program
• County high schools have adopted the program as one of their traffic safety initiatives
• In cooperation with the local newspaper, the Safe Communities coalition sponsored an effort called Look Both Ways, a news column which enlists community help in identifying safety problems
• The County Engineer reviews safety problems referred to in the Look Both Ways column to determine if corrective action is needed. The Engineer's findings are published in the newspaper
• The Safe Communities office is currently developing a "Fatalities Chart" comparing monthly statistics on traffic fatalities

WINTER 2000