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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Motor vehicle crashes
have been identified as the seventh leading cause of death and the leading
cause of years of potential life lost in Nebraska. Crashes also rank
seventh in the number of hospital discharges and length of hospital
stay.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Nebraska
Safe Communities project, developed in 1999, is to reduce unintentional
injuries and fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes throughout
the state. Objectives of the effort include:
- Reducing crash-related
fatalities and serious injuries by 3 percent
- Increasing seat belt use
from 64.6 percent in 1998 to 66.1 percent in 1999
- Promoting collaboration
among community leaders in order to foster injury prevention activities
- Design and develop a suitable
vehicle to disseminate safety and injury prevention materials and
information
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In June
1997, the Nebraska Health and Human Services system's Division of Health
Promotion and Education sponsored the formation of a statewide Safe
Communities program, designed to reduce traffic crash-related injuries
and fatalities. In January 1999, an additional five Safe Communities
teams were formed, each team representing a single county and bringing
its own unique safety needs to the program. A total of 21 Safe Communities
teams, comprised of local law enforcement offices, fire departments,
divisions of roads, hospitals, community service agencies, probation
offices, educational service units and local health departments, developed
priorities and planned projects of local interest. Throughout the program
development phase, the teams met quarterly by teleconference, and attended
a statewide update meeting in September 1999. The activities undertaken
by each county team were diverse and designed to address local problems:
- Several
Safe Communities teams targeted young drivers, conducting mock crashes
and Grim Reaper Days. Two of the teams used the Fatal Vision
goggles to mimic the effects of alcohol, while several teams sponsored
a Tag-a-Tux initiative prior to high school proms. Other teams
addressed youthful drinking through sponsorship of Project Extra
Mile programs, while one team developed a student-designed buckle-up
poster contest which ran throughout the school year
- Several
teams targeted occupant restraint and child safety seat issues through
dissemination of information at county fairs and local festivals.
One team used the Teddy Bear Blockade program to address proper
use of child safety seats, and many teams conducted child safety seat
checkup events. The Buckle Bear character was shared among
team representatives more than 20 times, and one team even engaged
in promoting state legislation to strengthen the Child Passenger Protection
law
- Other teams
used programs to target alcohol-related problems. Some teams used
the Emergency Nurses Cancel Alcohol Related Emergencies (ENCARE) injury
prevention program to focus on alcohol-related crashes, while one
team used the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety's Breath Alcohol Test
(BAT) Mobile at the local summer festival to publicize the relationship
between alcohol and crashes
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