GEORGIA
Community Outreach

 

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
 

Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population

 

Occupant Protection
Diversity

 

 

 

 

TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
 

State

 

 

 

 

 

 

TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
 

Rural Residents
Minority Citizens

 

5,646,491


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
On average, two people die each day in motor vehicle crashes on Georgia roadways. Failure to buckle seat belts when traveling in a motor vehicle contributes to more of these fatalities than any other single traffic safety behavior. Of particular concern to the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety (GOHS), is the decreased use of both adult and child safety restraint systems by rural residents, low income families and members of minority racial/ethnic communities. Statewide data indicate that the use of child safety seats in Georgia decreased between 1998 and 1999, with the rate of misuse averaging between 85 and 90 percent.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In the spring of 2000, the Georgia GOHS implemented a new strategy for reaching under- served communities, with the development of Community Outreach efforts. These initiatives are designed to:

  • Assist under-served populations with low rates of seat belt and child safety seat use, through public information and education campaigns

  • Conduct community summits that address highway safety issues

  • Create community coalitions to implement programs that reduce motor vehicle crash- related injuries and fatalities

  • Train local volunteers to become Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPST)


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The primary Community Outreach strategy implemented by the GOHS is the Georgia Community Summits. A summit consists of a one- or two-day conference focusing on occupant protection issues, facilitated by a local volunteer and targeting a broad cross-section of the local community. Community Outreach program staff contact those Georgia counties with low seat belt use rates, to develop community summits. The program seeks to attract and educate a wide range of community representatives such as the media, elected officials, religious leaders, school officials, community organizations, youth and youth organizations, fraternal organizations, the general public and all others interested in highway safety issues affecting their community. Local communities are believed to be best suited to identify highway safety issues affecting them, and to develop effective countermeasures.

The GOHS provides small grants to help support the Community Summits, along with program staff for technical assistance. Local coordinators recruit additional volunteers, identify potential participants, create agendas, develop printed programs and issue invitations for the summits. At the beginning of each summit, the video Reducing Your Risks in the Crash, is presented, followed by a question and answer period. Demonstrations of proper seat belt use and the correct installation of child safety seats are provided. The proper use of bicycle helmets is demonstrated, and helmets are provided to low-income youth. Pre- and post-tests are conducted to determine participants' level of knowledge on occupant protection issues and Georgia law.

Each summit is expected to form a community coalition that will continue to function at the local level and remain linked to GOHS as an important resource for the Community Outreach occupant protection public education and information campaign. Additional grants have been offered to community groups in 2001, to establish programs supporting seat belt and child restraint use.


RESULTS
Since its inception in 2000, the Community Outreach initiative has achieved impressive results, including the following:

  • Five pilot summits have been conducted, and all 5 communities are now organizing coalitions

  • Thirteen new CPST's have been trained and certified

  • Twenty additional communities have been identified for community summits in 2001

 

FUNDING
 

Section 405:
Section 2003b:

$421,810
$193,715

CONTACT  
 

Phyllis Elbert
Community Outreach Coordinator
Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety
34 Peachtree Street, Suite 1600
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 463-8983
pelbert@gohs.state.ga.us




NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

WINTER 2001