Native Americans and Traffic Safety
From Summer 1994Volume I, Number 2
Motor vehicle injuries take an enormous toll among members of the American
Indian and Alaskan Native communities. Two Native Americans die each day
from alcohol or other drug-related motor vehicle crashes. These crashes
are the leading cause of death among children in those communities. Members
of some tribes die in motor vehicle crashes at rates six times that of Americans
of other ethnic backgrounds.
The Indian Health Service (IHS) is the federal agency with primary
responsibility for providing federal health and safety serices to Native
Americans and assisting tribes in delivering health services on reservation
lands. IHS staff collaborate with Native American communities, tribal governments,
and state agencies on issues including impaired driving, occupant protection,
pedestrian safety, and data collection.
However, a number of special circumstances complicate attempts to prevent
traffic injuries among Native Americans. Implementing effective traffic
safety efforts in Native American communities requires a thorough knowledge
of their specific culture, which is why IHS Injury Prevention staff involve
the community in the design and implementation of injury prevention programs.
(See the accompanying interview with Nancy Bill
for a more in-depth perspective on this issue.)
The special legal status of tribal governments also has implications for
program implementation on reservations. In most states, state traffic safety
laws and regulations, including occupant restraint laws, are not binding
on reservations. This disparity between state and tribal laws and regulations
can have adverse effects upon motor vehicle safety on reservations. For
example, most tribal governments do not submit motor vehicle crash reports
to state agencies. Because of this, state have no way of identifying or
correcting safety problems that may exist on state roads running through
tribal lands.
A cornerstone of IHS efforts to reduce alcohol-related trauma among Native
communities is the None for the Road campaign. None for the Road
assists tribes in developing community-based programs involving a range
of agencies, including public health, law enforcement, and judicial agencies.
It seeks to ensure that these programs are based upon accurate data about
the types and causes of motor vehicle-related injuries in the community.
None for the Road promotes a comprehensive strategy, which includes
public education, enforcement and sanctions, rehabilitation, and roadway
hazard identification and removal. This effort has facilitated programs
in over 50 communities, purchasing equipment such as breath analyzers and
police car-mounted video cameras; training tribal police officers; improving
lighting and signage along roadways; conducting public awareness and server-training
workshops; and working with schools and community agencies to reduce the
use of alcohol and other drugs among young people.
Occupant safety is another major focus of IHS activites to reduce motor-vehicle
related injuries. While the IHS has a long history of efforts to promote
seat belt and child restraint use, a major step was taken in June of 1993
when the IHS entered into an interagency agreement with NHTSA to promote
occupant safety among Native Americans. Activities taking place during the
first year of this agreement include an inventory of tribal traffic safety
lawas, a number of public information campaigns, and a series of occupant
protection workshops focusing on the issue of community involvement. For
more information, contact Ann Mitchell at (202) 366-6900.
The Indian Highway Safety Programs (IHSP) division of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) provides the 543 federally recognized Indian tribes with about
$500,000 of NHTSA-administered Section 402 monies annually. The priority
for use of these funds is programs seeking to reduce the number of people
who drive while intoxicated. Tribes have ued their grants to train tribal
police on the use of sobriety checkpoints (and pay overtime for officers
to staff these checkpoints) and for various DWI education programs. Applications
for these grants are available from the IHSP every February. IHSP also works
with the Indian Health Service and state agencies to facilitate traffic
safety programs. See this issue's Federal Field Guide
for information on how to contact the IHS and BIA.
NHTSA is also directly funding some traffic safety programs for Native Americans.
NHTSA awarded a grant to the Navajo Nation that focuses on impaired driving.
The grant will allow the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission to conduct a problem
identification study, develop culturally specific strategies and approaches,
and develop culturally appropriate public information and educational materials.
About 15 percent of the Navajo population has been relocated or otherwise
displaced as a result of adjustments to reservations in the Southwest. Anecdotal
evidence indicates that communities affected by relocation are experiencing
an epidemic of alcohol- and other drug-related problems including impaired
driving and pedestrian behavior. Research has shown that the stress of relocation
or displacement can cause increases in such problems.
Two areas that were heavily affected by relocation, but that also contain
populations that were not displaced, have been chosen as pilot areas for
the grant. A survey will help define and quantify the problem, provide a
comparison with a control group who are unaffected by relocation, and provide
information on what prevention strategies may be effective in resolving
this problem. For further information about this project, contact Ms. Akua
Opokuwaa of NHTSA's Office of Alcohol and State Programs at (202) 366-2702.
|
Building Bridges Home Page |
http://www.edc.org/HHD/csn/buildbridges/bb1.2/native.html
Revised: October 24, 1996
