Communities do not exist in isolation. The types of traffic safety risks found in communities are shaped by the larger environments of their regions, states, and the nation as a whole, as well as the legislative and cultural context in which programs address these risks. Safe Communities coalitions have found that participating in statewide efforts can help create an environment and attract resources that makes their work in their home communities more effective. Safe Communities of Central Wyoming and the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes Safe Communities Program participate in Wyoming's Statewide Impaired Driving Coalition, an involvement that representatives from these programs believe will contribute to safety statewide as well as in the communities in which they work.

Lorrie Pozarik, coordinator of the statewide effort, reports, "The purpose of the coalition is very simple: to identify strategies, both community-based and statewide, to prevent or reduce impaired driving in Wyoming. The coalition is made up almost entirely of 'experts,' but each has a very different idea of what the problem is and what should be done. The project is based on an old concept: Bring together the best minds and the best decision makers in the state, representing multiple points of view, and hash it out."

In addition to the two Safe Communities programs, the coalition includes substance abuse treatment providers, several large businesses, law enforcement agencies, the Trial Lawyers Association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Wyoming Department of Transportation, emergency medical services, and many other agencies and organizations. The coalition resembles a Safe Communities program in both its structure and its workings. Participants are involved in a three-step process to reduce impaired driving in Wyoming by (1) examining state data to define the problem and assess the resources available to address impaired driving, (2) identifying appropriate strategies, and (3) implementing those strategies across the state.

As Diane Guerttman of Safe Communities of Central Wyoming points out, "Wyoming is a very large state. We are accustomed to traveling long distances for a ball game or to visit a friend. We have to address the issue consistently, statewide and locally."

She also reports that working on a statewide level has benefits for her program: "When the governor becomes involved, we gain access to the media. We also gain credibility when our message is reinforced by a multitude of knowledgeable, experienced, and respected individuals. It enhances our efforts at the local level."

For more information on the Statewide Impaired Driving Coalition, contact Lorrie Pozarik at (307) 332-2821 or lpozarik@wyoming.com. For more information on Safe Communities of Central Wyoming, contact Diane Guerttman at (307) 577-2535 or dguerttman@wmcnet.org; For more information on the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes Safe Communities Program, contact Raphaella Stump at (406) 768-3892.

Safe Communities programs often concentrate on traffic safety, a choice justified by the annual toll of 41,000 deaths and more than 3.2 million injuries associated with motor vehicles. However, expanding a program's focus to include other types of injuries may be more useful for some communities, and might attract new partners and funding as well.

The Marion County Safe Communities Project, located at Indiana University's School of Medicine in Indianapolis, is exploring the county's injury problem as a whole, beyond the injuries caused by motor vehicles. The project originally planned to use data from trauma centers, death certificates, and the state crash data system. However, the local trauma centers could not share this data because of confidentiality concerns and a lack of staff to gather and process the material. So Marion County Safe Communities turned to one of the county's largest urgent care providers, which provided a database of 30,000 records of injuries treated at its four clinics. This data will be used to investigate nonfatal injuries not associated with motor vehicles.

Thus far, Marion County's data analysis has revealed that, although motor vehicles were associated with the largest number of injury deaths in the county, fire, falls, and suffocation also accounted for large numbers of fatal injuries. Falls accounted for the largest proportion of nonfatal injuries treated at the four clinics.

The Marion County Safe Communities Project will target its initial efforts to preventing motor vehicle injuries, as these still pose the greatest risk to county residents. However, over the long run, it hopes to be able to use its data analysis to recruit partners and new sources of funding and engage in efforts to protect county residents from an ever-wider range of injuries.

For more information, contact Kathy Lisby at (317) 278-7620 or klisby@ iupui.edu.