research >>Latino traffic safety
Latino Traffic Safety Project
The Latino Traffic Safety Project is a partnership formed in 2003 between the Tomás Rivera Institute, a leading Latino policy organization, and the Traffic Safety Center in response to the finding that Latinos experience disproportionate risks of dying or being injured in traffic accidents compared to non-Latino whites. The fact that Latinos will be the majority population in California by 2040 is further impetus to finding solutions.
Funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety, the project, which is ongoing, has identified injury trends and conducted forums and focus groups with representatives of rural and urban Latino constituencies in the Central Valley and Southern California. Researchers have used their responses to uncover key issues and challenges and devise and test potential preventive measures for use throughout the state.
completed
The research team completed the first phase of the project, which had numerous findings pertinent to Latino traffic safety, among them: that risks are indeed much higher for the Latino population as a whole, and that some demographic sub-groups had unique risks. Focus groups held in a rural and urban forum highlighted concerns about licensing laws, insurance, environmental factors and especially dangers inherent in the current system of transporting agricultural workers. The findings were published in a final report (below).
TSC Resources
"Traffic Safety Among Latino Populations in California: Current Status and Policy Recommendations." Jill F. Cooper, Tammy R. Wilder, Elena Lankina, Judy A. Geyer, David R. Ragland. Traffic Safety Center Research Report. 2005.
"Latino Traffic Safety Project: A multi-year effort aimed at California's fastest growing ethnic group studies traffic safety in rural and urban settings." TSC Newsletter. Winter 2005-06.
"Socio-demographic Factors and Traffic Safety—Focus on Latino Populations in California." PowerPoint™(~700K) or PDF (+1 MB). David R. Ragland, Presentation to the ITE Bay Area Chapter Meeting, Safety and Environmental Justice, January 20, 2005.
"Traffic Safety and Latino Youth: Patterns, Factors, and Solutions–General Statistics, Patterns and Trends." PowerPoint™(~200K) or PDF (~300 K). David R. Ragland, California Childhood Injury Prevention Conference, 2004
in progress
Traffic Safety Center researchers are using the feedback from the earlier phase to help guide the design of several interventions, which they plan to implement in 2007 and subsequently measure their effectiveness.