Safe Communities' Programs

What is a safe community?

A safe community is a community that promotes injury prevention activities at the local level to solve local highway and traffic safety and other injury problems. It uses a "bottom up" approach involving its citizens in addressing key injury problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Safe Communities web site offers additional information on Safe Communities programs nationwide.

What elements make up a safe community?

A Safe Community program uses an integrated and comprehensive injury control system with prevention, acute care, and rehabilitation partners as active and essential participants in addressing community injury problems.

The community has a coalition/task force that is comprehensive and community-based with representation from citizens, law enforcement, public health, medical injury prevention, education, business, civic and service groups, public works offices, and traffic safety advocates that provides program input, direction, and involvement in the Safe Community program.

The community conducts comprehensive problem, identification and uses estimating techniques that determine the economic costs associated with traffic related fatalities and injuries within the contact of the total injury problem.

The community conducts program assessments from a "best practices" and a prevention perspective to determine gaps in highway and traffic safety and other injury activity.

The community implements a plan with specific strategies that addresses the problems and program deficiencies through prevention countermeasure and activities.

The community evaluates the program to determine the impact and cost benefit where possible.

What is the military's role in safe communities?

In many communities in the United States and overseas where there is a large military presence, the military is a major business employer. Not only does the military bring uniformed personnel to the area, it brings an even greater contingent of family members, civilian employees, contractors and civilian guests. The military spurs major economic development and pours countless dollars into these communities, along with the added dimension of roadway congestion, crashes and visits to emergency rooms for traffic and other injuries.

How do the military's safety programs parallel ongoing efforts in the community?

Established safety programs are in place at every major Navy and Marine Corps military installation worldwide. Department of Defense and individual Service directives govern all activities associated with these programs. They cover everything from on-the-job (industrial, environmental, office, aviation, shipboard, training, field exercises/tactical operations, explosives/ordnance, fire, etc.), to traffic (at work or at home, in government and personal vehicles), and finally recreational and home safety. The collective experience and knowledge possessed by military safety professionals are within the reach of every community. Many of these programs are periodically reviewed as refresher training. Often, the same "basic" information and training may be shared with community partners throughout the country. This would be an excellent opportunity to establish partnerships and form long-standing, working relationships, e.g., Safe Communities.

What role can the military play in making our communities a safer place to live and work?

The U.S. military is a worldwide employer. The military is responsible for its members at work or at home. Since many military members live in communities close to the base where they work, they are already a vital part of the community. Other military personnel often travel long distances to visit families and friends in their home state or on vacation. Others may commute as a "geographical bachelor" (stationed in one part of the country and routinely travel home to be with family that lives in another area).

Regarding recreational or home safety, military personnel can bring their knowledge and experience to assist communities in safety rodeos, adopt-a-school programs, community policing, fairs and other community-based events. Military members are a valuable resource to use in local safety organizations and councils.

What injury prevention programs work for the military and can be shared with the surrounding community?

The Department of Defense requires all military services to establish traffic safety programs that include motorcycle safety, driver improvement, driver certification, investigations, reporting, analysis, occupant protection, alcohol and drug awareness and countermeasure programs, pedestrian safety, traffic engineering services, pupil transportation safety, traffic courts, highway design, construction and maintenance, and codes and laws. The programs are already established and in place. The military can share information on these programs with their local city, county or state community representatives.

Risk management training has also been embedded in safety cultures military-wide. This concept is used to anticipate hazards and reduce the potential for loss by making informed decisions. It teaches a systematic approach to all activities that may be considered high-risk. The basic 5-step process includes identification, assessment, decision-making, implementation of controls, and a re-evaluation of the activity, in case something changes.

What can we realistically hope to accomplish by including the military in safe communities?

The payoff of a joint military/local community safety partnership is a win-win situation for both groups. Pooled resources, in the form of people, time, and experience, are a winning combination that will ultimately help reduce the accidental injury problem in any community.

How can I learn more about the Navy and Marine Corps’ existing safe communities’ programs?

Contact the Motor Vehicle Safety Division, Naval Safety Center, Norfolk, VA at DSN 564-3520, Exts. 7138 or 7134 (COML) 757-3520, Exts. 7138 or 7134; or for Marine Corps’ programs contact the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ Safety Division, Washington, DC at DSN 224-1202/1077 (COML) 703-614-1202/1077.

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