Helmets R Us

If you are interested in purchasing helmets for your organization or program, please check out Helmets R Us, a non-profit organization established in 1994 that has partnered with over 10,000 organizations nationwide in an effort to promote bike safety.

New Resource Alert: THRIVE

THRIVE: Tool for Health and Resilience In Vulnerable Environments. The Prevention Institute proudly announces the release of THRIVE, a web based tool designed to help communities identify and foster factors in the community environment that will improve health outcomes and reduce disparities experienced by racial and ethnic minorities. Check out THRIVE here.

Sunday Bans of Packaged Alcohol Sales

Due to pressure from the alcohol industry and the need for increased tax revenues, many states are considering repealing bans on Sunday alcohol sales. The article, Legalized Sunday Packaged Alcohol Sales and Alcohol-Related Traffic Crashes and Crash Fatalities in New Mexico, (96:1944-1948) in the November 2006 American Journal Of Public Health demonstrates how repealing the ban on Sunday alcohol sales introduced a public health and safety hazard in New Mexico.

In New Mexico, prior to the repealing of the ban, Sunday alcohol consumption was limited to on-site purchases in bars and restaurants. After the ban was lifted on June 1, 1995, alcohol-related crashes went up by 29% (an excess of 543.1crashes) and alcohol-related crash fatalities went up by 42% (an excess of 41.6 fatalities) on Sundays within the time frame of July 1, 1995 to June 30, 2000. No other day of the week showed any statistically significant change in alcohol-related crashes or fatalities. The study urges state legislators to carefully consider the consequences before deciding to repeal Sunday alcohol bans for the sake of increasing state tax revenues.

Seat Belt Usage and Primary Enforcement

The November 2006 American Journal of Public Health reports on a study entitled Safety Belt Use and the Switch to Primary Enforcement 1991-2003 (96:1949-1954) regarding the upgrade of state safety belt use laws from secondary enforcement to primary enforcement (which would allow an officer to cite drivers solely for not wearing a seat belt). On average, states that have made the switch experienced an increase in belt usage of about 10 percentage points. Every 1-percentage point translates into 136 fewer vehicle occupant fatalities. In terms of the economic costs of crash fatalities, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that an upgrade to primary enforcement in all states would save more than $700 million a year in medical and emergency costs, lost productivity, insurance, rehabilitation costs, and legal costs. The study also looked at higher fines and concluded that for every $10 rise in fines, safety would improve by as much as 1.35 percentage points.