Members of two primarily Latino com munities poignantly ex pressed these and many other thoughts at community forums held in spring 2004 in the small agricultural community of Huron, California, in Fresno County, and in urban East Los Angeles. The forums were convened as part of the state-wide Latino Traffic Safety Project (LTSP) of the Traffic Safety Center at the University of California, Berkeley and the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California. The goal of the forums was to solicit views from Latino community members in order to better understand their perspective on traffic safety, and to learn more about the social, cultural and socioeconomic environment in which they live. By improving our understanding of their perspective and the context that shapes it, we hope to be better able to develop traffic safety interventions that will reduce traffic injuries and fatalities, and raise awareness of traffic safety in California’s Latino communities. The Latino Traffic Safety Project included statistical data analysis, consultation with expert stakeholders in Latino health and traffic safety throughout California, as well as literature reviews about risk and best practices. The changing demographics of California paint a picture that demands attention and motivates this project. According to long-range projections by the California Department of Finance (DOF) the population of California will grow by 20 million people over the next 50 years. In 2000, California became the first state in which non-white ethnic and racial groups constitute the majority population. Although white, non-Hispanics remain the largest single racial group, the Hispanic population is expected to grow rapidly; the DOF forecasts that Latinos will become the state’s majority population by 2040. The implications of such population trends are being explored in housing, employment, education and other arenas. However, the impact that this de monographic shift will have on the health and safety of Latinos in California is yet to be fully appreciated. By looking at the demo graphic characteristics of today’s Latino popu lation we can predict some of the challenges the state will face in reducing traffic injury risk in this population. Forum participants were asked about how they perceived traffic risk, and to articulate such risk in a number of areas: * Alcohol and Traffic Safety: Drinking and driving has been shown to be more prevalent among Latinos than among other groups. Young male Latino drivers, in particular, are at a disproportionately higher risk than other groups of being killed in alcohol-related collisions, or arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). * Seat Belt Use: Although findings on seat belt use among Latinos have been inconsistent, Latinos are more likely than non-Latinos to have been unrestrained in fatal collisions. * Child Passenger Safety: Studies have found that Latino children involved in collisions are less likely to be restrained than white, non-Hispanic children. * Pedestrian Injury: Latino children are at high risk for pedestrian fatalities. Lack of access to medical care compounds the severity of injuries. * Licensing: Drivers who have never been licensed are more likely to be involved in a fatal collision. Latino drivers in fatal crashes have been shown to be more likely than other groups to be unlicensed. * Agricultural Communities: Drivers on rural roads are at a higher risk for fatal crashes than those driving in urban areas. Rural Latinos have been shown to have a disproportionate risk of being killed in a motor vehicle crash. In light of the risk Latinos face in these areas, a focused set of interventions should be implemented. The following recommendations, identified through forums, the project’s Stakeholders and Advisory Committees, and the literature, fall in the general areas of education and outreach, enforcement, transportation engineering and planning, policy and community organization. While some interventions are specific to particular issues, others cut across several of the areas. It is important to note that none of these approaches works by itself. They should be seen as components of a comprehensive spectrum of activities. * Education and Outreach: Develop sustained education and outreach approaches that are culturally sensitive, and family and community-oriented. Campaigns should not rely primarily on the printed word and should respect traditional Latin American gender roles without resorting to stereotypes. * Enforcement: Develop enforcement approaches that are sustained and effective without creating racial profiling.1 Build on existing models that combine enforcement and outreach to increase compliance. * Transportation Engineering and Planning: Ensure equitable distribution of resources for transportation engineering and planning for Latino communities. Traffic calming and creating open space and public parks make communities more pleasant and safer for walking, biking, driving and playing. * Policy: Review traffic safety-related policies with respect to Latino communities to ensure such policies account and provide for safety in these communities. Policy provides the muscle for health and safety efforts and should be explored on local, state and national levels. * Community Organization: Encourage existing coalitions and other groups in Latino areas and populations to develop partnerships with public health and transportation practitioners, law enforcement, local business groups and agencies, to advocate for increased traffic safety measures in their communities. This report summarizes the information gained from the two community forums. It provides an analysis of trends in injury and demographic data and reviews best practices for increasing safety and preventing injury in Latino populations. It highlights pressing traffic safety needs and presents recommendations. It is our goal that this report will serve as a prototype for policy, enforcement and program development to address traffic safety issues for Latinos in California. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting