CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 11/07/13

UGA Traffic Injury Prevention Institute awarded grant for statewide education

By Andrew L Turnage

The University of Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute has been awarded a $640,000 grant from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to continue its statewide education programs in the areas of child passenger safety, parent and teen driving safety and senior driver education.

The Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute, or GTIPI, has partnered with GOHS for the past 27 years in designing and delivering education that improves driver and passenger safety across the lifespan. The institute continues to be a leading resource in traffic safety training and education in Georgia.

The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety-UGA partnership dates back to 1986. At that time, federal grant funding was awarded to states with highway safety offices for partnering with institutions of higher education to address traffic injuries with an education and enforcement approach to reducing fatalities. In Georgia, UGA Extension was awarded funding support to conduct educational classes for parents and caregivers on the consistent and correct use of child safety seats in all of Georgia’s 159 counties.

Originally named the Occupant Safety Education Program, the project was renamed GTIPI in 2002. The institute continues today as an outreach initiative of UGA Extension as a part of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Through this year’s grant award, the institute will offer four different training and community education initiatives: the National Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification Program, Georgia Teens Ride with P.R.I.D.E. (Parents Reducing Injuries and Driver Error), CarFit for senior drivers and the Online Safety Store.

Each program area delivers adult education for consumers, safety professionals and community volunteers designed to address the most common causes of traffic injuries and fatalities for target age groups. GTIPI also serves as a statewide resource for answering consumer questions about safer travel.

Law enforcement, emergency medical services, health departments, Extension educators, fire departments and others across the state participate in GTIPI’s training and distribute educational materials. Onsite training is conducted across the state at regional locations, as well as at GTIPI’s headquarters training facility in Conyers.

Parents and young children benefit from safety professionals and volunteers who achieve national certification in the child passenger safety technician course.

“Even though child safety seats are used more than 90 percent of the time by Georgia parents, child passenger safety technicians consistently find that almost all of those in use are installed incorrectly,” said Don Bower, UGA professor emeritus and GTIPI project director. “The National CPST Certification Course offered by GTIPI qualifies public safety professionals, fire, medical and community volunteers to teach parents how to eliminate those installation and use mistakes.”

PRIDE trains instructors how to deliver safe driving tools to the community. For the last 10 years, GTIPI’s course for parents and their new teen drivers, “Georgia Teens Ride with P.R.I.D.E.,” has aimed to reduce teen injuries and fatalities through education.

A train-the-trainer certification course equips PRIDE instructors to help parents guide their teens through the license process and helps teens learn how to avoid crashes. PRIDE instructors equip both the parent and teen with accurate information about how to obtain and keep a Georgia driver license.

“Georgia Teens Ride with P.R.I.D.E.” was showcased by the national Governor’s Highway Safety Association earlier in 2013 for its strong educational impacts on state graduated driver licensing laws and parental involvement.

“Car crashes remain the leading cause of death for teens, and more than two-thirds of teens who die in crashes in Georgia weren’t buckled up,” Bower said.

Featured in AAA Magazine, the national CarFit program, designed for drivers aged 55 and up, helps seniors stay behind the wheel longer and more safely. “CarFit is a non-threatening way to educate seniors about how to stay safe and comfortable in their cars as their physical abilities change with age,” Bower said.

The Online Safety Store is a partnership between GOHS and GTIPI. Now in its seventh year of collaboration, the store is Georgia’s primary source statewide for print and electronic traffic safety resources for public safety, public health, traffic safety professionals and consumers. GTIPI manages distribution of GOHS materials from www.gahighwaysafety.org..

For more information on the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute, traffic safety training and programs or other traffic-related resources, see www.ridesafegeorgia.org .

For more information on the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute, traffic safety training and programs or other traffic-related resources, see www.ridesafegeorgia.org or call 678-413-4281 or 800-342-9819.

Andrew Turnage is the public information manager of the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute of the University of Georgia.

Authors:
Andrew L Turnage
Experts/Sources:
Don W. Bower
The Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute (GTIPI) will offer four training and community education initiatives through this year's grant award.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
Former Georgia 4-H State Leader Bo Ryles, Grady County 4-H volunteer extraordinaire Yvonne Childs and current Georgia 4-H State Leader Arch Smith at an awards ceremony at National 4-H Council in Chevy Chase, Maryland. CAES News
Georgia 4-H volunteer recognized with top national service award 10/07/16 Merritt Melancon, Josh Paine
Yvonne Childs, a 4-H Youth Development volunteer for University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s Grady County office, was recognized as the Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer during the National 4-H Council Heritage Luncheon on Friday, Oct. 7. Part of the National 4-H Salute to Excellence Awards, it is the most prestigious award given each year to a person with 10 or more years as a 4-H volunteer.
A group of students enjoys canoeing on the lake at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Ga. CAES News
Georgia 4-H celebrates National 4-H Week Oct. 2-8 09/29/16 Sharon Dowdy
Georgia 4-H’s 172,354 student members will celebrate National 4-H Week Oct. 2-8. During the week, the state’s largest youth development organization wants to raise awareness of the program that started as a club for farm kids and has grown into a place that helps youth become successful and confident adults.
University of Georgia Griffin Campus student Joshua Hamilton (center) is shown leading a group of high school students through a science experiment on the college campus. The high school students' visit to campus helped Hamilton fulfill a new UGA service-learning requirement. UGA students must complete an activity, outside of the classroom, that helps someone in their community. CAES News
UGA Griffin students lead science experiment for Griffin High School students 09/28/16 Sharon Dowdy
A group of Griffin High School biology students visited the University of Georgia Griffin Campus last week to conduct a science experiment under the direction of college students. The UGA students learned to give back to the community and the high school students were exposed to college life and scientific laboratory equipment.
Georgia 4-H members have been collecting aluminum pop tabs to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities for the past 15 years. CAES News
Georgia 4-H members need pop tabs to reach 15-year goal for Ronald McDonald House Charities 09/06/16 Sharon Dowdy
Georgia 4-H members have collected aluminum pop tabs to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Georgia for the past 15 years. The students need to collect 16,500 pounds of the tiny tabs by Nov. 5 to reach their goal, a total 15-year donation of $100,000.
Family members of all ages can join in the fun and play "Pokemon Go." The game was designed to encourage activity, but University of Georgia Cooperative Extension experts say be mindful of your surroundings and don't focus just on the game. CAES News
“Pokemon Go” brings families together and provides exercise 08/31/16 Keishon Thomas
A new technological craze has invaded our towns and cities. “Pokemon Go” has people wandering around aimlessly, looking at their phones. Because “catching” those little characters can be distracting, players sometimes put themselves into dangerous situations as a result of being unaware of their surroundings. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension urges “Pokemon Go” players to be alert at all times.
Abnormally dry conditions this summer have kept Georgia's mosquito populations mercifully low, but that's no reason for Georgians to let down their guard, especially this season. CAES News
Summer is waning but mosquito season is full swing; Georgians need to stay vigilant 08/10/16 Merritt Melancon
While school is back in session, Georgians won’t be giving up on summer fun just yet. In fact, many of us may be spending even more time outside as it starts to cool off this September and October.