The DeKalb County Board of Health has received a $72,400 Safe Communities grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.  It will allow Safe Communities DeKalb to make roads safer for children, teens and pedestrians of all ages.

For example, the program will install and check child safety seats, hold child passenger safety classes and provide low cost or free safety and booster seats to eligible families.  The funds will also help to promote walking to school, including checking the walkability of school areas.

Safe Communities DeKalb plans to offer the Parents Reducing Injuries and Driver Error program to teen drivers and their parents.  It will also partner with Students Against Destructive Decisions groups to educate teens on the responsibilities of driving.  In addition, the program will engage stakeholders along Buford Highway in promoting pedestrian safety education and traffic calming measures.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that motor vehicle crashes are the top cause of death in the U.S. for four-year-olds and 11- through 27-year-olds.  In 2011, an average of 89 people died each day in motor vehicle crashes.  This was one death every 16 minutes.  In DeKalb County, between 2006 and 2010, motor vehicle crashes were responsible for 30,214 emergency room visits, 2,317 hospitalizations and 369 deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

For more information about Safe Communities DeKalb, call 404-508-7847.