World Health Day Will Focus on Traffic Safety With AAA Clubs Leading the Way

BURNSVILLE, Minn., March 31 -- Traffic deaths and injuries constitute a major public health threat, especially to young people. To focus attention on the problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) partnered with AAA and has designated "Safe Roads" as the theme for World Health Day 2004, to be celebrated Wednesday, April 7.

The AAA federation, which has a 102-year tradition of proactive commitment to promoting traffic safety, is supporting the WHO with an intense news media campaign to focus public attention on the need to increase efforts to make the nation's roads safer.

AAA Minnesota/Iowa will participate in the nationwide effort with WHO posters displayed in all branch offices and employees wearing green ribbons to signify the importance of buckling up everyone in the vehicle whenever you drive. Club representatives will be interviewed on local TV and radio shows to discuss traffic safety issues.

"Progress has been made in recent years in reducing the number of traffic fatalities per mile traveled, but vehicle crashes are still one of the top 10 causes of death in America and the number-one killer of children and young adults," said Jeff Ogden, president of AAA Minnesota/Iowa.

Ogden noted that AAA is calling for a new approach in attacking the problem of vehicle crashes. He said stakeholders should use the same kind of scientific strategy that is used to try to eliminate infectious diseases.

"When dealing with infectious disease, the medical community utilizes a three-prong focus on the patient, the infection and the environment," said Ogden. "For traffic crash prevention, this translates into a focus on the driver, the vehicle and the roadway."

Ogden called on three groups of stakeholders to increase their commitment to achieving greater traffic safety:

  -- Drivers and those who educate them or represent them, such as parents,
     teachers, lawmakers and organizations like AAA must intensify their
     efforts to make everyone wear a safety belt when in a vehicle.
  -- Auto companies and auto equipment manufacturers should set new goals
     for achieving the highest possible safety ratings for the vehicles they
     design and build.
  -- Engineers and construction experts who design, build and maintain the
     highway infrastructure; law enforcement officials who must be ever more
     vigilant in protecting us against drunk drivers and other traffic law
     violators, and emergency workers who are first to respond to a serious
     vehicle crash and can often save lives by taking quick, effective
     action.

"I strongly believe this is one epidemic we can cure," said Ogden. "AAA Minnesota/Iowa is committed to working diligently in concert with citizens, businesses, government agencies and community organizations in our service area to improve world health through 'Safe Roads.'"

AAA Minnesota/Iowa, which includes more than 700,000 members, offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services. It is part of The Auto Club Group (ACG), the largest affiliation of AAA clubs in the Midwest, with 4.1 million members in eight states. ACG clubs belong to the national AAA federation, a not-for-profit organization, with more than 45 million members in the United States and Canada.