Friday broadcast, panel discussion examine traffic safety as major challenge to public's health

March 21, 2004

CHAPEL HILL — The World Health Organization has estimated that 1 million people worldwide die annually as a result of traffic crashes, making road safety a key public health issue.”On the Road Again: Promoting Safe Travel and the Public’s Health” will be the topic of a special broadcast 2 p.m. March 26, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Part of the broadcast-webcast Public Health Grand Rounds series, the live, hour long program is available for viewing by clicking on www.PublicHealthGrandRounds.unc.edu. Each program in the series focuses on a case study; the March 26 program’s case study is the San Francisco public health department and its partners who have worked to protect residents’ health and increase road safety.

An expanded discussion of the issue with road safety experts will immediately follow the broadcast at Rosenau Auditorium, 133 Rosenau Hall on the UNC campus. The public forum is sponsored by the N.C. Institute for Public Health.

Most of the global death toll from motor vehicle crashes occurs in developing countries that are not advanced in the design of automobiles or roads and lack enforceable laws requiring seat belt use and safe speeds. Road safety will be the theme of the 2004 World Health Day on April 7.

Even with laws and attention to car design, the United States is not immune from the problem.

“The U.S. road safety problem – as exhibited by 43,000 deaths, 2.9 million injuries and nearly $231 billion in costs annually – is not only a transportation problem but is also clearly a public health issue deserving the combined attention of these two communities working collaboratively to solve it,” said Dr. Doug Robertson, director of the UNC Highway Safety Research Center. Robertson also is a professor of health behavior and health education in the School of Public Health.

The San Francisco case expertly shows what works in increasing road safety, said Dr. Hugh Tilson, clinical professor of epidemiology and health policy in the School of Public Health.

“The streets and sidewalks of San Francisco provide safety as never before – and just in time to help public health efforts to encourage us to walk and bike.”

In addition to Robertson and Tilson, panelists will include:

Dr. Christine M. Branche, director of the CDC’s Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention within its National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Dr. T. Bella Dinh-Zarr, director of traffic safety policy in the national office of the American Automobile Association.

Dr. Bill Roper, dean of UNC’s School of Medicine, former dean of UNC’s School of Public Health and a past CDC director.

Viewers may pose questions to the panelists online, by phone and fax. In addition, content experts from the CDC will facilitate an online discussion beginning after the broadcast on March 26 and ending April 2.

Robertson and the following panelists will participate in the 3 p.m. forum at UNC:

Dr. Asad Khattak, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ department of city and regional planning.

Richard Killingsworth, director of Active Living by Design and an associate research professor of health behavior and health education, both in the School of Public Health.

Dr. Carol Runyan, director of UNC’s Injury Prevention Research Center and a professor in health behavior and health education.

Arvilla Stiffler, director of UNC’s Health Trauma Program and affiliated clinical instructor in the School of Medicine’s department of surgery.

Past topics have included breast cancer, genetics, obesity, disaster response, emergency preparedness, SARS and West Nile Virus. Log on to www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu for information on registration, continuing professional education credit, past programs and educational materials.

N.C. Institute for Public Health contacts: Bev Holt, (919) 966-6274 or bev_holt@unc.edu and Lisa Morris, (919) 843-9261 or lamorris@email.unc.edu

School of Public Health contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 966-7467 or lisa_katz@unc.edu