COIC outlines regional traffic-safety outreach after research phase

Megan Tuck, a program coordinator with the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC), told the Bend MPO Technical Advisory Committee on Aug. 5 that COIC has completed the research phase for a regional traffic-safety communications and outreach program and will move into implementation planning this fall.

The project, branded as Central Oregon Safe Travel (previously stewarded by the Bend MPO), is funded through ODOT with federal money administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). "The overall goal is to reduce the number of fatal and serious fatal crashes occurring on our transportation systems, and by coordinating that regionally," Tuck said.

Tuck said COIC took the project in October 2024 to scale safety messaging across Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties and to fill a gap in locally tailored education and outreach. COIC convened an advisory team that includes county public works staff, Bend MPO staff, Oregon State Police and local law enforcement, public health agencies, community organizations and ODOT. The advisory team has guided project strategy and helped align the outreach with other regional safety efforts.

Rather than launch marketing immediately, COIC contracted Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) to develop a communications and outreach plan and to conduct research. BIT ran six focus groups across the three counties last week — including one in Spanish in Madras — and is doing regional crash-data analysis to complement county transportation-safety action-plan work. COIC also partnered this summer with the University of Oregon Sustainable City Year program and a student PR team to run a youth-focused mascot and logo contest aimed at drivers roughly ages 18–20.

COIC used grant funds for advertising experiments, including a bus wrap example developed with Cascade East Transit. Tuck said the current grant year ends Sept. 30; COIC submitted an application for the next grant year and expects to implement the regional communications and engagement plan once BIT finalizes its recommendations. Tuck said COIC will also pursue matching funds from Bend MPO, the City of Bend and the Central Oregon Health Council to support implementation.

Tuck noted some schedule slippage but said the plan aims to finalize in October. She invited local partners — including school districts, tribes and community organizations — to help disseminate youth-focused materials and participate in campaign roll-out.

COIC provided targeted details about the research and next steps: six focus groups (three in Madras with one Spanish-language session, two in Bend, one in Prineville), a regional crash-data synthesis to cover gaps in counties that have not yet completed Transportation Safety Action Plans, and youth engagement recommendations from the University of Oregon students. Tuck estimated the regional grant allocation at roughly $190,000 for the three-county area for the current year and confirmed the funding is federal pass-through via ODOT.

Officials at the meeting asked about a project web page and tribal coordination; Tuck said the COIC web page still showed prior materials and that COIC has engaged Warm Springs representatives and may provide technical assistance to tribes building safety action plans.

COIC plans to continue convening its advisory team during the coming grant year, finalize the BIT plan in October, pursue matching funds and begin implementation of targeted education and outreach strategies next year.