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Vision Zero presenter cites one county fatality and urges school peer-to-peer safety program
Summary
A traffic-safety representative presented the county’s fatal and serious-injury crash data and described a Vision Zero Schools peer-to-peer program to improve seat-belt use and reduce impaired and distracted driving among students.
A Vision Zero representative briefed the board on Emmons County crash data and a school-based safety outreach program.
The presenter said the county recorded one fatal crash in the five-year window covered by the report and detailed a separate serious-injury crash summary covering 2019–2023 that listed 13 serious injuries. Of those serious-injury crashes, nine were single-vehicle rollovers and five involved ejections, indicating the victims were not wearing seat belts. The presenter noted most crashes occurred in clear weather and during daytime hours.
To address preventable crashes the presenter described a peer-to-peer program, Vision Zero Schools, that works with student councils and leadership groups to create traffic-safety messages chosen by students (for example: seat-belt use, impaired driving, speeding, distracted driving). The presenter said students record short videos with safety messages that are shared on school and social media platforms, increasing reach across adjacent school districts.
The board asked for local school contacts and the presenter identified principals and student-lead contacts in Linton and Hazelton as possible starting points. Commissioners did not take action on the presentation itself but encouraged staff to advance outreach to interested schools.
The presenter offered to follow up with staff on any schools that want to participate in the peer-to-peer program and to provide the county with the fatal-crash and serious-injury reports for local distribution.
