Western Baptist Hospital's Safe Communities Program is working to prevent traffic injuries and fatalities in McCracken and surrounding counties.

The purpose of the program is to save lives by educating area students, workers and other members of the community about important issues such as:

• seat belt safety;
• child passenger safety; and
• how alcohol impairs the ability to drive.

Before Western Baptist introduced the Safe Communities Program in 1997, McCracken County ranked first in Kentucky for motor vehicle fatalities and had the third lowest seat belt usage rate in the state. Today, the county has moved down to second in fatalities and is fifth lowest in seat belt utilization.

Seat Belt Safety

Seat belts save some 9,500 Americans each year. Experts believe that if Americans increased their current seat belt usage from 68 to 90 percent, an additional 5,536 fatalities and 132,670 injuries could be prevented.

In conjunction with the Paducah Police and Fire Departments and the Kentucky State Police, the Safe Communities Program offers traffic safety education at all twelve McCracken County elementary, middle and high schools twice a year. Several private schools also participate.

Educational programs are offered to area businesses as well. Businesses have a strong economic incentive for increasing seat belt compliance among their employees. On-the-job crashes cost employers $22,000 per crash and $110,000 per injury due to lost productivity and higher insurance and medical costs. Employees who wear seat belts are 70 percent less likely to be fatally or seriously injured.

Safe Communities also encourages seat belt compliance in the community as a whole through roadblocks set up by the Paducah Police Department, McCracken County Sheriff's Departement and Kentucky State Police.

Child Passenger Safety

Traffic-related injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults ages one to twenty-seven. Although most parents use car safety seats for young children, statistics show that 97 percent are installed incorrectly.

Through the Safe Communities Program and the Paducah Police Department, Kentucky's first car seat fitting station was set up to inspect seats for proper installation. The fitting station was recognized by the National Lifesavers in March 2000 for its important role in saving young lives.

Since that time, the fitting station provider has changed to the Paducah Fire Department. Each city fire station is a permanent Kentucky fitting station recognized on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. Currently, there are 20 firefighters who have completed the certification to be a child passenger safety technician. Any station is open to the public for car seat inspections for correct installatoin from 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m., seven days a week by appointment. More than 4,000 car seats have been checked by these fitting stations thus far, with only two meeting proper installation requirements.

If you would like your child safety seat inspected for correct installation, please call the fire department central office at (270) 444-8521, Monday through Friday, for an appointment. This is a free service.

Teaching Teens the Consequences of Drunk Driving

Alcohol-related traffic accidents claim the lives of about eight young Americans, ages 15-20, every day. Western Baptist's Safe Communities Program is working to improve those statistics by teaching area high school students how alcohol can impair their ability to drive. Near prom and graduation, students participating in the program wear special goggles that simulate a blood alcohol level of 0.125 and are asked to perform simple sobriety tests. Mock DUI trials and crashes are also used to demonstrate the consequences of driving drunk.

For More Information

For more information on Western Baptist Hospital's Safe Communities program, please call our program director at (270) 898-7845. To schedule an appointment at the car seat fitting station, call the Paducah Police Department between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at (270) 444-8521.

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