Devising and Deploying SafeRoadMaps: Communicating Public Health Issues Related to Rural and Urban Road Transportation Safety Through GIS-Based Mashups
Brian N. Hilton, Thomas Anthony Horan, Benjamin L Schooley · Transportation Research Board 88th Annual MeetingTransportation Research Board · 2009
Communicating public health issues related to rural and urban road transportation safety is a challenging task. This paper reports on the development and deployment of SafeRoadMaps (www.saferoadmaps.org), an innovative GIS-mashup that visually communicates traffic fatalities from the national to the local level. These mashups integrate a range of spatial data regarding motor vehicle crashes, transportation policy legislation, and driver behavioral data and present a visual representation of traffic safety across the United States. For example, an end-user may enter an address and view the roads that have the highest number of traffic fatalities or view dynamically generated maps that show how public policy has been implemented to improve transportation safety by state. It was anticipated that these mashups, and related website, would help raise awareness and change fundamental perceptions regarding the magnitude, risk factors, and impacts of motor vehicle crashes and bring both increased safety and awareness to transportation policy makers and private citizens. The preliminary launch, which generated over 3 million hits in the first three days, as well as media coverage from around the world suggests that indeed there is a strong traveler interest in this type of information.