Safe Communities:

Using GIS to Prevent Motor Vehicle-Related Injuries

(Smith et. al 2000)

The Safe Communities program in San Diego County depends on EMS staff to geocode each motor vehicle crash. Rates of injury for different parts of the county are given a numerical code and mapped using ArcView.

GIS was used to visualize pedestrian crashes, the most deadly type of collisions, in a downtown district with a high density of alcohol-serving establishments. Incident maps of pedestrian crash data (point data on ArcView) showed that most crashes were due to pedestrian violations such as jaywalking rather than alcohol-related causes. This result changed the focus of the Safe Communities program from alcohol prevention to pedestrian awareness.