News

HPB Receives Grant from Governor’s Office of Highway Safety

Email this article
Printer friendly page

October 10, 2008

Athens, Ga. — Researchers from the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health’s Department of Health Promotion and Behavior received a $297,400 grant from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) to evaluate the effectiveness of educational and law enforcement focused programs.

For the sixth straight year, the evaluation team, Traffic Safety Research and Evaluation Group (TSREG), led by co-principal investigators Carol Cotton and Stuart Fors, will systematically review and analyze grantee effectiveness and, ultimately, determine the overall effectiveness of GOHS in managing hundreds of grantees. To date, TSREG received $1.5 million in grant money from GOHS for this ongoing project.

"The grant will allow us to participate in the evaluation of important programs statewide, thereby allowing us to reach our goal of reducing deaths, injuries and crashes in Georgia this year,” Cotton said.

The vital governmental agency, GOHS, is charged with educating the public on traffic safety issues and facilitating the implementation of programs that reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities on Georgia roadways. Projects include Operation Zero Tolerance, Click It or Ticket and 100 Days of Summer HEAT.

“We will participate with many extraordinary and passionate people across the state who have been involved in traffic safety for many years and we are proud to be a part of that,” Cotton said. “It is a privilege for us to receive a GOHS grant.”

Cotton and Fors have much experience in implementing and conducting educational program evaluations. They have received 11 previous highway and traffic safety cooperative agreements and grants.

“We have been working with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for nine years on various projects, and this affirms the value of that work,” Fors said.

Fors has an extensive list of publications and is known nationally for his study of the effectiveness of victim impact panels on reducing DUI recidivism. Although he retired in 2003 after 24 years on faculty, Fors continues to lend his expertise on ongoing projects as Principal Investigator.

Cotton is known throughout the state for her work in the area of administrative license suspensions, throughout the Southeast for her work as a data contractor with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and across the nation for her co-authorship of the “Safe Communities Data Toolkit.”

“Their (GOHS) work is extraordinary and any part we can play in saving lives in the state of Georgia is rewarding,” Cotton said.

Other team members include James Barlament, program analyst, Karen Christenberry, administrative assistant, Maggie Benson, research assistant, and Pearman Parker, research assistant.

For more information, please visit our Web site at: http://www.publichealth.uga.edu/hpb/research/tsreg.html or contact Carol Cotton at cpcotton@uga.edu at 706/542-2804.

Contact Information

Traffic Safety Research and Evaluation Group (TSREG) 325 Ramsey Center University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602-6522 Phone: (706)542-2804 Fax: (706)583-0753 Email: cpcotton@uga.edu