DLN Consulting, Inc. Coordinates North Dakota Occupant Protection
On November 8th - 9th, 2006, DLN Consulting, Inc. coordinated the Occupant Protection Rally, which was co-sponsored by the North Dakota Department of Transportation's, Office of Traffic Safety, and the North Dakota Department of Health. DLN Consulting, Inc. worked closely with Carol Thurn, Program Manager in the Office of Traffic Safety, and Dawn Mayer, Child Passenger Safety Director. The theme was "Buckle for Life" which brought together a wide variety of people to enhance the importance of safety belts.
The packed agenda included the following:
1.Reach, Teach, and Enforce: Charles Satterfield, Governor's Highway Safety Program, Vermont
2.North Dakota Updates:
- Child Passenger Safety in North Dakota: Dawn Mayer, Child Passenger Safety Program Director, North Dakota Department of Health
- How North Dakota Kids Ride: Carol Meidinger, Child Passenger Safety Certified Instructor
- North Dakota Safe Kids and Child Passenger Safety: Tanya Wisnewski, Program Coordinator of Safe Kids North Dakota
- Click It or Ticket-Law Enforcement: Major Mark Nelson, North Dakota Highway Patrol
- Statewide Safety Belt Survey: Deb Nelson, President of DLN Consulting, Inc
- Safety Belt Demonstration Grant: Carol Thurn, Program Manager, Office of Traffic Safety, North Dakota Department of Transportation
3.Tween Safety: Stacey Haugen, Nursing Division Instructor and business owner.
4.Cops and Docs: Gary Coe, Law Enforcement Liaison, NHTSA Rocky Mountain Region, Denver, Colorado; Becky Byzewski, Coordinator of the Southwest Coalition of Safe Communities; Dr. Joel Blanchard, MedCenter One, Bismarck, North Dakota; Lieutenant Dave Wallace, Dickinson, ND Police Department.
5.Standard Safety Belt Law, Minnesota Campaign: Carol Bufton, CAE, President, Minnesota Safety Council
6.Standard Safety Belt Law, North Dakota Campaign: Carol Meidinger, Child Passenger Safety Certified Instructor
7.Choosing to Live: Richard Malone, Senior Deputy Medical Investigator, Gallup, New Mexico
Several displays were set up to highlight new projects and best practices for safety belt use and child passenger safety across North Dakota. Safe Communities coordinators facilitated regional luncheon meetings. These meetings were brainstorming sessions to discuss programs and projects to strengthen the safety belt usage in their area. All coordinators reported the ideas for each region to all the rally participants.
The 82 registrants included representatives from nursing, law enforcement, community coalitions, and state agencies. The participants left the conference with valuable information and new networking opportunities.
