  |
 |
 Graduated licensing system for new drivers has begun. Firearm Injury and traumatic brain injury are now officially notifiable health conditions. Enforcement of the state seat belt law contributes to the 88% use rate. Sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols for DWI. The New Mexico Poison Center Hotline (800-432-6866) provides information 24 hours per day. New Mexico’s 10 local Safe Kids Coalitions and chapters use community education to prevent childhood injuries. Permanent locations for fitting child car safety seats are being established.
Promote universal availability and correct use of child safety seats. Educate the public to prevent injuries from falls in the home. Promote mandatory bicycle and motorcycle helmet laws. Expand occupant restraint/seatbelt laws Fill in gaps in coverage of child safety seat/seatbelt laws. Public education and policy to prevent firearm-related injury and death. Training to increase home safety, e.g., for daycare monitors and child care providers. Enhance injury data systems.
|
 Injury prevention comes from community action. Unintentional or “accidental” injury makes up about two-thirds of all injury deaths in New Mexico. The leading causes are motor vehicle crashes, poisoning, and falls, accounting for 81%. The rest are caused by a mix of other kinds of accidents.(1) (Figure 1) For each unintentional injury death, an estimated 670 non-fatal injuries require medical care.(2) To better understand the causes, develop prevention methods and measure the costs of these injuries, we need improved reporting of non-fatal trauma, including the causes of each case of injury.
Head and spinal cord injuries are the most disabling. At least 1,870 new cases of serious or fatal traumatic brain injury (TBI) occur yearly in New Mexico. These cost the state at least $290 million annually.(3) In most cases these are caused by motor vehicle crashes and falls (See Disability). Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths. New Mexico has reduced these deaths since the early 1980’s, mainly through the decline in alcohol-involved crashes (Figure 2). This has resulted from increased law enforcement and public awareness campaigns. The use of seatbelts and child safety seats in vehicles has also improved. Eighty-eight percent of persons in the front seats of automobiles are using safety belts. Crash information shows why we cannot stop promoting this: in 1999, 66% of persons killed in crashes were not using a safety belt or safety seat.(4) Alcohol is a factor in about 45% of accidental injury deaths (the victim and/or or others who caused the injury had been drinking).(5) Although the problem of the drunken driver gets the most attention, alcohol and/or drugs are linked with many non-traffic related injuries as well (See also Alcohol and other Drug Abuse). New Mexico has many ongoing efforts to reduce injury and improve safety. These include laws requiring the use of car safety seats and seatbelts by drivers and passengers. The laws, however, do not cover children age 11-18 years, or rear-seat passengers, or require safety seat use for children between 1 and 11 years.
The design of child safety seats and differences between them can make correct installation difficult. One seat may not fit in all the vehicles a family uses. Safer New Mexico Now and the New Mexico SAFE KIDS Coalition promote correct car seat installation. Many car dealerships and retail businesses that sell child safety seats have sponsored car seat clinics. Families can learn how to install their child safety seats at these events. This private sector participation marks a trend: making the prevention of injuries everybody’s business in New Mexico. Many other serious injuries will be reduced by ongoing promotion of helmet use by youth organizations such as SAFE KIDS and 4-H, and by the decline in cost of helmets for bicyclists, skateboarders, and horse riders. Poisoning deaths (primarily drug overdoses) are more than eight times as frequent as they were ten years ago: from 1.4/100,000 population in 1988 (21 deaths) to 11.1/100,000 in 1997 (195 deaths).(4) Falls, especially in older adults, are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries, and the third leading cause of fatal ones. Most falls in older adults occur at home. Hip fractures are especially serious. For many older persons, a hip fracture is so disabling that they never return to independent living in the community. This impacts their families as well, especially adult children who often must provide or oversee ongoing care. Risk factors for falling include dementia, poor eyesight, hearing loss, unstable walking, medications, alcohol use, slow reflexes, slippery and uneven surfaces, poor lighting, wobbly furniture, and tripping hazards.(6) To make progress in preventing unintentional injuries, we need
Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
New Mexico Department of Health, Public Health Division:
New Mexico Highway and Transportation Department, Traffic Safety Bureau (education and enforcement) Safer New Mexico Now and SAFE KIDS Clearinghouse (education and enforcement programs, resource clearinghouse) University of New Mexico:
Department of Regulation and Licensing, Construction Industries Division
|
)
)
