Preface

The purpose of this project was to support states and local communities in making evidence-based resource allocation decisions relating to the implementation of effective evidence-based interventions for preventing motor vehicle–related injury. This report documents the data and assumptions that were used to develop the interactive online tool that states can use to assess state-specific costs and effectiveness of different interventions designed to prevent motor vehicle–related injuries. It also includes a user guide that describes how to use the tool. The tool should help states understand the trade-offs and prioritize the most cost-effective interventions to reduce motor vehicle–related injuries. The tool is available to the public at www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/calculator. The audience for this report is the users of the online tool, state and local health and safety officials seeking information on the effectiveness and costs of the various interventions.

This work was sponsored by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reference to any specific commercial products, programs, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. government. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. government and shall not be used for advertising or product or program endorsement purposes.

RAND researchers have undertaken related work that extended the online tool by including two additional interventions. This additional work is sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is incorporated into this report. In addition, an accompanying report uses the data in the tool to conduct policy analyses of traffic safety spending, and four research briefs highlight those analyses:

• Liisa Ecola, Benjamin Batorsky, and Jeanne S. Ringel, Using Cost-Effectiveness Analysis to Prioritize Spending on Traffic Safety, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, RR-1224-RWJ, forthcoming (a)
• Liisa Ecola and Jeanne S. Ringel, Which Behavioral Interventions are Most Cost-Effective in Reducing Drunk Driving? Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, RB-9826-CDC, forthcoming
• Liisa Ecola, Benjamin Batorsky, and Jeanne S. Ringel, A New Tool to Help Decisionmakers Select Interventions to Reduce Traffic Crash Deaths and Injuries, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, RB-9827-CDC, forthcoming (b)
• Liisa Ecola, Benjamin Batorsky, and Jeanne S. Ringel, How to Get the Biggest Impact from an Increase in Spending on Traffic Safety, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, RB-9855, forthcoming (c)
• Liisa Ecola, Benjamin Batorsky, and Jeanne S. Ringel, Should Traffic Crash Interventions Be Selected Nationally or State by State? Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, RB-9860, forthcoming (d).

The research reported here was conducted jointly in RAND Health and in the RAND Transportation, Space, and Technology Program. Questions or comments about this report should be sent to the project leader, Jeanne Ringel (Jeanne_Ringel@rand.org).

RAND Health

RAND Health is a division of the RAND Corporation. A profile of RAND Health, abstracts of its publications, and ordering information can be found at www.rand.org/health.

The RAND Transportation, Space, and Technology Program

The RAND Transportation, Space, and Technology Program addresses topics relating to transportation systems, space exploration, information and telecommunication technologies, nano- and biotechnologies, and other aspects of science and technology policy. Program research is supported by government agencies, foundations, and the private sector.

This program is part of RAND Justice, Infrastructure, and Environment, a division of the RAND Corporation dedicated to improving policy and decisionmaking in a wide range of policy domains, including civil and criminal justice, infrastructure protection and homeland security, transportation and energy policy, and environmental and natural resource policy. For more information about the Transportation, Space, and Technology Program, see www.rand.org/transportation or contact the director at tst@rand.org.