Building a local road safety coalition: who to invite and how to lead
Who to invite, how to set goals and roles, and how to keep your coalition going
Picture a town after a teenager is killed at a busy crossing. The school holds an assembly, police add patrols, a parent starts a petition and the traffic engineer orders a speed study. Each effort is sincere, but no one knows what the others are doing.
A coalition brings the people who build roads, enforce laws, treat the injured, teach children and live on risky streets to one table.
The need is large. In 2024, 39,254 people died in U.S. traffic crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports [1]. That is more than 100 deaths a day (our calculation). Here is how injury prevention leaders and safety planners build coalitions that last.
What a road safety coalition does
A coalition is a standing partnership of organizations and residents with a shared goal. It rarely owns roads or budgets. Its power comes from lining up the partners who do.
It is the working home of shared responsibility, a core idea of the Safe System approach explained in our Safe System guide. A strong coalition agrees on priorities using shared data, coordinates partners, speaks with one voice on policy and funding, and reports progress in public.
Launching a single program, such as a seat belt push at one school? Start with our guide to building a community traffic safety program. A coalition can run many programs over many years.
Map your partners: who to invite and why
Start with a partner map. List every group that shapes local road safety, then note what each brings and needs.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) lists more than 20 kinds of stakeholders for local road safety plans [2]. They range from traffic engineers, police and the governor’s highway safety office to hospitals, school districts, transit agencies and large employers [2]. FHWA notes that a diverse team brings many views and builds the buy in a plan needs [2].
That list leans toward agencies. Drive With Care’s table adds the people who live with the results.
Comparison compiled by Safety Behind the Wheel Foundation
Who to invite and why
| Partner | What they bring | A good first ask |
|---|---|---|
| State department of transportation (DOT) district office and city or county traffic engineers | Road ownership, crash data, design and speed setting authority | Present the 5 year serious crash picture at the first meeting |
| Metropolitan or regional planning organization (MPO) | Regional data, long range plans, access to federal funds | Share the regional safety plan and project list |
| State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) | Federal behavioral safety grants, statewide campaigns | Explain grant timelines and state priorities |
| School districts and schools | Student travel patterns, buses, driver education, parent networks | Name a transportation or safety lead to attend |
| Public health department | Injury data, epidemiologists, community health planning | Jointly lead the data workgroup |
| Emergency medical services (EMS) and fire departments | Response times, scene experience, rural access gaps | Map where help takes longest to arrive |
| Police and sheriff | Crash reports, enforcement plans, daily street knowledge | Share crash report trends and planned enforcement |
| Trauma centers and hospitals | Injury severity data, prevention staff, community health resources | Describe their injury prevention priorities |
| Nonprofits (impaired driving, older adult, bike and walking groups) | Volunteers, advocacy skills, national materials | Cohost a listening session |
| Employers and fleets | Workforce reach, fleet policies, sponsorship | Adopt a phone free driving policy |
| Faith and neighborhood groups | Trust, meeting space, word of mouth | Host a community conversation |
| Parents and parent teacher groups | School route knowledge, energy, local influence | Run a walk audit near one school |
| Youth (students, youth councils) | Peer reach, media skills, firsthand risk | Fill 2 voting seats, not 1 token seat |
| Disability advocates | Expertise on sidewalks, crossings, paratransit and accessible meetings | Review meeting access and outreach materials |
| People who walk, bike or ride transit, plus the transit agency | Street level knowledge of crossings and bus stops | Mark unsafe stops and crossings on a map |
| Older adults and aging services groups | Insight on crossing time, visibility and driving retirement | Survey seniors about routes that feel unsafe |
| Crash survivors and families | Lived experience, moral authority, persistence | Help shape priorities, not just tell their story |
Not everyone belongs on the steering committee. Sort partners into three circles. The core commits staff time and makes decisions. The active circle joins workgroups. The informed circle, often including elected officials, gets regular briefings.
Plan a first meeting that ends with commitments
Keep the first meeting to 90 minutes with 15 to 30 people. Send the agenda, a one page data snapshot and access details a week ahead.
- Welcome (10 minutes). A respected host frames the goal as fewer deaths and serious injuries.
- Introductions (15 minutes). Each person says what their group can offer and what it needs.
- Data snapshot (15 minutes). Show 5 years of fatal and serious injury crashes by place, road user and time of day.
- Listening round (20 minutes). In small groups, ask: Where do you see danger? Who is missing from this room?
- Quick win ideas (15 minutes). Sort ideas into “start now” and “needs study.”
- Next steps (15 minutes). Name an interim chair and coordinator, set the next date and record who does what.
Agree on a purpose tied to deaths and serious injuries
A coalition built around one event fades when the event ends. Instead, name the harm, the place and the time frame. A hypothetical example: “Cut traffic deaths and serious injuries in Lakeview County in half by 2035, on the way to zero.”
That matches federal planning. A Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) action plan needs an official commitment to an eventual goal of zero roadway deaths and serious injuries [3]. It must set a target date or a percentage cut by a set date [3]. If your city has such a plan, match its goal.
Track three kinds of measures:
- Outcomes: fatal and serious injury crashes, judged over several years because small numbers bounce.
- Behavior and conditions: belt use, speeds, streetlights fixed, crossings added.
- Coalition health: attendance and commitments kept.
Our guide to using local crash data to choose priorities shows how to rank problems.
Set up governance: roles, rules and rhythm
Clear rules prevent most coalition fights. Write them down before the first hard decision, not during it.
An SS4A action plan must have a committee, task force or similar body to oversee it [3]. Your coalition can serve as that body or feed ideas into it.
A structure that fits most communities:
- Host agency: a health department, city, MPO, hospital or nonprofit that holds funds, houses the coordinator and keeps records.
- Cochairs: run meetings and speak for the group. Pairing a public agency leader with a community leader balances power.
- Coordinator: a paid staff person, even part time, who handles agendas, notes and follow up. Volunteer only coordination is a common weak point.
- Steering committee: 7 to 11 members who set priorities and approve public statements.
- Workgroups: small teams on data, roads and speed, outreach, policy and care after a crash, each with a lead and a 6 month plan.
Rhythm: the steering committee meets monthly, workgroups as needed, and the full coalition each quarter.
Decision rules: Aim for consensus. If a decision stalls after 2 meetings, steering members vote, with more than half present. Agencies keep authority over their own roads, budgets and officers. The coalition recommends.
Charter or MOU? A charter is the coalition’s internal rulebook. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a signed agreement in which organizations commit staff time, data or funds. Many coalitions start with a charter and add MOUs later. Have each organization’s counsel review any MOU or data agreement.
Build buy in: quick wins, shared credit and real listening
Partners stay when the coalition helps them do their own jobs.
Show what’s in it for them. Federal law requires state highway safety programs to grow from meaningful engagement with affected communities, especially those hit hardest by crashes [4]. Since July 2026, states describe that work in annual reports [4], so your SHSO gains a ready partner. Nonprofit hospitals must assess community health needs every 3 years, with input from a public health department and underserved residents [10]. Your crash data can feed that assessment. Employers can tap the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) and its Drive Safely Work Week campaign [12].
Win early. Pick a visible, low cost project likely to succeed within 3 to 6 months. Examples: fixing a cluster of dark streetlights near a bus stop, or a walk audit with one school.
Share credit. Put every partner’s logo on results and let agencies announce their own fixes. Thank people by name.
Listen before you plan. Hold listening sessions in high crash neighborhoods, at times that suit shift workers and parents, often at existing gatherings such as tenant meetings. Then report back what changed.
Make access routine. Public agencies must make communication with people with disabilities as effective as with others [9]. That can mean qualified interpreters, real time captioning or large print [9]. Treat that as the floor. Also translate key materials into the main local languages and offer interpretation. Pay stipends to youth and residents when budgets allow.
Share data responsibly
Shared numbers build trust. Leaked private details destroy it.
- Share summaries, not records. Publish counts by corridor, year and road user, never names, plate numbers or addresses.
- Watch small numbers. If a table shows 1 or 2 people, combine years or areas so no one can be identified.
- Let the right agency hold raw data. The health or transportation agency keeps record level files. The coalition sees results.
- Sign a data sharing agreement for anything beyond public data, covering purpose, fields, access, security, publishing, retention, breaches and an end date.
- Ask families first before sharing a victim’s name or story.
Hospital and EMS data. The Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) covers most health care providers, health plans and their business associates [8]. They may share patient information without permission with a public health authority that is legally allowed to collect it to prevent injury [7]. Most coalitions are not public health authorities, so ask your health department to request and summarize hospital data.
De identified data has limits. Under HIPAA’s “safe harbor” method, dates are cut to the year [7]. Places smaller than a state are removed, except the first 3 ZIP code digits for areas over 20,000 people [7]. So hospital data rarely pinpoints an intersection.
Connect to your state’s traffic records committee. To qualify for federal traffic records grants, a state needs a traffic records coordinating committee that meets at least 3 times a year [5]. Its plan covers crash, driver, vehicle, roadway, citation and EMS or injury data [5]. Ask your SHSO how local partners can bring needs to it. Our guide to local crash data and safety maps lists public data tools.
Keep the coalition going after the first campaign
In practice, coalitions often stall when a founding leader leaves or a grant ends. Plan for both.
Staff it. Budget for a coordinator, even 10 to 20 hours a week. Write coalition duties into that job description.
Braid funding. No single source lasts forever.
- State highway safety grants: At least 40% of each state’s Section 402 funds must be used in local governments’ highway safety programs [5]. State spending on a locality’s behalf can count toward that share if the locality helped plan the project or asked for it [5]. Find your SHSO in the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) directory [6].
- SS4A: Cities, counties, MPOs and Tribes can seek planning, demonstration and implementation grants, including behavioral projects [3]. Funding covered 2022 through 2026. The 2026 round closed May 26, 2026 [3]. Nonprofits partner with an eligible government.
- Hospitals: Hospitals may do joint health needs assessments with other groups [10]. For each significant need, a hospital’s written plan must say how it will respond or why it won’t [10].
- National coalitions: The National Safety Council’s Road to Zero coalition, which aims for zero U.S. road deaths by 2050, has offered NHTSA funded grants to members [11].
Plan succession. Use cochairs with staggered 2 year terms. Keep a shared folder with the charter, contacts and data. Give each workgroup lead a deputy.
Report every year. Publish a short annual report on progress, partner actions, money and next steps. SS4A plans require yearly public progress reports [3]. The 2024 evaluation framework from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also stresses acting on findings with partners [13].
Get written into plans. FHWA’s local road safety plan process runs from identifying stakeholders to using data, choosing proven solutions and carrying them out [2]. Ask for a named coalition role in that plan, your SS4A action plan and hospital strategies. A coalition named in official plans is harder to drop.
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Comparison compiled by Safety Behind the Wheel Foundation
| Pitfall | Warning signs | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| One agency dominates | Meetings always in one office; one department sets every agenda | Cochairs from different sectors; rotate hosts; written decision rules |
| Enforcement only focus | Every answer is more tickets | Weigh road design, speed, vehicles and emergency care too; aim enforcement at serious crash behaviors and places, and explain why |
| Tokenizing youth or survivors | One youth seat; survivors invited only for photos | Voting seats, training, stipends and real decisions |
| Burnout | The same 5 people do everything; attendance drops | Limit active projects to 2 or 3; rotate roles; celebrate wins |
| Talk without action | Notes with no names or dates | End every meeting with who does what by when |
| Data fights | Partners argue over whose numbers are right | Agree on one data source and set of years at the start |
Keep expectations honest. A 2015 Cochrane review of 58 studies examined coalition led health efforts in racial and ethnic minority communities [14]. Efforts aimed mainly at broad system change showed little or no effect on health behavior, though the evidence was weak [14]. Those delivering direct services, such as lay health outreach workers, showed moderate benefits [14]. The lesson: a coalition is a means, not a result, so tie it to proven strategies and measure change.
Your first 90 days
Comparison compiled by Safety Behind the Wheel Foundation
| Days | Focus | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 30 | Choose a host agency and interim coordinator; build the partner map; meet one on one with 10 to 15 key partners; pull 5 years of serious crash data | Partner map and data snapshot are ready |
| 31 to 60 | Hold the first meeting; run 2 listening sessions in high crash neighborhoods; draft the charter; pick a quick win | Charter draft shared; quick win has an owner and a date |
| 61 to 90 | Adopt the charter; form 2 or 3 workgroups; set a measurable goal; launch the quick win; ask partners to commit staff time in writing | Charter adopted, goal set and first progress update sent |
Frequently asked questions
Who should lead a traffic safety coalition?
A health department, city transportation office, MPO, hospital or established nonprofit often hosts it. Cochairs from a public agency and a community group balance expertise and trust.
Does a coalition need to be a nonprofit to get grants?
Not usually, because a host agency can hold funds. SS4A grants go only to eligible governments such as cities, counties, MPOs and Tribes [3]. Road to Zero grants have accepted nonprofits and government agencies that join the coalition [11].
Can our coalition get hospital or EMS data?
Rarely record by record. HIPAA allows disclosure to public health authorities for injury prevention [7]. So work through your health department and ask for summary tables. Put any sharing beyond public data in a written agreement.
How do we involve police without relying only on enforcement?
Invite police as full partners on the data workgroup. Weigh every problem across road design, speed, vehicles, behavior and emergency care. Ask that enforcement target the behaviors and places tied to serious crashes.
What is the difference between a coalition and a Vision Zero task force?
A Vision Zero or SS4A task force is usually created by a local government to oversee its own safety plan [3]. A coalition can cross city lines and include groups outside government. Many communities have both.
The bottom line
Recommendation from Safety Behind the Wheel Foundation
Invite the people who shape road risk and the people who live with it. Write down your goal, roles and rules early. Share data as summaries and fund a coordinator. Then deliver one visible win, report results every year and get your coalition written into official plans.
Related articles
- How to build a community traffic safety program that lasts
- How to use local crash data to choose community safety priorities
- Safe System approach: how road design protects you from human mistakes
- Local crash data and safety maps: how to find and read your area’s data
- Measuring traffic safety campaign results: how to know it worked
Sources and further reading
- 1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Overview of Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes in 2024. Traffic Safety Facts Research Note, DOT HS 813 791. April 2026. crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/…/813791
- 2Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Local Road Safety Plans and Step 1: Identify Stakeholders (updated July 16, 2026), with Potential Stakeholders list. highways.dot.gov/safety/local-rural/local-road-safety-plans, step 1 and stakeholder list
- 3U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program (updated May 27, 2026) and SS4A Comprehensive Safety Action Plan Requirements (updated March 27, 2026). transportation.gov/grants/SS4A and transportation.gov/…/action-plan-requirements
- 4NHTSA. Uniform Procedures for State Highway Safety Grant Programs, final rule. Federal Register, June 11, 2026 (effective July 13, 2026), document 2026-11770. federalregister.gov/d/2026-11770
- 5Code of Federal Regulations, Title 23, Part 1300: §1300.13 (Special funding conditions for Section 402 grants) and §1300.22 (State Traffic Safety Information System Improvements Grants). Current as of October 1, 2026. ecfr.gov/…/section-1300.13 and ecfr.gov/…/part-1300
- 6Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). State Highway Safety Offices. Accessed October 2026. ghsa.org/about/shsos
- 7Code of Federal Regulations, Title 45 (HIPAA Privacy Rule): §164.512(b) (Uses and disclosures for public health activities) and §164.514 (De-identification and limited data sets). Current as of September 30 and October 1, 2026. ecfr.gov/…/section-164.512 and ecfr.gov/…/section-164.514
- 8Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Public Health Law Program. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). September 10, 2024. cdc.gov/phlp/…/hipaa
- 9Code of Federal Regulations, Title 28, Part 35 (ADA Title II): §35.160 (Communications) and §35.104 (Definitions: auxiliary aids and services). Current as of September 30, 2026. ecfr.gov/…/section-35.160 and ecfr.gov/…/section-35.104
- 10Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Community Health Needs Assessment for Charitable Hospital Organizations: Section 501(r)(3). July 2, 2026. irs.gov/…/community-health-needs-assessment
- 11National Safety Council (NSC). Road to Zero (modified August 28, 2026) and Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grants (September 18, 2026). nsc.org/…/road-to-zero-home and nsc.org/…/road-to-zero-grants
- 12Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS). About NETS and Drive Safely Work Week. Accessed October 2026. trafficsafety.org and Drive Safely Work Week
- 13CDC. CDC Program Evaluation Framework. August 20, 2024. cdc.gov/evaluation/…/evaluation-framework
- 14Anderson LM, Adeney KL, Shinn C, Safranek S, Buckner-Brown J, Krause LK. Community coalition-driven interventions to reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CD009905. June 15, 2015. cochranelibrary.com/…/CD009905.pub2
This article reflects the safety priorities of community injury prevention and transportation safety planning. It is general education, not legal, privacy or other professional advice for any organization. Charters, MOUs and data agreements should be reviewed by each partner’s counsel. Laws, grant programs and data rules change, so verify details with official sources. Reviewed October 2026.
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