The Georgia Department of Public Health has been awarded nearly $2.9 million from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to support programs aimed at reducing traffic injuries and fatalities across the state. The grants, funded through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will help expand child safety initiatives, improve data reporting systems, and strengthen injury-prevention programs.

More than $1.8 million will go to Georgia’s Child Occupant Safety Project, which provides car seats and training to caregivers and first responders in over 140 counties. Another award will support the state’s Office of Health Indicators for Planning, which processes critical data on traffic deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits through the public OASIS database.

Nearly $378,000 will fund the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System, which analyzes vehicle crashes and medical outcomes to identify prevention strategies. Programs supporting older drivers will also benefit, with more than $211,000 going toward workshops, safety events, and the Yellow Dot Program for adults 55 and older.

Additional funding will help upgrade Georgia’s Emergency Medical Services Information System, the only statewide source of pre-hospital care data.

State officials say these programs are part of a long-term effort to reach the goal of zero traffic deaths by mid-century. Georgia recorded 1,615 traffic fatalities in 2023, a 10 percent decrease from the year before, though nearly half of those killed were not wearing seat belts.