PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In 1994, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) unveiled its Strategic Plan. The primary goal of this plan was to promote safe and secure transportation on our nation's highways while reducing deaths and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes.

The New York/New Jersey metropolitan area has one of the country's largest mass transit systems. This combined metropolis also has busy shipping ports. Because of this hectic environment, New York and New Jersey officials recognized the need for increased safety legislation, and became the first two states to mandate seat belt use. Their transportation systems and safety programs are renowned, admired and emulated. However, because of the distant locations of many USDOT regional offices servicing New York and New Jersey, customers and partners throughout the region had difficulty accessing USDOT safety programs, and locating a single point-of-contact for transportation safety. This was due in part to the limitations of typical Blue Pages listings for USDOT offices and services in any geographic region.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In an effort to provide easy access to basic information and contacts for use by customers and safety partners throughout New York and New Jersey, the USDOT Region 2 Safety Team was created in 1996 to develop a safety directory. The directory encompassed these objectives:

• To educate USDOT staff on the various transportation safety programs conducted by or sponsored by USDOT
• To guide partners and customers to the appropriate agencies for assistance in promoting and developing safety programs
• To encourage intermodal cooperation and involvement in various transportation safety programs

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
During 1996, the USDOT Region 2 Safety Team met frequently to discuss and ultimately develop a directory. Three basic parameters were identified regarding the document. These included:

• The directory should be brief, easy to follow, and low in cost
• It should be identified as a USDOT product, not specific to any one agency
• It should include only those programs pertaining to transportation safety

The Directory of U.S. Department of Transportation Programs in New York and New Jersey was published in 1996. This document was the first product developed using the concept of ONE DOT. The directory provides access to information on child safety seats, motorcycle helmets, tires and equipment, crash test results, vehicle safety recalls and traffic safety information. It is also available on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) web site at:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/outreach/natlorgs/usdot.html

Concurrent with the distribution of the directory, several agencies of the USDOT conducted learning forums in 1996 to promote the use of the directory and to help staff become more familiar with the full range of USDOT safety programs.

RESULTS
Distribution of the USDOT Safety Directory was completed in approximately three months, and routine feedback indicates that it is utilized daily.

A second edition of the directory will be published in 1999, with a distribution of 1,500 copies. This edition will include additional agencies such as the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The web-ready version of the 1999 directory will allow users to establish links from the document to the various agencies of the USDOT.

SPRING 1999