Communicating public health issues related to rural and urban road transportation safety is a challenging task. The approach to this task was to utilize an action-design research methodology to design and evaluate several innovative GIS-mashups that visually communicate traffic fatality information from the national to the local level. These web-based mashups (www.saferoadmaps.org) integrate a range of spatial data regarding motor vehicle crashes, transportation policy legislation, and driver

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... havioral data and present a visual representation of traffic safety across the United States. It was anticipated that these mashups, and related website, would help raise awareness and change fundamental perceptions regarding the magnitude, risk factors, and impacts of motor vehicle crashes and bring both increased safety and awareness to transportation policy makers and private citizens. Preliminary findings from around the world suggest that there is a strong interest in this type of information, particularly as users can customize it to local queries.