SYRACUSE, N.Y. January 12, 2012 — AAA Western and Central New York recognized the Village of Baldwinsville, Town of Camillus, Town of DeWitt, Village of East Syracuse, Village of Liverpool, Town of Manlius, and their respective police departments for their success in AAA’s Community Traffic Safety Program at the Onondaga County Traffic Safety Advisory Board’s Annual Recognition Ceremony, held at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo.

AAA’s Community Traffic Safety Program is an awards and recognition program for communities of all sizes nationwide that identify and address their local traffic safety issues. The program considers basic crash statistics, presence of a traffic safety leadership group, projects, and their effectiveness. The awards progress from Honorable Mention to Bronze, Silver, Gold, and to the highest level, Platinum.

Top Platinum honors were awarded to DeWitt, Liverpool, and Manlius. Gold Awards were presented to Baldwinsville, Camillus, and East Syracuse.

“AAA applauds the great efforts of these communities, and we are honored to recognize the leadership that remains committed to advancing the cause of traffic safety,” said Wally Smith, Vice President of AAA Western and Central New York.

Gold Awards are given to communities that implement programs and projects that demonstrate superior effort at addressing local traffic safety issues. Platinum Awards are given to communities that not only demonstrate outstanding success in addressing local traffic safety issues, but show a clear trend of improvement over five years and/or provide data that is substantially better than the statewide data for communities of similar size.

Communities participated in a variety of programs and implemented projects to address: bicycle, pedestrian, school bus, school zone, and child passenger safety; speeding; aggressive, impaired, and distracted driving, including cell phone usage; and extreme motorcycling, to name a few.

Baldwinsville is receiving a Gold Award. Baldwinsville has participated in the program 12 years, and in total is the recipient of two Silver, six Gold, and four Platinum Awards.

Camillus is receiving a Gold Award. Camillus has participated in the program for 11 years, and in total is the recipient of one Silver, six Gold, and four Platinum Awards.

DeWitt is receiving their first Platinum Award, meeting the criteria with their statistics for bicycle injuries and seat belt usage. DeWitt has participated in the program for 4 years and has also received 3 Gold Awards.

East Syracuse is receiving a Gold Award. East Syracuse has participated in the program for 6 years, and in total, is the recipient of 3 Gold and 3 Platinum Awards.

Liverpool is receiving their first Platinum Award, meeting the criteria with their statistics for pedestrian injuries, vehicle occupant fatalities, and seat belt usage. Liverpool has participated in the program for 10 years and has also received 9 Gold Awards.

Manlius is receiving their third Platinum Award, meeting the criteria with their statistics for pedestrian injuries, vehicle occupant injuries, preventable roadway vehicle crashes, and seat belt usage. Manlius has participated in the program for 5 years and has also received 2 Gold Awards.

Only eight communities in New York State received Platinum honors. Other Platinum communities are Garden City, Irondequoit, Pleasantville, Port Washington, and White Plains, NY.

Participation in AAA’s Community Traffic Safety Program is open to communities of all sizes nationwide.

As Upstate New York’s largest member services organization, AAA provides nearly 880,000 members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive related services. Since its founding in 1900, AAA has been a leading advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. Visit AAA at www.AAA.com.

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