What we've been up to

The Iowa State House Chambers in Des Moines

Preventing Distracted Driving in Iowa: Hands-Free Laws

Monday, October 28, 2024
The Injury Prevention Research Center and TRIPS Lab partnered to published a policy brief on distracted driving and hands-free driving laws in Iowa and across the United States. Current Iowa law allows the use of handheld phones for making calls and navigation (using GPS) but bans texting while driving. 30 states and D.C. have hands-free laws.
A smartphone being used for navigation in a car

Technology as a Problem and Potential Solution in Teen Driving Safety

Friday, October 25, 2024
Motor vehilce crashes continue to be the leading cause of death among adolescents in the U.S. In a JAMA Network Commentay, Dr. Cara Hamann and Dr. Jingzhen Yang discuss how electronic communications devices pose problems, but also potential solutions, in the arena of teen driving safety.
Group photo of participants in the SCOPE Sumer School Program

SCOPE - Summer School on Violence and Injury Prevention

Thursday, August 8, 2024
In mid-June, TRIPS Lab members gathered with students and scholars from across the globe in Cluj-Napoca, Romania for a 6-day course on the design, implementation, and evaluation of intervention programs specific to violence and injury prevention and control. The SCOPE Program consisted of 20 students, 11 instructors, and other participants representing 8 countries.

Meet Cara

Dr. Cara Hamann, Director of the TRIPS Lab, is interested in the safety of bikes, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users. When she was a student, a simple piece of advice from a faculty mentor sparked an idea and set her on a path to public health. Learn more about Cara and her work here.
Yellow Bike