The primary goal of Safe Communities is reducing and preventing transportation injuries and fatalities. A coalition of community members will analyze data collected at the county level to identify key issues to be addressed. Examples of typical traffic issues include: increasing seat belt usage, decreasing drinking and driving, decreasing underage drinking, increasing usage and proper usage of child car seats.

Lisa Otterson is an at-large member of the Wahpeton City Council and serves on the Public Works and Public Safety Committee. She views her role as Safe Communities Coordinator as an extension of her interests on the council and as an advocate for making area communities better, safer places in which to live. "Creating a Safe Communities Coalition to address major transportation issues in Richland County should be viewed as a great opportunity for us. I'm excited as a resident that we will have additional resources, formal conversations and goals to tackle some of these identifiable issues." Otterson also serves on the Leach Public Library Board of Directors and the Board of Social Ministry at Bethel Lutheran Church. Previous to moving to Wahpeton she taught history and humanities at the university and community college level in Minnesota and Iowa. She has a B.A. in history and philosophy from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, MN and an M.A. in history from Drew University in Madison, NJ.

Safe Communities programs receive grant funding through the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) which is financially supported by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). There are nearly a thousand Safe Communities countrywide and ten established in North Dakota, including Fargo, Dickinson, Jamestown, Grand Forks, Bismarck-Mandan.