The 2025 Texas Injury Prevention Conference agenda is now available!

We are excited to announce a packed agenda of inspiring injury prevention presentations! Please visit the Injury Prevention Conference page to view and download the agenda.

Conference and Registration Information

There’s still time to register for the conference! This year’s theme is "Prevent Today, Protect Tomorrow: Innovating Safety for Stronger Communities." Topics include the role of technology in injury prevention, methods for engaging and empowering communities, and Texas-specific data and strategies for safe sleep, drowning, suicide, and drug poisoning prevention. This is your chance to collaborate and discuss innovative solutions and challenges in injury prevention! 

Mark Your Calendars
Date: November 4-5, 2025
Location: Hilton Austin Airport Hotel, Austin, Texas

Register Now!

Visit the Injury Prevention Conference page for the conference agenda and additional details.

Have questions? Please reach out to Innovation Event Management by emailing injuryprevention@iemshows.com or calling 512-358-1000, and we will be happy to assist you.

We hope to see you at the 2025 Injury Prevention Conference!

October is Substance Use and Misuse Prevention Month

Updated 10/01/2025

October is Substance Use and Misuse Prevention Month. This year’s theme is Telling the Prevention Story. By sharing stories about prevention’s effects on communities, we can inspire positive action. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) created a toolkit for prevention partners and advocates to start conversations about mental health and prevention experiences this month and all year long.

Learn more in the #MyPreventionStory PDF and on SAMHSA’s website.

Texas Substance Use and Misuse Prevention Resources:

• Naloxone Locator Map
• Texas Targeted Opioid Response
• Health and Human Services - Substance Use Service Locations
• Be Well Texas

National Substance Use and Misuse Prevention Resources:

• ENGAGE: Evidence-Based Strategies to Prevent Youth Substance Use | Overdose Prevention | CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• ADAPT: Mind the Message - High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA)
• Overdose Prevention and Response Toolkit | SAMHSA Library
• Prevention Resources and Events | SAMHSA

National School Bus Safety Week

Updated 10/01/2025

October 20-24, 2025, is National School Bus Safety Week. Millions of children ride on a school bus every day. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a school bus is one of the safest modes of transportation and “less than 1% of all traffic fatalities involve children on school transportation vehicles. However, children are more at risk [of injury] when approaching or leaving a school bus.”

Key findings from NHTSA on school-transportation-related traffic crashes include:

• From 2014-2023, there were 1.5 times more fatalities among pedestrians than occupants of school transportation vehicles in school-transportation-related traffic crashes.
• Among all pedestrians killed in school transportation-related traffic crashes, 23% were 5 to 10 years old.
• About half (51%) of the school-age pedestrians killed in school transportation-related traffic crashes from 2014-2023 were 5 to 10 years old.

And in Texas in 2024, 11 people were killed and 93 seriously injured in the 2,480 crashes involving school buses in Texas (Texas Department of Transportation – TxDOT). 

That’s why it’s important for drivers, parents, and students to understand and practice school bus safety, especially when entering and exiting the school bus.

TxDOT provides school bus safety tips for drivers and students.

Drivers should:

• Follow school buses at a safe distance, keeping in mind they make frequent stops.
• Watch for children around buses and remember that they may not always look for vehicles before crossing the street.
• Always stop for flashing red lights or a stop sign on a school bus regardless of which direction you’re headed, unless the bus is on the opposite roadway of a divided highway. Continue once the bus has moved, the flashing lights stop flashing, or the bus driver signals it’s okay to pass.

Students should:

• Stand as far back from the curb as possible when waiting for the bus.
• Wait until the bus has come to a complete stop and watch for the driver to signal that it’s safe to board.
• Listen to the bus driver and remain seated to avoid distracting the driver.
• When exiting the bus, cross only in front of the bus, never behind it. Make eye contact with the driver and wait for the driver’s signal that it’s safe to cross the street.

National Take Back Day

Published 10/01/2025

October 25, 2025, is Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National Take Back Day. Take Back Day highlights the importance of proper disposal of unused prescription drugs. Take Back Day offers a safe and free opportunity for communities across the nation to dispose of old medications properly. Proper disposal of medication helps keep communities and the environment safe.

Safely disposing unneeded medications – those that are old, unwanted, or expired – can help prevent drug misuse.

Visit Take Back Day to find a Take Back Day collection site near you. Or, visit Year-Round Drop-Off Locations to find a year-round drug disposal location.