Background For more than 25 years, 16-20 year-olds, especially males have had the highest fatality and injury rates per capita. Of the number of occupants killed and injured, the percentage of unrestrained 16-20 year-olds is still one of the highest among the age groups. In 2001, the percentage of non-belted 16-20 year-olds killed in motor vehicle crashes is 60 percent. Over the years, more and more States have implemented safety belt programs and campaigns like Buckle Up America, Click It or Ticket, and Operation ABC Mobilization to increase belt use rate and reduce fatalities. Since teenagers are considered high risk, many law enforcement officials, campaign leaders, and supporters of occupant protection demonstration projects make every effort to communicate the message across young people and provide strict enforcements during the campaign and mobilization week.

Objectives/Proposed Approach Evaluate the impact of safety belt programs targeting youth by (1) Reviewing the Buckle Up America annual reports and Section 157 Safety Incentive Grants for Use of Safety Belts; (2) Identifying the programs' goals, objectives, structure, strategies, resources, funding, etc.; (3) Gathering survey data from the semi-annual Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey (MVOSS) telephone surveys, the recent Click It or Ticket surveys, and the NOPUS surveys on 16-20 year olds to study their awareness and opinions of the programs and their attitudes towards belt use; (4) Identifying any 'best practices' approaches from the results of the annual reports and surveys; and (5) Determining belt use trends among youths through FARS and NOPUS data. The evaluation is likely to take about 2 years.