The National Mobilization planned during the spring of 2003 and implemented May 2003, was the largest-ever nationwide publicity and enforcement program to increase safety belt use. Similar to previous mobilizations, the May 2003 Mobilization included a two-week enforcement blitz, running from May 19th through the Memorial Day holiday, ending on June 1st. A key difference with this mobilization was that it included an unprecedented level of paid advertisements.

Nearly $25 million in targeted state and national advertising was budgeted for placing television, and to a lesser extent, radio advertisements focused on 18-34 year old males, a population at risk for motor vehicle crashes and low belt use. Approximately, $8 million was spent for a national media buy. The national advertisement specifically carried a message that states were serious about enforcing the safety belt law and told motorists repeatedly to “Click It or Ticket.” Individual states spent an additional $16 million of Section 157 grant funding on similar messages expressing the same tone of intolerance for non safety belt users.

National mobilizations are conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Air Bag & Safety Belt Safety Campaign of the National Safety Council, in conjunction with State Highway Safety Offices and thousands of state and local law enforcement agencies. Because a large number of states and the District of Columbia currently use the Click It or Ticket slogan (35), National Mobilizations are often referred to as Click It or Ticket campaigns.

Objective
The objective of this study was to describe and evaluate May 2003 Mobilization activities. That is, describe the use of paid advertisements focusing on safety belt enforcement, measure motorists’ awareness of safety belt campaigns, and ultimately measure change in the safety belt use rate.

Methods
This evaluation included the collection of program data, including dollars spent placing paid advertisements and enforcement activity; state reported statewide observational surveys of safety belt use, and knowledge/attitude surveys at Driver Licensing Offices and a national telephone survey conducted in pre/post intervals to track progress.

May Mobilization 2003, Activity Descriptions

Enforcement Activity
Forty-one percent, or 7,125, of law enforcement agencies across the U.S. reported their May Mobilization activities. They reported issuing over one-half million safety belt citations during the enforcement period. States with standard, or “primary1, ” safety belt use laws issued tickets at a greater per resident rate than states with secondary laws.

Belt Use Enforcement Descriptions

Results

2003 National Safety Belt Use
The National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) is an observational survey of safety belt use that began in 1994 and has been used by NHTSA to measure the nation’s belt use. NOPUS observes actual belt use on the roads and provides a reliable estimate of use nationwide. Safety belt use reached 79 percent in 2003, a 4 percentage point increase over the 75 percent observed in 2002 (Glassbrenner, 2003). Approximately 17 percent of belt nonusers were converted to users, twice the rate seen in previous years. Use continues to vary in different parts of the country, with higher rates in states that can enforce their belt laws more stringently.

Pre/Post Changes in Safety Belt Use
The overall front seat occupant belt use rate was measured just after the May Mobilization paid media and enforcement concluded (May 2003, Post Safety Belt Use Rate). State post-rates were compared to previous statewide use rates reported for 2002 (see figures that follow). The number of states that increased in belt use far exceeded the number that decreased (40 versus 5; 1 unchanged). Rates changed anywhere from a 4 percentage point decrease to a 13 point increase. On average, belt use rates in primary law states were higher compared to secondary states. That remained unchanged. Among the 16 primary states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, 15 experienced an increase, 1 stayed even, and 2 decreased. Among 28 secondary enforcement states, 25 experienced increased usage and 3 decreased.

d

d
* No 2002 rate available. New Hampshire, which is the only state without an adult safety belt law, did not report rates in 2003. However, under a contract jointly funded by NHTSA and the New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency, Preusser Research Group conducted an observational survey of safety belt use in accordance with the national uniform methodology in New Hampshire before and after the May 2003 Mobilization. The result of that post survey appears in the graph above.

Pre/Post Telephone Survey Results
The national telephone survey included a total of 2,446 respondents; 1,201 respondents in the pre-wave, 1,245 in the post-wave. Results indicated that respondents became more aware of enforcement efforts directed at safety belts. Pre/post survey results also indicated that respondents perceived an increase in enforcement activity towards safety belt use. Two measures of perceived enforcement indicated an increase in the proportion of motorists believing that “police in their communities were writing more tickets now than before” and “a ticket for non-use was more likely now than before.”

Pre-surveys indicated that respondents mostly received messages concerning safety belts and safety belt enforcement via television and radio. Post-surveys indicated that both television and radio exposure increased during the May 2003 Mobilization.

Comparisons with two previous national telephone surveys (May 2002 and November 2002) indicated increases in awareness of National Mobilizations and “Click It or Ticket” in particular. Comparisons also indicated an upward trend in the belief that “police are writing more tickets now than before.” However, the perceived likelihood of being ticketed did not change appreciably across the three surveys. Support for stronger safety belt laws has remained high over the course of several mobilizations.

Past 30 Days, Seen or Heard of Special Police Efforts towards Belts by State

d

* = Significant

Driver License Office Survey
Results from surveys collected in driver licensing (DL) offices were similar to the telephone survey results. Their results indicated that a majority of drivers became more aware of the stepped up enforcement and that television and radio were the most common sources of information. One question on the DL Office survey that was not included on the telephone survey, provided evidence that actual stepped up enforcement was experienced by motorists, given that by the end of enforcement, respondents became more likely to report personally experiencing safety belt enforcement activity (13 to 17 percent).

Discussion
Approximately $25 million were spent on advertising enforcement focused messages. Law enforcement across the nation issued more than 500,000 safety belt tickets during a two-week enforcement phase. Belt use increased in 40 states and the District of Columbia.

Results from driver surveys indicated that there was a high awareness of media messages and that the “Click It or Ticket” slogan, in particular, gained much attention. Support for stronger safety belt laws and the enforcement they allow has remained strong over the course of several National Mobilizations.

Belts are approximately 50 percent effective for preventing fatality in crashes in which motorists would otherwise die, and so raising belt use saves lives. It is estimated that raising use to 79 percent from 75 percent prevented 1,000 deaths that would have otherwise occurred in 2003. Since belts saved an estimated 14,000 motorists in 2002, NHTSA estimates that belts will have prevented 15,000 deaths by the end of 2003. In saving lives and preventing injuries, belt use saves billions of dollars in costs to society annually.

The results of this evaluation confirmed that intensive, short term and well-publicized enforcement can produce gains in safety belt usage.