The traffic safety and injury problem is too large for any single group to solve on its own. It is not simply a law enforcement issue to be handled solely by the police. It is not simply an emergency medical services issue to be handled by pre-hospital and emergency room personnel. It is a community-wide problem that affects every American in a tragic manner because most people know someone who has died or has been seriously injured as a result of a vehicle crash.

The Partners for Rural Traffic Safety program involves broad-based citizen participation to encourage good occupant safety habits and enforce occupant protection laws. To achieve the broad-based participation, each community forms a Community Partner Team representing various community economic and social sectors. Community Partner Team members work within their specific sectors as well as jointly to promote activities concerning occupant safety.

To increase awareness and use of occupant safety devices, communities conduct an intensive 30-day campaign blitz. Research indicates that it takes 20 to 24 days of continuous activity for that activity to become ingrained as a habit. The intent is to immerse your entire community in activities, publicity, and enforcement efforts during a 30-day period, ensuring that everyone in the community gets the message. How? Because campaigns are conducted where people work, eat, do business, play together, learn, read, listen, get healed, worship and participate in public life. The activities vary from sector to sector as well as among target audiences, and the messages and activities reflect community input and values.

Also, keep in mind that some people may fall back into old habits once the campaign is completed, so similar campaigns should be conducted periodically to maintain and increase usage rates to higher levels.

The following chapters provide a step-by-step description and the tools needed to successfully conduct the Partners for Rural Traffic Safety campaign in your community. While this campaign has a beginning and an end, if the results warrant it, your community could make this a permanent program. For purposes of this kit, however, the campaign is limited to 30 days.

The Partners for Rural Traffic Safety campaign has eight steps. The steps in the process model are listed in Figure 1 with times indicated to give you an idea of when you will need to begin this activity. Please note that it will take approximately three months to plan and organize before you start the campaign.

While wearing a seat belt is the single most important thing you can do to increase your chances of surviving a crash and reducing injuries, there are other key issues concerning occupant protection and traffic safety. The scope of your Partners for Rural Traffic Safety campaign can include any or all of the following issues, and should always include active enforcement of applicable traffic safety laws. More details and resources regarding these subjects are included in the Appendices. Additional and updated information and materials about these and other traffic safety topics can be downloaded from NHTSA’s web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

• Safety restraints (seat belts)—including their proper use.
• Child safety seats—including their installation, use by age and weight distribution.
• Booster seats—including their installation, use by age and weight distribution.
• Unrestrained pick-up truck riders—people riding in the cargo area of pick-up trucks.
• Vehicle air bags—passenger side air bags, where children should sit in vehicles equipped with air bags, medical reasons for disconnecting air bags, second generation air bags.
• Impaired Driving—driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Zero tolerance for underage drinking and driving.
• Pedestrian issues—cross walks, rights-of-way, which side of the street to walk on.
• Bicycle issues—bike paths, helmet use and laws, following traffic rules and laws.
• Motorcycle issues—awareness and visibility, helmet use and laws.
• Engineering—issues related to vehicle safety, design of roads and intersections, proper warnings and signs.
• Legal—issues relating to the laws in your state regarding traffic safety.

This list is by no means exhaustive. It displays the breadth of the potential areas for intervention. If there are particular problem areas in your community that are not mentioned here, feel free to address them.

As with many things in life, timing is everything. This includes both the timing of your presentation to key decision makers as well as the timing of the actual 30-day campaign. The decision of when to forward this idea to decision makers typically revolves around the organization’s planning and budgeting processes. Be prepared to forward the idea when the opportunity presents itself. This may require that you seek approval long before you actually start the process.

As for the timing of the campaign, fall or spring is an ideal time to conduct campaign activities. Ideally, schools should be in session during the campaign. In any event, organizing and planning must take place before the campaign can begins; thus, we suggest starting during the preceding summer for a fall campaign and during the preceding winter for a spring campaign. In determining whether your community will conduct a fall or spring campaign, consider the climate of your area because many campaign activities need to be held outdoors. Also, annual community events, such as fairs and parades, provide excellent opportunities to display your message to a large group of people at the same time. Check your community calendar for recurring spring or fall events.

You may also want to consider timing your event to tie into other state and/or national campaigns, such as Buckle Up America Mobilizations during Thanksgiving Week in November and Memorial Day Week in May; and Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week during Valentine’s Day Week in February.

Your campaign will evolve through each of the process steps outlined in Figure 1 at the beginning of this Chapter. A community assessment will be conducted, community input gathered, activity and evaluation plans developed and a schedule of events designed to meet the unique needs of your community. Throughout the process, keep in mind the basic concepts of the Rural Traffic Safety Project:

• The GOAL: To increase seat belt use and the proper use of child safety seats.
• The ACTION: To conduct a 30-day community-wide public information, awareness and enforcement campaign.
• The OBJECTIVES:
• To increase enforcement of the state’s child passenger safety and seat belt laws.
• To raise public awareness about seat belts, air bags and child safety seat issues, and
• To educate community residents regarding the need for strong traffic safety laws and the need for assertive enforcement of those laws.

In the Tools section of Chapter 8, you will find a complete set of sample campaign plans and activities including a Sample 30-day Campaign Schedule; Public Relations Plan, Sample Press Release, and Mayoral Proclamation; and sample project planners for each of the six sectors included in the Community Partner Team. These samples provide ideas that you can replicate in your own community or serve to spark other creative ideas by people in your community.