A GUIDE FOR ACHIEVING A
HIGH BELT USE RATE SHOWS HOW ONE COMMUNITY INCREASED BELT USE TO 90 PERCENT
In October 1999, the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety sponsored an intense selective traffic enforcement
program (sTEP) in Chemung County, New York, focusing on Elmira, the site
of a previous seat belt use demonstration project. The goal was to demonstrate
that seat belt use can be increased to achieve the President's 90 percent
goal and to update Elmira's 1985 successes. The belt use rate in Chemung
County on October 1, 1999, was 63 percent. In just three weeks, belt use
increased to 90 percent.
The First
Elmira sTEP in 1985
The 1985 Elmira sTEP
was a three-week program of publicity, followed by warnings and publicity,
followed by citations and publicity. Over the course of this program,
approximately three warnings to unbelted motorists were issued for every
citation. In later sTEPs, as belt use laws became more widely accepted
by the public, warnings were given less frequently.
The 1999
Elmira sTEP
The 1999 Buckle Up
NOW sTEP in Elmira began with a brief period of direct, sharply focused,
hard publicity, and then moved immediately to no-excuses high-visibility
enforcement. The media plan was designed to reach every motorist in the
target area. Seat belt checkpoints were used extensively, since they are
the most visible enforcement strategy available. The enforcement goal
was to make it virtually impossible to drive without getting a citation
if a person was not wearing a seat belt.
Contents of
the Guide
The Guide,
developed by Preusser Research Group, describes where to do community
sTEPs, how to define the geographic area, and how to choose areas based
on high crash rates or low belt use.
Strong local leadership
and coordination are essential to conducting a successful sTEP. The leadership
role for Elmira's Buckle Up Now! was assumed by Sheriff Charles D.W. Houper
of Chemung County. Other local enforcement agencies participated in the
planning and implementation of the program. The Chiefs of the police departments
of the City of Elmira, the Town of Elmira, and the Villages of Elmira
Heights, Horseheads, and Southport conducted special enforcement within
their jurisdictions.
Publicity for Elmira's
program concentrated on informing the public about the enforcement effort.
Health and safety messages that had been promoted for many years were
less visible. Elmira's message was simple and straightforward: Buckle
Up NOW, or you will get a ticket. The Guide
includes examples of Feedback Signs. These signs were conspicuously
posted on heavily traveled roads and displayed updated belt use rates
and the high record use rate.
Enforcement strategies
were specified by day of week and time of day. Days, locations, and times
were staggered so that virtually all motorists, regardless of when or
where they drove, encountered enforcement. Operations conducted jointly
with participating agencies conveyed a unified enforcement presence and
strengthened the message.
The Guide
describes particular types of enforcement that can vary based on state
laws, size of agency, and staff resources and may include checkpoints,
saturation patrols, regular patrols, or a combination. Officer training
is key to implementing an effective enforcement program. Officers who
understand seat belt and child safety seat laws and the reasons why enforcement
is so crucial to increasing belt use are more likely to earnestly and
effectively carry out a seat belt enforcement program. The Guide
describes training curricula and materials and where to obtain them.
Tracking the progress
of the sTEP and reporting this progress to the community achieves a heightened
perception of risk and provide accountability to campaign sponsors. The
Guide includes a timeline of events in Elmira,
sample seat belt survey instructions
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The two-week enforcement blitz conducted in Elmira and Chemung
County (population 92,000) included the following:
- 32 seat belt checkpoints conducted throughout the county
in a 12-day period
- at least 3 checkpoints conducted each weekday
- 823 traffic tickets writtent
- 474 seat belt citations
- 10 child restraint citations
- 236 tickets for other non moving violations
- 103 citations for moving traffic violations
- 1 person arrested for SWI and 4 persons arrested for non
traffic-related crimes.
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and data sheets, enforcement
activity reporting form, and resources. It will be useful to any community
who wants to increase their seat belt use rates in a short period of time.
HOW TO ORDER
For a copy of Achieving
a High Belt Use Rate: A Guide for Selective Traffic Enforcement Programs,
(21 pages) write to the Office of Research and Traffic Records, NHTSA,
NTS-31, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC, 20590, or send a fax
to (202) 366-7096. It will be on NHTSA's web page in a few weeks: www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
Alan Block and Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., were the contract managers for various
parts of this project.
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