Remarks prepared for U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater on the Seventh Operation ABC Mobilization: America Buckles Up Children |
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Rodney E. Slater, United States Secretary of Transportation
November 20, 2000
REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
U.S. SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION RODNEY E. SLATER
SEVENTH OPERATION ABC MOBILIZATION: AMERICA BUCKLES UP CHILDREN
NOVEMBER 20, 2000
WASHINGTON, DC
I am delighted to join our safety partners this morning to again launch Operation ABC Mobilization–one of our most successful public/private efforts to save lives.
Thanksgiving is a heartwarming American tradition. It is a time when family and friends gather together to share in their blessings – a time to give thanks. It is a time of warmth and a time of optimism.
It is also the time of year when Americans travel most, with many thousands of families traveling by car. And that is why we’re here this morning. We want all Americans to safely arrive at their destinations.
Safety remains President Clinton and Vice President Gore’s highest transportation priority and at the U.S. Department of Transportation – it continues to be our North Star, guiding all that we do.
Under the visionary and vigilant leadership of this Administration, seat belt use is at an all time high, traffic deaths are at an all time low and the incidents of impaired driving are on the decline.
President Clinton’s recent signing of the historic .08 legislation will make our highways even safer. Many in this audience stood with us in the effort to make this life-saving measure a national standard. Thank you for all of your hard work.
Safety is a promise we make – and keep– together and clearly, these mobilization efforts reflect our commitment to that promise.
Three years ago, when we joined forces to launch our first Operation ABC Mobilization, we had just over 1000 safety partners stand with us. I am proud to say that, today, more than 10,000 agencies are a part of the "Endorsements for Enforcement" campaign for this, our seventh mobilization effort.
For years the U.S. Department of Transportation has worked to reduce – to end – impaired driving. For just as long, we have worked to ensure that every child in America is correctly buckled up – unbuckled children are unacceptable. The data shows us that we must fight these two risks – impaired driving and unbuckled children – on a united front.
One quarter of all traffic fatalities involving children are caused by impaired drivers. Six in ten of these children are completely unbuckled – no safety seat, no booster seat, no seat belt – nothing! This is in spite of child passenger safety laws in all 50 states.
These facts are grim – and the loss and pain to the families they represent are beyond words. That is why the work being done today and throughout the week is so vitally important.
We know that the steady waves of enforcement – every six months for the last three years – are getting America’s attention. Seat belt use is at 71 percent, the highest ever. Even better news, child restraint use for children under age 5 is above 90 percent, and, child fatalities have dropped 17 percent since the first Mobilization in 1997.
Also in 1997, President Clinton challenged us to decrease child fatalities by 15 percent by the year 2000. We not only surpassed our goal – we reached it ahead of schedule. We’re very pleased. We’re very proud – and we are extremely grateful to the thousands of law enforcement officers across the nation who put in overtime, who organize the checkpoints, who make the difference. All of you have contributed to this extraordinary progress.
To each one of you, and for the lives you save today and everyday, we say thank you for a job well done. Keep up the excellent work, and thank you for your commitment to this 2000 Operation ABC Mobilization.
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Source: U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)