Traffic Tech #246: A Guide For Achieving A High Belt Use Rate Shows How One Community Increased Belt Use To 90 Percent |
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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 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
TheGuide, 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:
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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: http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/traffic_tech/2001/www.nhtsa.dot.gov. Alan Block and Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., were the contract managers for various parts of this project.
S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W. NTS-31
Washington, DC 20590
Traffic Tech is a publication to disseminate information about traffic safety programs, including evaluations, innovative programs, and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish.
If you would like to receive a copy contact:
Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., Editor, Evaluation Staff
Traffic Safety Programs
(202) 366-2759, fax (202) 366-7096
E-MAIL: lcosgrove@nhtsa.dot.gov