State Rankings Coincide With Crackdown To Enforce Seat Belt
Laws
State Rankings Coincide With Largest-Ever Crackdown
To Enforce Seat Belt Laws and Save Lives;
Many States Improving Programs
WASHINGTON, May 21 As law enforcement agencies in all 50
states mobilize to save lives by cracking down on seat belt scofflaws, a new
report says more such efforts are needed to lift America out of deadly
mediocrity when it comes to seat belt use.
The report card from the National Safety Council gives 19 states D's and
F's for driver and passenger safety; an additional eight states receive grades
of C-. States that score the highest, such as California, achieved success
through strong seat belt laws that are strictly enforced. As a whole, the
nation's performance rates as "unacceptable."
"The U.S. ranks behind virtually every other developed country when it
comes to seat belt use -- with deadly consequences, " said Alan McMillan,
president of the National Safety Council. "We are killing kids and destroying
families on our highways, and that is why this national seat belt mobilization
is so critically important. We know that high-visibility enforcement gets
people to buckle up and saves lives."
More than 10,000 law enforcement agencies today launch the Operation ABC
Mobilization: America Buckles up Children-the largest-ever nationwide
crackdown on drivers who don't buckle up and don't buckle up kids. From now
through Memorial Day, officers coast-to-coast will blanket roadways with
checkpoints and increased patrols, sharply intensifying enforcement of seat
belt and child restraint laws.
"Across the nation this week, officers will be out in force to save
lives," said Anna Amos, Colonel of the South Carolina Transport Police. "Our
message is simple-we don't want to write tickets, but if necessary, we will.
It's zero tolerance for people who don't buckle up and don't buckle up kids."
While giving average or poor grades to a majority of states, the National
Safety Council points to encouraging developments in many states-including the
broad and increasing participation of law enforcement in the Mobilization. And
McMillan spotlighted an unprecedented regional effort in connection with the
Mobilization in eight Southeastern states called Click It or Ticket.
The Click It or Ticket initiative in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee will bring to bear
more than $3.25 million in paid advertising alerting drivers to unprecedented
levels of enforcement-more than 15,500 checkpoints or stepped-up patrols over
two weeks. The Click It or Ticket model of high-visibility enforcement has
been proven to significantly raise belt use and reduce fatalities.
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"Research and experience from the past 30 years in the United States and
elsewhere has shown that public education on the safety benefits of seat belts
doesn't significantly raise belt use. We know what works to get people to
buckle up and save lives -- enforcement," said Chuck Hurley, Executive
Director of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign. "While many states are
still doing poorly, we take heart that more and more states are showing the
will to do what is right."
Traffic crashes are the No. 1 killer of kids and are among the leading
causes of death to teens and adults. Overall, 32,061 drivers and passengers
died in crashes in 1999 -- a staggering number of fatalities per capita when
compared to most other developed countries, the report said. An estimated
9,553 of these victims would be alive today if they had only worn seat belts.
The report gives California the only A in recognition of its 89 percent
seat belt use (the highest in the country), and tough seat belt law that is
well-enforced -- all resulting in dramatically lower fatality rates. Thirteen
other states receive a grade of B or above. Eight states receive Fs, including
Idaho, Mississippi, South Dakota, North Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia,
Arkansas and New Hampshire. These states fail because of weak seat belt laws
(which prevent officers from stopping drivers because they are unbelted) seat
belt rates below 58 percent, and predictably large numbers of fatalities per
capita. New Hampshire fails in large part because it has no adult seat belt
law at all.
Rep. Irv Slosberg, a Florida state legislator whose 14-year-old daughter
died in a traffic crash because she was unbelted, sponsored a bill this year
to upgrade the state's seat belt law to standard enforcement. "Nearly 1,300
people died in crashes in Florida unbelted last year," said Slosberg. "The
only proven way to stop these senseless deaths is to strengthen our seat belt
law and motivate people to buckle up. No father should ever have to face the
kind of pain I did when Dori was killed."
The number of agencies participating in the twice-yearly Mobilization has
grown from 1,000 agencies in 1997 to more than 10,000 this year. Since the
Mobilizations began:
* Child fatalities from traffic crashes have declined by 17 percent,
exceeding a 1997 national goal to decrease these deaths by 15
percent by the year 2000.
* Restraint use for infants rose to 97 percent (up from 85 percent in
1996), and for children ages one to four, it has climbed to 91
percent (up from 60 percent in 1996).
* The rate of air bag deaths has dropped by nearly 80 percent.
The Mobilization is coordinated by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign
in partnership with law enforcement, state highway safety offices, and the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's BuckleUp America initiative.
The Mobilization is a part of BuckleUp America, an ongoing national initiative
to increase seat belt use and save the lives of Americans. The effort is
supported by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National
Sheriffs Association, Operation CARE, the National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives and more than 1,000 businesses and community
organizations.
Grading the Nation:
A Nationwide Report Card on Driver and Passenger Safety
State Grade
California A
New Mexico A-
District of Columbia A-
Oregon B+
Michigan B+
Maryland B+
Hawaii B+
New York B+
Connecticut B
North Carolina B
Washington B-
Texas B-
Iowa B-
New Jersey B-
Nevada C+
Georgia C+
Utah C+
Minnesota C
Arizona C
Alabama C
Montana C
Illinois C
South Carolina C
Florida C
Virginia C-
Louisiana C-
Nebraska C-
Pennsylvania C-
Colorado C-
Alaska C-
Oklahoma C-
Delaware C-
Rhode Island D+
Ohio D+
Indiana D+
Wisconsin D+
Maine D+
Kentucky D+
Missouri D+
Wyoming D+
Kansas D
Vermont D
Massachusetts D-
New Hampshire F
Arkansas F
West Virginia F
Tennessee F
North Dakota F
South Dakota F
Mississippi F
Idaho F
