Nationwide Law Enforcement Crackdown Takes Aim At Unbelted Teens and Young Adults During Memorial Day Week

WASHINGTON, May 20 -- The largest nationwide seat belt enforcement push ever will place special emphasis on protecting teens and young adults this Memorial Day week as new data show more than half of all teens who die in crashes are completely unrestrained. More than 11,200 law enforcement agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia will conduct child passenger safety, seat belt and drunk driving checkpoints and other special enforcement activities as part of the Operation ABC Mobilization.

"Teens and young adults are killed at far higher rates in crashes because they are caught in a lethal intersection of inexperience, risk taking and low seat belt use," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. "These tragedies are predictable and therefore preventable, using proven techniques like high visibility enforcement mobilizations, which the Bush Administration will continue to support as it works with its partners in law enforcement and within the traffic safety community to reduce injuries and help save lives."

According to the new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatal Analysis Reporting Systems (FARS), 4,216 teens, ages 16-19, died and thousands more were injured in traffic crashes in 2000. Fatality rates for teens are twice that of older drivers and the risk of crashes for teens is four times that of older drivers.

The weeklong enforcement wave, which runs from May 20-27, will be supported by more than $10 million in federal funding for advertising efforts in states to ensure the buckle-up message reaches those least likely to obey the law and use seat belts including teens and young adults. The Congressionally mandated program expands a proven model of high visibility enforcement, which is credited with increasing belt use by 8-12 percent points on a state and regional basis. The high visibility enforcement push will be conducted under the slogan Click It or Ticket in 28 states and the District of Columbia.

"Here in the Senate, keeping Americans safe on our roadways is a top priority," said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), who chairs the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee. "That's why last year I led the effort to earmark $10 million in federal funds for advertising to support high visibility enforcement campaigns. The data show that when you combine advertising with highly visible enforcement you save lives. And I'm proud those federal dollars are supporting this week's Mobilization."

"This year, approximately 8,000 Americans, adults and children, will die in crashes because they failed to buckle their seat belts," said National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Marion Blakey. "Traffic fatalities are an ongoing tragedy we can absolutely do something about."

High visibility enforcement relies on periods of intense enforcement of seat belt laws coupled with aggressive advertising and media outreach to let people know about the enforcement. For many non-seat belt users, and especially young people, the threat of a ticket has proven to be a greater inducement to buckle up than the threat of injury or death.

The Operation ABC Mobilization is conducted twice yearly by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign of the National Safety Council in conjunction with law enforcement agencies, NHTSA, NTSB and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

"Many young people think they are invincible -- that they'll live forever. For them, messages about safety benefits of seat belts fall on deaf ears," said Chuck Hurley, Executive Director of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign. "We do not want to give out tickets -- we want to give people a reason to buckle up. The certainty of a ticket and costly fines will do just that."

In addition to state advertising, the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign will feature a new TV ad aimed at young men to air on MTV and TNN May 13-22. "We want to reach those least likely to buckle up and most likely to die," Hurley said. "The new ad is designed to get the enforcement message to young people in programs they watch in a format they can relate to." The Campaign also produced a radio ad especially for young African-American men that will air on the ABC Radio Urban Advantage Network May 13-22.

Arica Snell, Miss Teen of the Nation 2001, told a personal story that reinforces the need to place a special emphasis on young drivers. Arica lost her boyfriend, Justin, in a crash because he was not wearing a seat belt. "I had to lose someone close to me to realize how important it is to always buckle up. We are not invincible, and no matter who you are, or where you're from, tragedy can strike at anytime. I believe if Justin knew he would get a ticket, he would have buckled up and he would be alive today," said Snell, who devotes much of her time to doing local public service announcements and speaking at events on the importance of seat belts.

Law enforcement will also be on the lookout for drunk drivers. According to NHTSA, the alcohol involvement fatal crash rate for young drivers is about twice that of drivers over 21. An alarming 16,653 people died in alcohol- related crashes in 2000. In all 50 states, it is illegal to drink alcohol under the age of 21, and it is illegal to have any measurable amount of alcohol in the bloodstream while driving for people under the age of 21. Yet, in 2000, 2,339 people between the ages of 15 -20 were killed in alcohol- related traffic crashes. In addition, law enforcement can attest that one of the best ways to catch drunk drivers is to enforce seat belt laws.

"Research proves that seat belts save lives and by enforcing seat belt laws, underage drinkers and drunk drivers can be removed from our roadways," said Millie I. Webb, National President of MADD. "Alcohol is the number one drug problem among young people and it is time for parents, lawmakers, and communities to wake up and start working together to support law enforcement in addressing an issue that is killing our kids."

Officers participate in the Mobilizations because they work. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) reported recently that child fatalities from traffic crashes have declined by 20 percent since 1997, when the Mobilizations began. The DOT has credited the Mobilizations for significantly contributing to this decline and for dramatically increasing child restraint use.