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Allstate Stands Behind Expanded National Crackdown

23 November 1998

Allstate Stands Behind Expanded National Crackdown on Drivers Who Don't Buckle Up Children

 Allstate Joins Over 1,000 Groups Giving Their `Endorsement for Enforcement'

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 23 -- Allstate today announced its
official support of a national mobilization this Thanksgiving holiday to
protect children by stepping up enforcement of child passenger safety laws.
More then 5,000 law enforcement agencies across the nation are conducting the
second 1998 wave of the Operation ABC Mobilization:  America Buckles Up
Children -- the largest ever coordinated crackdown on drivers who don't buckle
up children. Allstate joins over 1,000 organizations nationwide that endorse
the intensive, 50-state lifesaving enforcement effort.
    "Tens of thousands of law enforcement officers in all 50 states will be
out in force protecting children from the greatest danger they face -- being
unrestrained in a crash," said Janet Dewey, Executive Director of the Air Bag
& Seat Belt Safety Campaign, sponsor of the Operation ABC Mobilization.  "We
know these officers are energized by the ground swell of support from
organizations across the country like Allstate."
    "Although only law enforcement officers can write the tickets, we stand
firmly behind the lifesaving message each ticket delivers," said Steve
Monahan, Regional Vice President.  "Allstate is not only an employer, we're
parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who want to protect our children.  The
Operation ABC Mobilization is the kind of broad community-based movement our
nation needs to save children's lives."
    The Thanksgiving Operation ABC Mobilization comes on the heels of an
extremely successful Mobilization last Memorial Day. The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration's observational surveys before and after the
last May Mobilization showed six million more people buckling up. This
translates into an estimated 670 lives saved each year if these people
continue to use their seat belts.  In addition, a survey by the National
Safety Council showed fatalities went down by more than 35 percent during the
Mobilization/Memorial Day period.
    "The impact of the last Operation ABC/Mobilization clearly illustrates
that high-visibility enforcement works," said Allstate Corporate Relations
Manager Leslie Chapman-Henderson.  "That is why Allstate gives its official
Endorsement for Enforcement.  We hope officers can expand the Mobilization's
success and, once again, save lives with a clear message to America:  The law
requires that children be buckled up at all times.  No exceptions.  No
excuses."
    Crashes are the leading cause of death to American children.  Last year
alone, 81 children died and 18,136 were injured in Florida crashes.  As many
as 49 of the children who died were totally unbuckled.
    Studies consistently show that the best way to get children buckled up is
to get adults buckled up.  According to observational data, when a driver
buckles up, children are buckled up 87 percent of the time; however, when a
driver is unbuckled, child belt use drops to only 24 percent.  A recent study
by the University of California, Irvine, reported in the journal Pediatrics
found, "Driver restraint use was the strongest predictor of child restraint
use ... a restrained driver was three times more likely to restrain a child."
That is why, increasingly, officers are strengthening enforcement of adult
belt laws during the Operation ABC Mobilization.
    Many drivers just don't believe they'll be in a crash, so they don't put
on their own seat belt or make sure that children are restrained.  The
possibility of being stopped and ticketed is what it takes for many drivers to
protect children by always buckling them up.
    A survey of parents who have infants shows that the lack of adult belt use
particularly endangers babies: Parents who don't buckle up are more likely to
improperly place babies in the front seat, leaving them at serious risk of
being injured or killed by an air bag.  According to investigations, almost
all of the children who have died from air bag related injuries were
completely unrestrained, improperly restrained or were infants riding in a
rear-facing infant seat.
    "In addition to getting kids buckled up, we must get the word out to
parents that all children 12 and under belong properly buckled up in the back
seat -- especially in a vehicle equipped with air bags," said Dewey.  The
Mobilization also seeks to reach part-time seat belt users.  "Some people
believe they secure their children but they don't actually buckle them up on
every trip, particularly the short trips," Dewey added.  "Most crashes happen
within a few miles from home. That's why it's so important to secure everyone
in the vehicle every time and on every trip."
    As part of their enforcement activities throughout the Operation ABC
Mobilization, officers will distribute information on air bag safety and the
importance of making sure children 12 and under ride properly buckled up in
the back seat.
    Allstate Insurance Company is the nation's second largest personal lines
insurance company, insuring one of every eight homes and automobiles in the
country. The company provides insurance for more than 20 million customers and
has approximately 15,000 full-time agents in the U.S. and Canada.  Allstate is
also a major life insurer.
    Operation ABC Mobilization, organized by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety
Campaign in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is part of the Buckle Up
America Campaign -- an ongoing national safety initiative to increase seat
belt use and save the lives of Americans.  The Mobilization is supported by
the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs
Association, Operation CARE and the National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives.