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Kia Motors America Stands Behind Expanded National Crackdown

24 November 1998

Kia Motors America Stands Behind Expanded National Crackdown on Drivers Who Don't Buckle Up Children

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

    IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 23 -- Kia Motors America today announced
its official support of a national mobilization effort to protect children
this Thanksgiving holiday by stepping up enforcement of child passenger safety
laws.  More than 5,000 law enforcement agencies across the nation are
conducting the second wave of the Operation ABC Mobilization:  America Buckles
Up Children -- the largest ever coordinated crackdown on drivers who don't
buckle up children.  Kia 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 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 and sponsor of the Operation ABC
Mobilization.  "We know these officers are energized by the ground swell of
support from organizations across the country like Kia."
    "Although only law enforcement officers can write the tickets, we stand
firmly behind the lifesaving message each ticket delivers," said Geno Effler,
manager of public relations at Kia.  "Kia is not just a corporation.  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 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 Effler.  "That is why Kia 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."
    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 found that "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.
    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.

    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.