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D.O.T. Hails Increased Seat Belt Use in National Capital Region

24 November 1998

Transportation Secretary Slater
Hails Increased Seat Belt Use
In National Capital Region

        U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today praised
motorists in the National Capital Region for their increased use of seat
belts and joined law enforcement officers in a nationwide campaign
stressing the need for everyone, especially children, to buckle up.

        "Safety is President Clinton's highest transportation priority,
and this good news from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia
shows that more motorists understand the importance of using seat belts,"
Secretary Slater said.  "By enforcing seat belt and child safety seat
lawsmaking sure that children are buckled uplaw enforcement officers will
save lives and prevent injuries here and throughout the nation."

        Secretary Slater made the announcement in Washington, D.C.,
during the kickoff of the Operation ABC MobilizationAmerica Buckles Up
Children.

        According to the department's National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, the District of Columbia raised its seat belt use in 1998
from 66 percent to 82 percent; Maryland, from 71 to 83 percent; and
Virginia, from 67 to 73.6 percent.  The 1997 national average seat belt
use rate was 69 percent.  California leads the nation in seat belt use
with 90 percent. These four states were among the first in the nation to
report their 1998 seat belt use rates to the NHTSA.

        The department's participation the Operation ABC
MobilizationAmerica Buckles Up Childrenamplifies an Administration
national strategy, announced by President Clinton in April 1997, to save
lives and prevent injuries by increasing the use of seat belts and child
safety seats.  The Presidential initiative calls for an increase in seat
belt use to 85 percent by 2000 and to 90 percent by 2005, and a 15
percent reduction in child fatalities by 2000 and 25 percent by 2005.

        The national strategy emphasizes personal responsibility for
buckling up and properly securing all children riding in motor vehicles
and employs a four-point plan to achieve its goals.

        The plan calls for active, high-visibility enforcement campaigns,
like the Operation ABC Mobilization beginning today; public-private
partnerships to promote correct use of seat belts and child safety seats;
state laws for "primary" law enforcement and stronger child passenger
safety; and effective community-based public education measures.

        Last month, the department named 38 states plus the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico to share $53 million in incentive grants for
increasing their seat belt use.  The grants are authorized by the
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which President
Clinton signed June 9 and which provides up to $500 million in incentive
grants to states over five years to increase seat belt use.

        Child safety seats each year save the lives of more than 300
children under five years old, and seat belts save more than 10,000 lives
in America each year.

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        Visit the DOT Public Affairs Web Site at:
                http://www.dot.gov/briefing.htm