Safety Restraints Organization Applauds Nationwide Seat Belt Enforcement Push Targeting Teens

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2003; -- The Automotive Occupant Restraints Council (AORC) today announced its support of a nationwide seat belt mobilization this Memorial Day which aims to protect teens and young adults from the leading risk they face -- death and serious injury from traffic crashes. During the national Click It Or Ticket Mobilization, more than 12,000 law enforcement agencies in all 50 states will step-up enforcement of safety belt laws.

The two-week enforcement push, which runs from May 19 through the Memorial Day holiday, will be supported by more than $20 million in targeted state and national advertising by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is based on a proven public health model to increase belt use called "high visibility enforcement."

The Automotive Occupant Restraints Council is an international organization representing over 90% of all the vehicle safety restraint systems manufacturers, their suppliers and consultants. It is the mission of the AORC to save lives and reduce injuries by encouraging greater use of safety belts and understanding of safety restraint technologies through public information and education programs; and to support enactment and enforcement of primary seat belt use laws.

"We applaud law enforcement nationwide for its efforts to save young lives on our nation's roadways," said George Kirchoff, AORC president. "Our 47 member companies are not only employers, we're parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who want to protect our young people from preventable tragedy." The AORC joins dozens of other organizations nationwide that endorse the intensive, lifesaving initiative.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 4,214 teens, ages 16-19, died and thousands more were injured in traffic crashes in 2001. Fatality rates for teens are twice that of older drivers and the risk of crashes for teens is four times that of older drivers. Two out of five deaths among teens are the result of a traffic crash. In 2000, the estimated economic impact of police-reported crashes involving drivers between 15 and 20 years old was $32.8 billion.

"The Click It Or Ticket Mobilizations are proven to work," said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D., who is an emergency physician. "Law enforcement deserves the support of the broad community in its efforts to save lives."

While national seat belt use stands at 75 percent, research shows the remaining 25 percent who don't wear their seat belts are disproportionately teens and young men ages 18-34. At 66 percent, teen belt use is far behind the rest of the population.

During the Mobilization, the message to teens and young adults will be seen and heard in television and radio ads, in Internet chat rooms, over public high school address systems, and through enforcement close to locations where young people congregate -- such as schools and shopping malls. 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 incentive to buckle up than the threat of injury or death. According to NHTSA, seat belt use in states that conduct high visibility enforcement is 10 to 15 percentage points higher than in states that simply conduct public education.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has pointed out that at least 9,000 people will be killed in traffic crashes this year because they were not wearing safety belts, which is equivalent to a 737 plane crash every week for a year.

The National Click It or Ticket 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, and the NTSB.