Promoting Safety Belt Use Every Trip, Every Time (NAPSA)—Building on the suc- cess of previous efforts, Click It or Ticket /Operation ABC (America Buckles Up Children) Mobilization will once again play critical role in the effort to keep people safe on our nation’s roads and highways. The Mobilization efforts, led by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, include an intensive buckle-up promotion program with height- ened safety belt and child seat enforcement. Twice each year, law enforce- ment agencies nationwide conduct intensive, high-publicity Click It or Ticket campaigns with zero-tol- erance enforcement of safety belt law. These efforts—coupled with paid advertising and the support of government agencies, local coalitions and school officials— work to create dramatic increases in safety belt use and help defend us against one of the greatest threats to us all—traffic crashes. The new Mobilization will have a special focus on getting teens and young adults to buckle up. Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans age 15 to 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2002, approximately twothirds of all 15 to 34-year-olds killed or seriously injured in crashes weren’t wearing a safety belt. The Click It or Ticket efforts work. Research shows the Mobilization campaign to be a keyfactor in raising safety belt use rates. In 2003, more states ran cam- paigns than ever before and use rates indicate that the increased effort to get the public to buckle up was a success—there was an unprecedented four-point jump in Zero-tolerance safety belt laws have been showto help encourage people to buckle up. safety belt use nationwide, from 75 percent in 2002 to 79 percent in 2003. Safety belt use saves lives and prevents injuries. Each percent- age point increase in use saves about 270 additional lives nation- wide. It is estimated that safety belts save the lives of more than 14,000 motorists each year and save about $50 billion in medical care, lost productivity and other injury related costs nationwide. State and local efforts are critical to the success of the Click It or Ticket /Operation ABC Mobilization. To help support the campaign in your community, you can: Write letters to this newspa- per about your community’s/state’s efforts and about your support for law enforcement. Spread the word in your workplace, neighborhood or house of worship. Ask your local law enforce- ment agency how you can support their safety belt and child safety seat education efforts. Additional information about the Click It or Ticket /Operation ABC Mobilization, as well as tools to support the campaign in your community, can be found online at www.buckleupamerica.org.
