Nationwide Law Enforcement Crackdown Takes Aim At Unbelted Teens and Young Adults During Memorial Day Week (5/20/02)

(Washington, D.C.) - The largest nationwide seat belt enforcement push ever will place special emphasis on protecting teens and young adults this Memorial Day week as new data show more than half of all teens who die in crashes are completely unrestrained. More than 11,200 law enforcement agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia will conduct child passenger safety, seat belt and drunk driving checkpoints and other special enforcement activities as part of the Operation ABC Mobilization.

Law Enforcement Mobilizes As More Travelers Choose To Drive This Thanksgiving (11/19/01) -- National Safety Council Predicts 532 Will Die and 28,000 Will Be Seriously Injured in Traffic Crashes During Thanksgiving

(Washington, D.C.) – In the largest nationwide Mobilization ever, more than 10,600 law enforcement agencies in all 50 states will be stepping up enforcement of child passenger safety, seat belt and drunk driving laws over the Thanksgiving holiday. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is one of the most dangerous travel holidays; this year will be no different.

National Report Finds Most States Mired In Mediocrity On Critical Public Health Measure: Seat Belt Use -- Thousands Die As A Result (05/21/01)

State Rankings Coincide with Largest-Ever Crackdown to Enforce Seat Belt Laws and Save Lives;Many States Improving Programs

(Washington, D.C.) As law enforcement agencies in all 50 states mobilize to save lives by cracking down on seat belt scofflaws, a new report says more such efforts are needed to lift America out of deadly mediocrity when it comes to seat belt use.

National Report Finds Most States Mired In Mediocrity On Critical Public Health Measure: Seat Belt Use -- Thousands Dying As A Result (05/16/01)

From May 21 through Memorial Day, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers will mobilize in the largest-ever enforcement blitz on drivers who don’t buckle up and don’t buckle up kids. The Operation ABC Mobilization is a nationwide coordinated effort to save lives by stepping up enforcement of seat belt and child restraint safety laws. Seat belt violators and drivers who don’t restrain kids will be ticketed and fined.

South Carolina Governor Honored By National Safety Council For Life-Saving Seat Belt Enforcement Campaign (02/01/01)

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) The National Safety Council honored South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges today in a ceremony in Columbia, S.C., for his leadership excellence in a ground-breaking seat belt campaign that is saving lives.

Nationwide Enforcement Blitz Aims At Drunk Drivers and Deadbeat Drivers Who Threaten Children's Lives. (11/20/00)

(Washington, D.C.) On November 20, 2000, 10,423 law enforcement agencies launched a coordinated effort to protect children from two of the leading risks they face: riding with a drunk driver and riding unrestrained. Law enforcement officers in all 50 states were out in force ticketing drivers who failed to buckle up their child passengers and arresting drivers found drunk. This was the first time that Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) joined forces with the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign (AB&SBSC) to support the law enforcement crackdown, which has in the past focused solely on enforcement of child restraint laws.

Seat Belt Use Reaches All-time High; Child Deaths Down Dramatically.
DOT credits Operation ABC Mobilization for Helping Save Lives (09/07/00)

(Washington) - A record number of Americans are buckling up - bringing seat belt use across the country to an all-time high of 71 percent, a four percentage point increase since December 1999, and a nine percentage point increase since May 1998, when only 62 percent of the country was buckling up, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) .

Citizens Join in Protecting Kids as Nation's Law Enforcement Mobilizes to Crack Down on Drivers With Unbuckled Children: National Safety Council Lends Support with Citizen Action Hotline (05/19/00)

On May 22, 2000 more than 8,200 law enforcement agencies launched the Memorial Day Operation ABC Mobilization , the nationwide crackdown on deadbeat drivers - adults who disregard the law and fail to buckle up children. The National Safety Council announced a toll-free number that citizens could call to help protect children from one of the leading risks they face - riding unrestrained in a crash.

Press Release
Operation ABC Mobilization Summary
Child Passenger Safety Fact Sheet
NOPUS Chart
Air Bag Description

10/15/99 African Americans Report Overwhelming Support For Primary Seat Belt Laws (10/15/99 )

African Americans who live in states with a primary seat belt law, enforceable on the same basis as other traffic laws, overwhelmingly favor the law - by more than a 3-to-1 margin. Less than one-half of one percent of African Americans report race-related harassment problems as a result of their state's seat belt law. And, self reported belt use in primary enforcement states is 17 percentage points higher than in states with weaker secondary enforcement laws.
News Release
Urban League Statement
Remarks by Silas Lee III
Encouraging Trends
Key Highlights of Study
Summary of Study
Youth Passenger Fact Sheet
Air Bag Description

May 1999 Effort
Nation's Law Enforcement Declares Zero Tolerance for Unbuckled Children in all 50 States

Just months after the Department of Transportation announced that the Operation ABC Mobilizations in 1998 played a key role in motivating 19 million more Americans to buckle up, the Campaign in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA) mobilized an even larger nationwide enforcement crackdown on drivers who don't buckle up kids. More than 6,100 law enforcement agencies in all 50 states conducted high-visibility enforcement during the week prior to Memorial Day weekend.
News Release
National Child Restraint Use Chart
List of Governors Supporting Zero Tolerance
Selected State Highlights
Enforcement Fact Sheet
Georgia Enforcement Program
Enforcement Q&A
Encouraging Trends in Strengthening Safety Belt Laws
NOPUS Chart
Child Passenger Safety Fact Sheet
Adults Who Don't Buckle Up Have A Dangerous Impact on Children
View Photos: [Photo 1 | Photo 2 | [Photo 3 ]

February 1999 Effort
Capital Kids - Kids Urge State Leaders to Stop No. 1 Killer of Children By Passing Primary Adult Seat Belt Laws: Campaign Unveils New Advertising to Support State Efforts to Enact Strong Law

During Child Passenger Safety Week - 1999, kids took the message about the need for standard seat belt laws to elected leaders in states that currently have secondary belt laws, or none at all. Their message, "Grown ups who don't use seat belts usually don't buckle up kids either. We need strong laws to get adults to do the right thing for themselves, for kids and for their families." The meetings were part of a stepped-up effort by the Campaign to support state campaigns to enact strong belt laws.

November 1998 Effort
Operation ABC: Mobilization - America Buckles Up Children

Building on the unprecedented gains achieved by the Operation ABC Mobilization in May 1998, a record number of law enforcement agencies participating from all 50 states - over 5,000 - joined together for the second time to protect kids by cracking down on drivers who don't buckle up children. The nationwide enforcement wave took place during the week of Thanksgiving, one of the most dangerous travel holidays of the year.

July 1998 Effort
Infants Still Placed In Front of Air Bags, Despite Universal Warnings.

The Campaign released a survey of 200 parents that revealed 99% of parents with children under age one say they have heard about the risks that air bags pose to children. Alarmingly, 11% continue to place infants in the front seat- amounting to as many as 175,000 babies at risk. The survey also revealed that drivers who don't wear their seat belts are 50% more likely to improperly restrain infants than are drivers who wear seat belts. In addition, drivers most likely to place infants at risk tend to be younger, have less formal education and live in the South.
Key Findings
Stepping Up Efforts to Reach New and Expectant Parents

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For more information, contact the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign, National Safety Council, 1025 Conn. Ave., NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20036; (202) 625-2570 (tel.); (202) 822-1399 (fax); E-mail: airbag@nsc.org .