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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Traumatic injuries
from motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in
the United States for persons 1 to 34 years of age; however,
proper use of seat belts can reduce the risk of fatal injury
to front seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent. The State
of Oregon has a stringent primary enforcement law requiring the
driver to be responsible for properly restraining a passenger
under the age of 16, yet 15 percent of passenger car occupants
still do not buckle up. Moreover, statewide surveys disclosed
that one out of four children, under the age of one, were not
properly restrained.
In Jackson County, from
1995 through 1997, in more than 50 percent of the reported fatal
crashes, the victims were not wearing a seat belt. Two children
were among the crash fatalities during this time, due to the
absence of proper restraints. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office
identified two problems:
- Police officers had
no difficulty in issuing seat belt citations while stopping motorists
for another violation; however, officers had difficulty in consistently
enforcing the primary seat belt law
- More than 150 low income
families were on the County's waiting list for affordable child
safety seats
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Why
Safety Belts? program was to reduce motor vehicle crash related
injuries and fatalities through the increase of safety belt and
child safety seat use. In order to reach this goal, several objectives
were set:
- Create a positively-motivated
enforcement environment in which police officers could progressively
increase primary seat belt law enforcement
- Design a quality public
education program to reach primary law violators
- Establish a consistent
source of funds to purchase child safety seats for low income
families
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Early in 1997, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office developed
the Why Safety Belts? campaign as the primary strategy
for meeting the program's goal and objectives. The Why Safety
Belts? initiative provides the courts with the option of
offering a seat belt offender a choice between receiving a citation
and fine or paying a $20 fee and attending a Why Safety Belts?
class. Upon completion of the class, the offender's fine is suspended
and the citation is dismissed. Class instruction is provided
by a collaborative effort of the Rogue Valley Medical Center
Emergency Services, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, the
Jackson County Health Department and the Oregon State Police.
It features a slide presentation of the results of crashes occurring
locally, complete with graphic portrayals of the injuries suffered
in these crashes and the resulting medical procedures required—all
preventable if the occupants had worn seat belts. The $20 fee
paid by each attendee is used to endow a fund to purchase child
safety seats for dissemination to financially-qualified families,
disbursed through the local health department, local hospitals
and fire departments.
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