REGION 4 STATES
Safety Belts and Pizza—Get 'Em Together

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  Outstanding collaborative effort
Innovative or non-traditional approach
  Occupant Protection
       
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  Multi-jurisdictional    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  General Population   49,651,500


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
The states which comprise the area served by Region 4 of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Although the NHTSA Region 4 Office has made strides to help attain the national goal of 85 percent seat belt use by the year 2000, this goal has not yet been reached. The challenge for the NHTSA Region 4 Office has been to develop and support seat belt use programs that can be easily replicated in all states encompassed by the region.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the program, Safety Belts and Pizza—Get ‘Em Together, was to reduce injuries and fatalities in the Region 4 states through proper use of safety belts and child safety seats. Objectives of this endeavor were to:

  • Build on existing, successful efforts to develop a region-wide seat belt use program
  • Design a program to support the strategy of the Presidential Initiative to Increase Seat Belt Use Nationwide


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In 1997, the Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia Office of Highway Safety, in partnership with the NHTSA Region 4 Office, launched a statewide seat belt enforcement campaign, Operation Strap ‘N Snap. One of the early successful elements of the campaign was the involvement of Pizza Hut, Inc.©, which furnished 70,000 buy-one-get-one-free pizza coupons for police officers to give to drivers of cars in which everyone was buckled-up. The theme of this effort was "Seat Belts Give You The Edge"—a clever interpretation of Pizza Hut's new Edge Pizza®. This unique initiative helped Georgia achieve its highest seat belt use rate ever recorded—74 percent for drivers (a 6 percent increase from the previous use rate of 68 percent). Furthermore, law enforcement officers reported enjoying the positive interaction with the driving public, while offering motorists a reward for doing the right thing. Encouraged by the success of the "Seat Belts Give You The Edge" effort, Pizza Hut again joined the Buckle Up America! campaign, and, in partnership with NHTSA, expanded their original enterprise to the Southeastern States.

Between September and December 1998, law enforcement officers in the NHTSA Region 4 States will issue more than 600,000 "thank you tickets" of Pizza Hut coupons to motorists who buckle their safety belts. Most of the tickets will be issued during the November 23-29 national Operation ABC Mobilization: America Buckles Up Children Campaign (part of the Buckle Up America! Campaign), at safety seat clinics, during planned holiday travel road safety checks and at State Welcome Centers. The coupon distribution will help the Campaign by enhancing media events and promoting public awareness of seat belt use. The theme of this new, expanded Pizza Hut partnership program is Safety Belts And Pizza—Get ‘Em Together.


RESULTS
In September 1998, Pizza Hut was presented with NHTSA's highest public service award for its corporate commitment to the Buckle Up America! Campaign. The Pizza Hut program has helped broaden the scope of NHTSA's seat belt initiative and provided the opportunity to expand the message of seat belt safety.
 

FUNDING
  Pizza Hut $4,690,000
CONTACT  
  Gary Butler
Regional Program Manager
NHTSA Region 4 Office
61 Forsyth Street, SW
Suite 17T30
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 562-3739



NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

FALL 1998