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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In 1997, a total of 216
teenaged drivers, in Illinois, were killed in motor vehicle crashes.
Of these, 175 (81 percent) were not wearing seat belts. In an effort
to confront this alarming trend among teen drivers, Illinois State Police
officials from the District One area, which includes Lee, Whiteside,
Ogle and Carroll Counties, developed Operation SCORE (Student Concentrated
Occupant Restraint Efforts).
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Operation SCORE was initiated
in 24 Illinois high schools in District One during the 1998- 1999 school
year to increase students' awareness of the importance of consistent
seat belt use. Specific program objectives are to:
- Encourage students and
adults to buckle seat belts when riding in motor vehicles, through
equal enforcement of seat belt laws
- Increase the overall seat
belt compliance rate throughout District One to greater than 70 percent
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Operation SCORE uses the drivers education curriculum
currently provided in District One high schools to underscore the importance
of seat belt use and to publicize the Illinois State Police Department's
zero tolerance enforcement of the state's seat belt laws. Operation
SCORE is carried out in three phases:
- Pre-enforcement observational seat belt use surveys
are conducted in the areas around all District One high schools, to
determine the current compliance rate
- Concentrated zero tolerance enforcement of Illinois
seat belt laws for all motorists traveling in the vicinity of District
One high schools
- Post-enforcement observational seat belt use
surveys are conducted around District One high schools to measure
the progress of seat belt compliance in these areas
Phase One (pre-enforcement seat belt use surveys)
of Operation SCORE in District One counties was conducted in November
1998. The survey resulted in an observed overall seat belt compliance
rate of 43 percent for motorists traveling around District One high
schools during school arrival and departure times. Specific seat belt
use rates by county include: Lee County—35 percent; Whiteside County—42
percent; Carroll County—44 percent; and Ogle County—47 percent.
Phase Two (concentrated zero tolerance enforcement
of Illinois seat belt laws around District One high schools) of the
campaign was initiated in January 1999.
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