PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injuries and fatalities for individuals between the ages of one and 78. Safety belts reduce the risk of death or injury in a crash by as much as 65 percent. Safety belts reduce injuries and deaths by preventing passenger ejection from vehicles and preventing occupants from being thrown against each other and the interior of the vehicles. Unfortunately, fewer than 60 percent of all motor vehicle drivers and passengers in Kansas regularly use safety belts. Safety belt usage in Kansas is lower than the average for the United States. We can save more lives and reduce injuries by strongly encouraging all of Kansas to buckle up. A specific area of concern is the need to increase safety belt use in the rural parts of Kansas that account for nearly 75 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities in the state.

Infants and small children require a child safety seat to protect them in motor vehicle crashes. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children, ages one through five, and also account for about one-third of all child deaths and injuries. Many of these lives can be saved and injuries prevented through the correct use of child safety seats.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The project's main objectives are to:

• Decrease deaths and injuries in vehicle crashes in Kansas

• Promote occupant protection statewide

• Increase Public Information & Education efforts statewide

• Provide child passenger safety training

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

• Public Relations. Establish new partnerships and maintain the Kansas Identification (KIDS) sticker program. (The KIDS program sticker displays the identity of the child on their child passenger seat.)

• Media Relations. Develop two Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and create and distribute a Child Passenger Safety and Belt Use Survey news release.

• Training Activities. Provide child passenger safety training.

• Materials. Develop three new promotional items, develop two brochures, and distribute Safe and Sober quarterly planners.

RESULTS

Safety belt use in Kansas increased during FFY 1999 in two of the three age groups. Usage for children up to age four increased from 80 percent to 81 percent; usage for children four to 14 decreased from 59 percent to 57 percent; and for adults over the age of 14, usage increased from 59 percent to 63 percent.

Kansas has created a partnership with approximately 250 individuals involved in occupant protection. The KIDS program was continually promoted.

Each quarter a newsletter is developed and distributed to 1,500 partners updating them on the safety belt efforts in the state. A display promoting safety belts and child safety seats was established at 34 health and safety fairs, as well as the Kansas State Fair. Two Kansas Clicks radio and television PSA’s were developed and distributed statewide.

Kansas provided four, eight-hour child safety seat training classes. There are 22 Child Passenger Safety (CPS) certified Technicians and six CPS certified Instructors in Kansas. More than 570,000 educational and promotional items were distributed to more than 1,034 traffic safety advocates. In addition, two new safety promotional brochures were developed for the program.

   FALL 2001