Georgia/Hands Across the Border

Hands Across the Border

GEORGIA

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS		PROGRAM AREA(S)
	Outstanding collaborative effort		Occupant Protection
	High media visibility		Public Information and Education
			Police Traffic Services

TYPE OF JURISDICTION
	State

TARGETED POPULATION(S)		JURISDICTION SIZE
	Motorists		7,055,336

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Historically in Georgia, Labor Day Weekend rates second over other holiday periods for highway crash fatalities. Based on statistically calculated estimates, the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety predicted that, during the 1996 Labor Day holiday period, beginning at 6:00 pm August 30, 1996 and ending at midnight September 2, 1996, the state would experience 1,901 traffic crashes, with 19 fatalities and 898 injuries. To help reduce these alarming statistics, the Hands Across the Border program was devised.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of Hands Across the Border was to save lives and reduce the severity of injuries experienced by holiday motorists traveling on interstate highways entering and exiting Georgia. The focus of this occupant protection project was to increase motorist awareness of critical safety concerns by:

Obtaining the cooperative participation of law enforcement officers from Georgia and the neighboring states of Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina
Acquiring broad ranging support for a public information and education outreach campaign to promote correct safety belt and child safety seat use among holiday travelers in and around Georgia

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The Governor's Office of Highway Safety and the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service collaborated to orchestrate the 1996 Labor Day Weekend "Hands Across the Border" campaign. Program coordinators enlisted support from law enforcement officers in Georgia and bordering states to disseminate information to motorists at interstate Visitors' and Welcome Centers. Law enforcement officers were assisted by representatives from the State Department of Transportation, Public Service Commission, Governor's Office of Highway Safety, University of Georgia, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Mayor's offices, County Commissioners' offices, Georgia General Assembly, and the news media. This event also provided an excellent opportunity to promote Georgia's new primary safety belt use law which became effective on July 1, 1996.

Approximately 50 law enforcement officers participated in the public information and education portion of the campaign at each interstate location, providing the following support:

Participating in local and statewide press coverage through media interviews
Distributing literature addressing occupant protection
Allowing motorists to observe patrol vehicles, motorcycles, helicopters, blood-alcohol testing vehicles, and drug detection dogs

RESULTS
After the Hands Across the Border campaign, the 1996 Labor Day holiday weekend crash statistics were compiled. Traffic crashes for this period totalled 2,146, with 13 fatalities and 687 injuries. Although the total number of crashes was higher than predicted (2,146 versus 1,901), injuries and fatalities were significantly lower than predicted (678 versus 898 injuries, and 13 versus 19 fatalities). This reduction is attributed to increased use of occupant restraints by motorists in response to Hands Across the Border.

FUNDING
	Section 402:	$2,000
CONTACT
	Randall Townley Statewide Coordinator University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service P.O. Box 631 Lithonia, GA 30058 (770) 388-5765

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Spring 1997