Metropolitan Columbia
Traffic Safety Program

SOUTH CAROLINA

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  High media visibility   Safe Communities
  Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population   Occupant Protection
      Child Passenger Safety
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  City    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  General Population   500,000

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Use of seat belts and child safety seats in South Carolina historically had remained below national averages. This low use phenomenon also applied to South Carolina's major population center and capital city, Columbia.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In 1994, the Metropolitan Columbia Traffic Safety Program was formed by the Columbia Police Department to increase safety belt use in the Columbia metropolitan area. Specifically, the program was designed to:

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The Metropolitan Columbia Traffic Safety Program formed an Advisory Council comprised of the business community, city and county governments, law enforcement specialists, educators, emergency medical professionals, federal and state officials, and traffic specialists from Richland and Lexington Counties, the two counties in which Columbia is located. The Advisory Council addressed occupant protection issues through a media and enforcement campaign that focused on several strategies:

RESULTS
During 1996, a series of occupant protection use surveys were conducted at local events such as festivals and fairs. Survey results indicated an overall occupant protection use rate of 95 percent, with a 92 percent seat belt use rate for vehicle passengers and a 78 percent use rate for child safety seats.

FUNDING
  Section 402:

$31,000

  Local:

$31,000

CONTACT  
  Mary Elizabeth (Betsy) Holmes
Metropolitan Columbia Traffic Safety
Program
2632 Millwood Avenue
Columbia, SC 29205
(803) 998-8011


National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Spring 1997