Zero Tolerance Campaign

IOWA

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population   Alcohol and Other Drugs
  High media visibility    Youth Programs
       
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  State    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  Youth Drivers 2,852,000


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Drivers under age 21 continue to be over-represented in alcohol-involved motor vehicle crashes nationwide. In Iowa in 1995, 31 of 142 (or approximately 21 percent) of alcohol- related crashes involved drivers aged 16 to 20. To address this serious safety issue, the Iowa legislature enacted a "zero tolerance" law in 1995, setting the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for drivers under the age of 21 years at 0.02 BAC. Youth drivers apprehended with a BAC level of more than 0.02 face seizure of their driver's license. Iowa law enforcement officials determined that a media campaign would be beneficial to help inform youth drivers about the new law, and to discourage alcohol consumption among this underage target group.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau developed the Zero Tolerance Campaign in 1996 to help educate the youth of Iowa about the new law. Objectives related to this campaign included:


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Traffic Safety Bureau staff designed a series of unique and creative campaign materials to appeal to youth aged 16 to 24, and convey the zero tolerance message. Materials included:

 

RESULTS
The Zero Tolerance Campaign has been very well received by the media, highway safety professionals and its target population—youth ages 16 to 20. The program's creative, humorous and somewhat offbeat style has been very successful in delivering the message about the consequences of impaired driving; that is, loss of a driver's license and subsequent immobility. The Campaign has also received extensive advertising time on radio and television stations throughout Iowa.

During the first 18 months of zero tolerance implementation (from July 1995 to December 1996), Iowa law enforcement officers arrested 2,738 violators. During this same period, traffic crash fatalities among drivers 16 to 24 dropped more than 13 percent (from 38 to 33).

 

FUNDING
  Section 402:

$145,000

CONTACT 
  Carson E. Whitlow
Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau 307 East Seventh Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281-8348


National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Spring 1998