California Pickup Truck Campaign CALIFORNIA


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

In 1994, California passed legislation prohibiting people from riding in the back of a pickup truck on a public roadway. Yet even after passage of that law in 1994, 32 people were killed while occupying the cargo area of a pickup truck. Further, although data on fatalities to occupants riding in the cab and cargo area were available, none covered non-fatal injuries. There was no information available on the characteristics of who owns pickup trucks and the conditions under which they are used. Occupant protection programs did not address travel in cargo areas of pickup trucks, nor did any educational or informational materials explain pickup truck safety-related issues.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The Pediatric Injury Prevention Research Group at the University of California, Irvine, with support from the State of California Office of Traffic Safety, had originally formed the California Pickup Truck Campaign to collect data supporting the need for legislation. Once legislation was passed, their efforts continued to provide the educational component of this law prohibiting cargo area travel. The campaign sought to provide this information to health professionals, highway safety professionals, pickup truck owners and legislators. Information would include:

California Pickup Truck Campaign (cont'd)

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

The project began with a survey of Riverside County, an area that represents both urban and rural environments. Information was collected from 1,000 motor vehicle owners on pickup truck use, demographics, restraint usage and other safety measures. The results of the survey were published and an informational packet with fact sheets concerning pickup passenger safety was developed.

This information aided in passing pickup truck legislation. After this legislation was passed in 1994 (Chapter 895, Statutes 1993), posters and brochures/flyers, and radio and television public service announcements (PSAs) were created.

A 46-minute curriculum module entitled "Don't Be Human Cargo... deadly way to go" was designed to educate students aged 15 -18. The module was designed with an interactive format, encouraging debate of recognized barriers to safe behavior adoption such as peer pressure, misconceptions about the incidence and severity of noncrash injuries and fatalities, the "loss of personal freedom" argument, civil rights versus civic responsibility, and the "immortality of youth" image.

RESULTS

The informational material and PSAs have been well received, with one PSA that targeted teens and young adults winning the 1995 "Buckle Up America" award. Started in the greater Los Angeles area, the project has been expanded, allowing this informational material to be distributed statewide.

Because of the data generated from this project, other organizations have established position statements and policies addressing travel in the cargo area of pickup trucks. The California Department of Health Services included the issue in its State Five Year Injury Control Plan, and both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association reviewed the project prior to developing their policies. The original survey conducted provided data supporting the need for legislation prohibiting travel in the cargo area of pickup trucks.