PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
A 1997 traffic
safety study, conducted by the State of Kentucky, revealed that
only 54 percent of drivers and their passengers used seat belts
when traveling in a motor vehicle.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the
Buckle Up Kentucky Challenge was to increase the use of seat
belts statewide. Objectives of the Challenge included:
- Develop a statewide
occupant protection program
- Design a program
that would generate competition among the many law enforcement
agencies in the state
- Create a program
of rewards both for motorists and law enforcement agencies
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In May 1998, the
Kentucky Highway Safety Office and the Kentucky State Police
created a contest designed to increase seat belt use. The contest,
the Buckle Up Kentucky Challenge, rewarded the law enforcement
officers and agencies who worked to increase seat belt use and
rewarded the motorists who did their part by buckling up. The
primary strategy used for the Challenge was to promote healthy
competition among state law enforcement agencies toward the goal
of increased seat belt use. The steps of the Challenge were simple:
- Officers distributed
"Thank You Tickets" to motorists wearing seat belts
- The motorist receiving
a Ticket was instructed to return the Ticket to the Highway Safety
Office for a chance to win a prize
- Participating officers
and law enforcement agencies won prizes for issuing both "Thank
You Tickets" and citations for seat belt use violations
Law enforcement
officers and agencies competed against each other based on the
size and type of the agency. Three winners were selected in each
of the following categories:
- Participation in
the Buckle Up Kentucky Challenge: The officers and agencies who
issued the highest number of "Thank You Tickets" to
motorists won in this category
- Enforcement Activities:
The officers and agencies who issued the greatest number of citations
for seat belt and child restraint violations between May 18 and
September 7, 1998 won in this category
- The Bottom Line:
Observational surveys of belt use were conducted before Memorial
Day and after Labor Day. The law enforcement agencies with the
greatest increase in belt use rates were winners
The first place
winner in each category received an in-car video camera. The
second place winners each received radar units and the third
place winners each received portable breath testers (PBT's).
In addition, the officer who exhibited exemplary practices in
all three of the categories won an all-expense-paid cruise to
the Bahamas for four days and three nights.
The lucky motorist
whose Ticket was drawn in October 1998, won a two-year lease
on a 1998 Ford Ranger truck. |