TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA
Buckle the Border

 

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population
High media visibility
Outstanding collaborative effort
 

Buckle Up America
Diversity
ONE DOT

       
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  Multi-jurisdictional    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  General Population
Hispanic Americans
  57,992,355


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Each day, hundreds of thousands of motor vehicle operators and passengers enter the United States from Mexico, through border cities in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Observational surveys and studies indicate that, as many as 90 percent of drivers and passengers entering at the border, do not use seat belts or child safety seats.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In an effort to prevent motor vehicle crash-related injuries in United States-Mexico border communities, the Region 6 Office of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) developed the Buckle the Border initiative in 1999. Objectives of the project include the following:

  • To design a Buckle Up America! campaign specifically for the border communities
  • To create a partnership of local community officials and federal agencies on both sides of the border
  • To provide safety awareness information in both English and Spanish to motorists crossing the Mexico-United States border


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Through a unique joint partnership of federal agencies, Texas state officials and local community officials, the Region 6 ONE DOT Intermodal Border and Safety Team was created. Through the efforts of the team, a clear message was sent that every person in every vehicle needs to be protected from injury when entering the United States. Three simultaneous news conferences kicked off the Buckle the Border campaign on June 3, 1999. The campaign was supported through teamwork between the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Treasury, Justice, and Agriculture; the Texas Department of Transportation; local Safe Communities agencies; area law enforcement agencies; and the chiefs of enforcement for sister border cities. This unique border event was featured during International Highway Transportation Safety Week and was enhanced by several activities:

  • Bilingual Buckle Up America! signs were donated by NHTSA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and were placed at approximately 125 entry points on the Texas-Mexico border
  • Federal, state, and local agencies from both sides of the border distributed bilingual safety information fact sheets at the entry points
  • Law enforcement officials on both sides of the border pledged to increase occupant protection education and enforcement activities
  • Media coverage of the Buckle the Border campaign was extensive. From both sides of the border, radio, newspapers and 27 television stations recorded the event. Every major news affiliate in Mexico and the United States recorded Customs and Immigration Inspectors examining incoming traffic, while inspectors from the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Motor Carriers and Mexican federal truck inspectors distributed fact sheets


RESULTS
A second wave of the Buckle the Border campaign was launched during Memorial Day weekend on May 24, 2000. During press conferences kicking off the new campaign, expansion of the program was announced. NHTSA's Region 9 Office, serving the border cities in Arizona and California, joined this unique safety effort by placing bilingual signs at all entry points in both states.

NHTSA officials believe that the Buckle the Border effort is contributing significantly to prevention of motor vehicle-related injuries on both sides of the border.

 

FUNDING
  None
CONTACT  
 

Kenneth Copeland
Regional Programs Manager
NHTSA Region 6
819 Taylor Street, Room 8A38
Fort Worth, TX 76102
(817) 978–0120



NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

SPRING 2000