Southwestern Minnesota has been identified for targeted enforcement of occupant protection laws. This rural region has the second lowest safety belt usage rate for occupants killed or injured in 2001.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goals of the Daytime Concentrated Area Patrol (DayCAP) are to:

• Increase the safety belt compliance rate in southwestern Minnesota;
• Create a program that focuses on safety belt violations during daytime hours; and
• Create a partnership between city, county, and state law enforcement agencies within a four-county area.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

During July and August 2002, DayCAP was implemented for six weeks to aggressively enforce occupant protection laws during daylight hours. Several law enforcement agencies worked together, including five police departments and four sheriff offices, under the administration of State Patrol District 2300.

All enforcement personnel were required to be Occupant Protection Usage Enforcement (OPUE) trained. Each department selected the best times of day and high-traffic locations to detect safety belt violations. Assigned shifts did not exceed four hours in duration.

A news conference introducing the DayCAP project was held on July 9, 2002. Local prosecutors, court administrators, and judges were also informed that additional safety belt violation activity was going to occur during the DayCAP time period.

Phase One of DayCAP enforcement began on July 8 and ended on August 2. All agencies and troopers were assigned to work a specific number of hours during the four-week period. Upon completion of Phase One, DayCAP evaluated productivity and appropriated funds to local agencies considered successful in implementing the project. Additional hourly increases allowed agencies to continue to detect, cite, and enforce safety belt infractions. Phase Two of DayCAP ran for two weeks and coincided with a second media release.

During the six-week enforcement campaign, 2,573 vehicles were stopped resulting in 1,094 safety belt tickets and 224 safety belt warnings.

An important component of the project is the role that agency leadership played to enforce Minnesota’s secondary safety belt law. The Patrol District Captain set the pace for his staff by working hours himself. By reducing moving violation tolerance levels and taking a closer look at infractions that qualify for citations, officers were able to stop more vehicles when they witnessed safety belt violations.

RESULTS

Observational safety belt surveys were conducted before and after the DayCAP project. These surveys found that the belt-use rate increased from 57 percent to 76 percent. Surveys were also taken for the November (2002) Mobilization, which found belt-use rates at 72 and 76 percent pre- and post-enforcement. The community maintained the new belt-use rate achieved through this project.

A second evaluation component determined DayCAP belt citations issued in the four counties were being dismissed by the court system. Of the over 1,000 belt citations, only one percent was dismissed and 93 percent of violators pled guilty.