PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Statistics for Cochise
County, Arizona indicate that, in 1998, 78 percent of accidental deaths
in the county were attributable to motor vehicle crashes. A high percentage
of these deaths involved non-use or improper use of occupant restraints.
Data for 1998 also revealed that 72 percent of traffic crash-related
child fatalities involved an unrestrained child. Although Arizona's
occupant protection laws include a secondary seat belt law and a primary
child safety seat law, it was apparent to county traffic safety advocates
that traditional enforcement and education efforts should be enhanced
by non-traditional programs.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Buckle Up Cochise
County program was developed in 1999 to reduce motor vehicle- related
injuries and fatalities in Cochise County and its local jurisdictions.
To help achieve this goal, the following objectives were created:
- Building a partnership
of traffic safety advocates
- Strengthening traditional
occupant protection enforcement and education activities
- Developing an alternative
approach to traditional occupant protection programs
- Targeting school-age
children
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In 1999,
the Cochise County Child Fatality Review Team embarked on an effort
to save lives through the design of a new, innovative program, Buckle
Up Cochise County. The new program was developed through close collaboration
among team members, local law enforcement agencies and the Cochise County
Justice Courts. Additional support came from the City of Sierra Vista's
fire department, local elementary schools, the City of Huachuca, and
Sierra Vista's local newspaper. Buckle Up Cochise County is an innovative
departure from traditional occupant protection programs, featuring a
two-part focus:
- Part
I: EnforcementTargets the unrestrained driver, through
aggressive enforcement activities, coupled with an alternative sentencing
procedure:
The Cochise
County Department of Public Safety, the county sheriff, the Sierra
Vista Police Department, and the Huachuca City Police Department,
collaborated in an aggressive enforcement campaign tied to an alternative
sentencing strategy, designed by several local judges. In lieu of
a more traditional fine, defendants in occupant protection violation
cases are ordered to write a 300 to 500 word essay in support of
safety restraint use. Essays are to be based on one of 10 scenarios
taken from actual traffic crashes in Cochise County. After the court
receives the completed essay, it is submitted to the newspaper for
publication
As part
of this alternative sentencing strategy, violators of occupant protection
laws will be ordered to purchase a child safety seat. The child
safety seats are then donated to Sierra Vista's fire department
for disbursement to needy families
- Part
II: School Presentations—Target third grade students, to encourage
a lifelong habit of seat belt use. Traffic safety advocates will rely
on the serendipitous pressure children can place on their loved ones
to "buckle up."
A team
of enforcement agencies and community service agencies have collaborated
on a curriculum appropriate for third grade students. County teachers
have agreed to conduct pre- and post-presentation testing
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