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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Just prior to the effective
date of Georgia's change to primary safety belt enforcement on
July 1, 1996, statewide surveys indicated a 51 percent safety
belt use rate. A year later, based on surveys conducted from
August 10 to September 9, 1997, the use rate had risen to 68
percent for front seat occupants of passenger cars—a 17
percent increase. Notwithstanding these impressive statistics,
the seat belt use rate in Georgia did not meet the target rate
of 85 percent set on April 16, 1997 in the Presidential Initiative
to Increase Seat Belt Use Nationwide.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of Georgia's
Putting Belt Use On Your Mind initiative, developed in 1998,
is to reduce injuries and fatalities suffered during motor vehicle
crashes, through proper use of safety belts and child safety
seats. The state has adopted several objectives designed to aid
in reaching the program's goal:
- Create a statewide
seat belt use strategy
- Design the Georgia
strategy to align with the elements of the national strategy
for increasing safety belt use
- Focus first on the
most important element of the national strategy, which encourages
the building of public-private partnerships
- Target the Georgia
effort at the community level to generate greater community involvement
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Georgia's strategy
involved the leadership of the Governor's Highway Safety Office
in developing and conducting a series of area briefings, in the
Town Hall format, throughout the state. These briefings were
chaired by the chief executive of the city or county, who was
joined by other local public and private community leaders in
a day of presentations and discussions regarding the benefits
of wearing safety belts and the results of failing to buckle-up.
- Speakers and presenters
consisted of representatives from the Governor's Highway Safety
Office, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), state and local politicians,
public health officials, physicians, and crash victims
- Specific topics included
the status of occupant protection in Georgia and the seriousness
of the problem, the economic and health costs of not wearing
safety belts, traffic problems as a precursor to crime, the benefits
of safety belt use, and start-up assistance for community safety
belt programs
- Speakers and presenters
assisted the local public and private leaders in developing action
plans and programs for implementation at the community level
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