ILLINOIS
Click It or Ticket

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
As a result of rigorous enforcement of the state's occupant protection laws during the mid-1990s, Illinois State Police patrol officers increased the state's seat belt use rate to 68 percent by 1998. However, data collected in July 1999 indicated that the statewide rate of seat belt use had decreased to 65.9 percent. Illinois traffic safety officials met to discuss strategies to increase safety belt compliance throughout the state. Previously conducted surveys determined that 65 percent of the population consider themselves full-time seat belt users, 6 percent rarely or never wear seat belts, and 30 percent describe themselves as part-time users. That is, they only use a seat belt if they perceive themselves to be at risk, such as when driving in inclement weather, traveling a long distance, speeding, or if there is a chance that they will get a ticket. Illinois state highway safety offices agreed that changing the behavior of part-time seat belt users would be the most successful way to increase safety belt use statewide.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The Illinois State Police (ISP) adopted the Click It or Ticket campaign in 1999, to save lives and prevent injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes throughout the state. Specific objectives of the program were to:

• Increase safety belt use among part-time users, especially those identified to be at greatest risk for traffic crashes, such as 18 to 34 year-olds and pickup truck drivers
• Design a combined focus of increased enforcement and public information and education to change motorists' behavior
• Obtain media cooperation to help promote the campaign, through news conferences and public service announcements (PSAs)

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The Illinois Division of Traffic Safety believed that a "named campaign" had the best potential for increasing the perception of risk among part-time seat belt users. In November 1999, staff from IDOT's Division of Traffic Safety traveled to North Carolina to become familiar with the highly successful Click It or Ticket program. This statewide program is credited with increasing the seat belt use rate in North Carolina from 64 percent to 84 percent. Two seat belt enforcement waves are conducted annually, accompanied by a public information and education blitz, and media saturation to publicize the enforcement efforts.

Once familiar with North Carolina's campaign, IDOT provided a presentation on Click It or Ticket to ISP Command staff, who committed to join with local agencies to support the campaign in Illinois. A partnership was formed between IDOT's Division of Traffic Safety, ISP, the Illinois Secretary of State's Police, Chicago Police Department, Chicago Traffic Court, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, Illinois Sheriff's Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This planning group agreed on a Spring 2000 kick-off for the Click It or Ticket campaign. A local advertising firm devised a media campaign to target nine geographic regions statewide. A series of radio and television PSAs were produced, along with a billboard campaign. The media messages were designed to target motorists ages 18 to 34, and were graphic and politically incorrect. One billboard slogan featured young drivers, and read "Don't forget your protection."

As in North Carolina, each two-week occupant protection enforcement wave was to be preceded by a two-week media blitz, including a news conference, and radio and television PSAs. Enforcement waves, consisting of saturation points conducted by law enforcement officers with special enforcement training were scheduled to take place concurrently in all nine Illinois geographic regions.

RESULTS
The first wave of Illinois' Click It or Ticket campaign was conducted in May 2000, to coincide with the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Waves two and three corresponded with the 4th of July and Labor Day. Media exposure was tracked for each enforcement wave, and resulted in more than 200 individual news stories throughout Illinois' three major media markets.

As a result of the Click It or Ticket campaign, overall seat belt use in Illinois has increased from 65.9 percent in 1999, to 70.2 percent in 2000. A fourth wave of enforcement is scheduled for November, to correspond with NHTSA's ABC Law Enforcement Mobilization.

SUMMER 2000