Evaluation of a Rural Seat Belt Demonstration Program in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee

Three southeastern States initiated high-visibility enforcement campaigns to address lower seat belt use in their rural areas than in non-rural areas. Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee conducted four waves of intensified enforcement and media from November 2008 to May 2010. The May campaigns were conducted just prior to the national Click It or Ticket campaigns. Combining activity, awareness and usage data from all three States, there was a significant positive correlation between media expenditures and awareness of rural seat belt messages. Two awareness indices correlated highly with usage and achieved statistical significance: awareness of rural seat belt messages and perceived risk of a ticket for not buckling up. While the significant correlations between awareness measures and belt usage suggest that the message got through to drivers, comparison of changes in belt use in the rural demonstration program (RDP) versus the control areas produced mixed results. Seat belt usage increased significantly in the targeted rural areas of all three States, but it also increased at about the same rate in the control areas in two of the States. Only Georgia provided evidence of a rate of increase in rural usage greater than experienced in the control area, which may have been partially due to the use and public awareness of checkpoints.

• Record URL:
  http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/812328-RuralSeatBeltDemoRegion4.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Preusser Research Group, Incorporated

  7100 Main Street
  Trumbull, CT  United States  06611

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  Office of Behavioral Safety Research, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Nichols, J L
  • Chaffe, R
  • Solomon, M G
  • Tison, J
• Publication Date: 2016-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 42p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demonstration projects; Law enforcement; Mass media; Rural areas; Seat belt use
• Geographic Terms: Florida; Georgia; Tennessee
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01616253
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT HS 812 328
• Contract Numbers: DTNH22-06-D-0047
• Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Nov 15 2016 11:34AM