U.S. Department of Transportation

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

TRAFFIC TECH

Technology Transfer Series

Number 395 September 2010

The 2007 Click It or Ticket High-Visibility 

Seat Belt Mobilization

In May 2007 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sponsored the fifth national Click It or Ticket (CIOT)

high-visibility seat belt enforcement mobilization, which followed the CIOT program model of earned and paid media

publicizing seat belt enforcement, followed by vigorous law

enforcement activity and evaluation.

Media

In 2007 NHTSA spent $9.7 million on a national media buy

that netted 1,295 gross rating points. NHTSA’s national

media contractor estimated that over the two-week media

period, the CIOT media spots reached 85% of the intended

target group (men 18 to 34 years old) 13 times. In addition,

States spent $17 million on paid media for the 2007 May

Mobilization. The majority of media dollars went towards

placement of television advertisements followed by radio.

NHTSA strengthened the nighttime enforcement messaging

during the 2007 mobilization emphasizing that law enforcement was working both day and night.

Enforcement Activity

In 2007 fewer law enforcement agencies participated in the

CIOT mobilization and reported enforcement activities than

in 2006. As a result, police reported fewer seat belt citations

for a second year in a row.

The intensity of seat belt enforcement varied across States.

Seat belt citation rates ranged from zero per 10,000 people

in Wyoming and New Hampshire to 67 per 10,000 people in

New Jersey. The median rate for all 50 States and the District

of Columbia was 18 per 10,000. The median was higher

among the primary law States (18 per 10,000) compared to

the secondary law States (14 per 10,000), both of which are

lower than the two-week benchmark level recommended

(20 per 10,000) for a strong CIOT effort. Many States began

to incorporate nighttime enforcement as part of the CIOT

campaign activities.

Changes in Awareness

NHTSA conducted national telephone surveys before and

after the May mobilization to examine changes in attitudes

and awareness of belt use enforcement. Awareness of special efforts by police to ticket drivers for not using their seat

belts increased dramatically, from under 17% before to 51%

after the 2007 mobilization. Most respondents indicated they

had heard about special efforts from the television first, and

then radio.

Support for belt use laws and enforcement of belt use laws

remained high. Over the course of the 2007 CIOT mobilization, support for the police to write more tickets increased

significantly from 66% to 71%. The public support for a primary law also increased from 76% to 78%. In both the preand post-wave surveys, 89% strongly or somewhat agreed it

was important for police to enforce seat belt laws.

Since the beginning of the nationwide mobilizations in 2003

the public has increasingly recognized the Click It or Ticket 

slogan. Before the 2003 campaign 35% of the public were

familiar with the slogan; a year later this increased to 49%.

By 2007 recognition of the Click It or Ticket slogan reached

79% after the mobilization, suggesting that Click It or Ticket

has achieved a solid level of brand recognition.

Changes in Seat Belt Use

Statewide seat belt use rates increased in 40 of 52 States and

Territories in 2007. Seat belt use rates increased in 77% of

primary enforcement law States and 77% in States without

primary enforcement laws covering all passenger vehicle

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

2003 2004 2005

CIOT Mobilization Seat Belt Citation Rates

per 10K: 2003 to 2007

2006 2007
TRAFFIC TECH is a publication to disseminate information about

traffic safety programs, including evaluations, innovative programs, and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish. If you

would like to receive a copy, contact Angela H. Eichelberger, Ph.D.,

Editor, fax 202-366-7394, e-mail: angela.eichelberger@dot.gov.

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., NTI-132

Washington, DC 20590

State 2007 Population

SB Citations 

CIOT 2007

SB Citations 

per 10K

2007 

SB Use Rate

MN 5,197,621 9,385 18 87.8

OH 11,466,917 20,498 18 81.6

FL 18,251,243 28,788 16 79.1

KS 2,775,997 3,969 14 75.0

WI 5,601,640 7,914 14 75.3

AR 2,834,797 3,415 12 69.9

MT 957,861 853 9 79.6

VA 7,712,091 6,611 9 79.9

PA 12,432,792 10,177 8 86.7

SD 796,214 637 8 73.0

MO 5,878,415 4,028 7 77.2

NE 1,774,571 1,071 6 78.7

MA 6,449,755 3,582 6 68.7

NV 2,565,382 1,317 5 92.2

AZ 6,338,755 1,532 2 80.9

WY 522,830 24 0 72.2

No Adult Seat Belt Law

NH 1,315,828 0 0 63.8

* IN and GA adult seat belt laws exclude occupants in pickup trucks.

Conclusion

The 2007 CIOT Mobilization increased motorists’ awareness of the campaign and increased the perceived threat of

enforcement. The result was improved seat belt use in the

majority of States. However, the recent year-to-year gains in

belt use were less than the 2003-to-2005 period.

Higher level of enforcement intensity maximizes the effectiveness of CIOT programs. The May Mobilization enforcement has lost some of its intensity each of the last two years.

The number of States that have belt rates of 90% or better has

tripled since 2002 (California, Hawaii, Washington, Puerto

Rico). California, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New

Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Texas,

and Washington are the 12 States that achieved 90% or better

in 2007. The number of States with seat belt use rates below

70% has decreased from 18 in 2002 to 3 in 2007.

How to Order

To order Evaluation of the May 2007 Click It or Ticket Mobilization (38 pages plus appendices), prepared by Preusser

Research Group, write to the Office of Behavioral Safety

Research, NHTSA, NTI-130, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,

Washington, DC 20590, fax 202-366-7394, or download from

www.nhtsa.gov. John Siegler, Ph.D., was the Contracting

Officer’s Technical Representative for this project.

types. The proportion of all States that increased seat belt use

rates declined over successive years until 2007, when more

secondary enforcement States posted improvements. The

proportion of primary enforcement States posting increases

decreased over the last three years. The average increase in

seat belt use across the States equaled +1.4 percentage points

in 2007, higher than that achieved in 2006 (+.03) but not

higher than prior mobilizations.

State 2007 Population

SB Citations 

CIOT 2007

SB Citations 

per 10K

2007 

SB Use Rate

Primary Seat Belt Law States

NJ 8,685,920 58,170 67 91.4

KY 4,241,474 22,846 54 71.8

IL 12,852,548 65,116 51 90.1

CT 3,502,309 14,529 41 85.8

CA 36,553,215 146,957 40 94.6

MS 2,918,785 10,883 37 71.8

DE 864,764 3,174 37 86.6

SC 4,407,709 13,968 32 74.5

IN* 6,345,289 18,758 30 87.9

OK 3,617,316 10,134 28 83.1

HI 1,283,388 2,485 19 97.6

AL 4,627,851 8,830 19 82.3

NC 9,061,032 17,208 19 88.8

MI 10,071,822 18,572 18 93.7

TX 23,904,380 42,909 18 91.8

NY 19,297,729 34,317 18 83.5

TN 6,156,719 10,870 18 80.2

DC 588,292 905 15 87.1

MD 5,618,344 7,806 14 93.1

GA* 9,544,750 11,688 12 89.0

NM 1,969,915 2,351 12 91.5

OR 3,747,455 3,865 10 95.3

IA 2,988,046 2,362 8 91.3

WA 6,468,424 4,493 7 96.4

AK 683,478 292 4 82.4

LA 4,293,204 1,815 4 75.2

Secondary Seat Belt Law States

ID 1,499,402 4,507 30 78.5

WV 1,812,035 4,653 26 89.6

VT 621,254 1,481 24 87.1

CO 4,861,515 10,990 23 81.1

RI 1,057,832 2,269 21 79.1

UT 2,645,330 5,571 21 86.8

ND 639,715 1,319 21 82.2

ME 1,317,207 2,680 20 79.8