Number 330 May 2007

Traffic Safety Facts

Traffic Tech – Technology Transfer Series

U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Click It or Ticket (CIOT) is an intense, short-duration,

seat belt publicity and enforcement program. The 2005

Mobilization included an unprecedented level of paid

advertisements. Nearly $33 million in targeted State

and national advertising was budgeted for placing

television and, to a lesser extent, radio advertisements.

About $10 million was spent for a national media buy.

A national advertisement specifically carried a message 

that States were serious about enforcing the seat belt

law and told motorists repeatedly to Click It or Ticket.

Individual States spent an additional $23 million of

grant funding on similar messages typically expressing

the same tone of intolerance for seat belt nonusers.

National mobilizations are conducted by the National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Air 

Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign of the National Safety Council, in conjunction with thousands of State and

local law enforcement agencies. Because more than

30 States currently use the Click It or Ticket slogan,

national mobilizations are often referred to as Click It 

or Ticket campaigns.

Paid Media Activity

Two major types of media buys occurred for the May

2005 Mobilization. First, States used approximately

$22.9 million in grant funding to purchase local television, radio, and print media advertisements. Second,

the Federal Government released roughly $9.7 million

for a national media buy. Media content carried an

enforcement-centered message that was clear and to

the point (if you are not wearing a seat belt you will

receive a ticket). Of the media types, television was predominant and radio was used to a lesser extent.

In May 2005, 19 States in three NHTSA Regions took

part in demonstration projects. An additional paid advertisement, Buckle Up in Your Truck, targeting seat belt

use among pickup truck occupants was aired across five 

South Central States (Arkansas, Louisiana, NewMexico,

Oklahoma, and Texas) and eight Southeastern States

(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi,

North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee). In six

Great Lakes States (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin), paid advertisements were

also aired targeting belt use in rural areas. These advertisements typically aired for two weeks, immediately

before the Click It or Ticket advertisement campaign.

Figure 1. Seat Belt Use Rates (1983-2005)

High Visibility Enforcement

Approximately 7,763 law enforcement agencies across

the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. Territories reported on May mobilization activities. They

reported 727,271 seat belt citations during the enforcement period. States with primary seat belt use laws issued seat belt tickets at a greater rate per resident than

States with secondary laws.

Seat Belt Use Changes

The chart above shows thatthenational seat beltuse rate

rose from 80% to 82% in 2005 as measured by NHTSA’s

annual representative National Occupant Protection

Use Survey (NOPUS). In addition, immediately after

the May high-visibility enforcement concluded, the

States measured overall front-seat-occupant seat belt

use and compared these rates to 2003 and 2004 rates.

Table 1 shows from 2004 to 2005 among the 47 States

Evaluation of the May 2005 Click It or Ticket

Mobilization

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01 03 05

80 82 79 75 73 71

66 67 68 68 69 69 67

62 59

49 45 46 42

37

21

14 14
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 Melissa Cheung, MPH,

Editor, fax 202-366-7096, e-mail: traffic.tech@dot.gov.

and the District of Columbia, the numberthat increased

in belt use far exceeded the number that decreased (35

versus 10 States; 2 States remained unchanged).

Table 1. Change in Statewide Belt Use (2004-2005)

Number of 

States/Territories 

reporting by law Positive Negative Unchanged

Total (47) 35 10 2

Primary law (22) 18 3 1

Secondary law (25) 25 17 1

Statewide belt use rates measured in 2005 ranged from

a low of 61% to a high of 95% with a median use rate

of 82%. The 2005 median use rate for secondary law

locations was 9 percentage points lower compared to

primary law locations (77% versus 86%). Statewide belt

use rates in secondary law States ranged more widely

compared to primary law locations (61% to 95% versus

74% to 95% percent).

Fatality Analysis Reporting System Data

Tests of significance were performed to assess the campaign’s effectiveness at the national level through the

incidence of seat belt use in NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis

Reporting System (FARS). In addition, these data were

used to further examine fatalities in targeted counties

in the three months surrounding the NHTSA regional

demonstration projects in May, June, and July 2003-

2005. The time series analysis found a clear increasing

trend in proportion belted both before and after the intervention.

Figure 2. U.S. Proportion Belt Use for Fatalities, 

November 2000 – December 2005

Figure 2 shows an increase in belt use among fatally

injured occupants after CIOT that was greater than the

existing increase. The ARIMA estimates that there was

a 3.5% monthly increase in belt use among fatalities of

front-seatoccupantsofpassengervehicles aftertheCIOT

campaign compared to before the CIOT campaign.

Discussion

Approximately $33 million was spent on advertising

high-visibility enforcement messages nationwide during

theClick It or Ticket mobilization.Law enforcement across

the Nation issued more than 727,000 seat belt tickets during a two-week enforcement phase. This was an increase

compared to what was reported in previous years. Belt

use increased in 35 of 47 States and territories.

A demonstration program implemented in the Great

Lakes Region found that an additional week of enforcement and media in targeted rural locations improved

belt use among rural populations. Demonstration programs in Southeast and South Central Regions that attempted to improve belt use among occupants riding in

pickup trucks were not as successful.

These results are strongly confirmed by FARS analyses. Study results found an increase in national belt use

rates among fatalities of front-seat occupants of passenger vehicles after the CIOT campaign compared to before the CIOT campaign. Specifically, FARS data confirm the effectiveness of both South Central and Great 

Lakes programs. A statistically significant effect was 

not found for Southeast.

This evaluation confirmed that intensive, short-term, 

and well-publicized high-visibility enforcement can

produce gains in seat belt use. Every year, increased

seat belt use saves billions of dollars in costs to society,

saves lives, and prevents injuries.

How to Order

For a copy of Evaluation of the May 2005 ‘Click It or

Ticket’ Mobilization (40 pages plus appendices), prepared by Preusser Research Group write to the Office 

of Behavioral Safety Research, NHTSA, NTI-132, 1200

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington DC 20590, send a

fax to 202-366-7096, or download from www.nhtsa.dot.

gov. Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., was the contract manager

for this project. Date

NOV 2005

SEP 2005

JUL 2005

MAY 2005

MAR 2005

JAN 2005

NOV 2004

SEP 2004

JUL 2004

MAY 2004

MAR 2004

JAN 2004

NOV 2003

SEP 2003

JUL 2003

MAY 2003

MAR 2003

JAN 2003

NOV 2002

SEP 2002

JUL 2002

MAY 2002

MAR 2002

JAN

2002

NOV 2001

SEP 2001

JUL 2001

MAY 2001

MAR 2001

JAN 2001

NOV 2000

Proportion of Belted Fatalities.52

.50

.48

.46

.44

.42

.40

.38

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., NTI-130

Washington, DC 20590