Traffic Safety Facts

Traffic Tech – Technology Transfer Series

Number 354 January 2009

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

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Background

In	 2006	 NHTSA’s	 Region	 6	 (South	 Central),	 which	

includes	 Arkansas,	 Louisiana,	 New	 Mexico,	 Oklahoma,	and Texas, completed a three-year demonstration project to increase seat belt use titled Buckle Up In 

Your Truck (BUIYT). This project entailed a two-week 

advertisement campaign immediately before the 

annual Click It or Ticket (CIOT) Mobilization in May	

when	police	conducted	special	high-visibility	seat	belt	

enforcement	campaigns.	

In	 2004,	 the	 BUIYT	 advertisement	 campaign	 bought	

television	and	radio	spots	to	encourage	non-belt-users	

in	pickup	trucks	to	buckle	up.		The	first-year	ads	stressed	

the	usefulness	of	seat	belts	in	dangerous	roll-over-type	

crashes.	All	five	States	switched	to	an	enforcement-centered	script	starting	with	the	2005	BUIYT	campaign	and	

all	 five	 committed	 more	 effort	 toward	 outreach	 that	

delivered	a	strong	enforcement	message.		

Media/Publicity

Advertising	 for	 BUIYT	 and	 CIOT	 focused	 on	 buying	

television	air	time	targeting	males	between	the	ages	of	

18	and	39.		The	combined	States	spent	$1.3	million	on	

the	 BUIYT	 advertisements	 and	 $2.9	 million	 on	 CIOT	

advertisements.	 Compared	 to	 2005	 funding,	 this	 was	

an	18-percent	increase	in	BUIYT	advertising	and	a	4-

percent	increase	in	CIOT	advertising.	

Each	 State	 generated	 earned	 media	 through	 press	

events,	press	releases	or	outreach	activities.	States	provided	counts	of	earned	media	for	the	CIOT	program	

but	not	specifically	for	BUIYT.	During	the	2006	CIOT	

there	were	more	than	70	media	events	and	over	14,500	

TV,	print,	and	radio	news	stories	in	Region	6.

Enforcement

No	citations	for	seat	belt	and	child	restraint	violations	

were	 documented	 for	 BUIYT	 in	 years	 2004,	 2005,	 or	

2006	 given	 that	 the	 design	 of	 the	 program	 included	

enforcement	only	during	the	CIOT	enforcement	period.	

Buckle Up in Your Truck and Click It or Ticket

Programs Increase Seat Belt Use in Arkansas, 

Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas

All	five	States	intensified	enforcement	activity	during	

CIOT.	In	2006	approximately	904	enforcement	agencies	

participated	in	CIOT	—	28	percent	of	all	agencies	across	

these	States.		Across	the	region,	law	enforcement	agencies	issued	75,136	seat	belt	tickets	and	59,085	speeding	

tickets.	 Overall,	 the	 number	 of	 tickets	 issued	 during	

BUIYT	each	year	decreased	from	2004	to	2006.

Law Enforcement Actions per 10,000 Population

SCR Non-Demo States National Average

2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006

Seat Belt 27 21 26 25 25 24

Speeding 15 16 9 10 15 14

DUI 1 1 <1 <1 1 1

Public Awareness of BUIYT

Surveys	collected	at	driver	licensing	offices	throughout	

the	region	measured	public	awareness	of	the	BUIYT	and	

CIOT	mobilizations.	In	2004	the	surveys	were	administered	three	times:	(1)	before	the	BUIYT	mobilization,	(2)	

after	the	BUIYT	mobilization	and	before	CIOT	mobilization,	and	(3)	after	the	CIOT	mobilization.	In	2005	and	

2006	survey	collection	took	place	only	after	each	combined	BUIYT/CIOT	mobilization.

Before	 the	 May	 2004	 mobilization	 began,	 approximately	 two-thirds	 of	 survey	 respondents	 indicated	 a	

recent	exposure	to	seat	belt	messages.		Over	80	percent	

of	respondents	indicated	that	they	recently	had	read,	

seen,	 or	 heard	 messages	 about	 seat	 belt	 use	 after	 the	

conclusion	of	the	mobilizations.	

Awareness	 of	 messages	 concerning	 seat	 belt	 use	 in	

pickup	trucks	increased	over	the	course	of	both	mobilizations.	From	baseline	2004	though	post-2006,	awareness	of	messages	about	using	seat	belts	in	pickup	trucks	

increased.		By	the	end	of	the	2006	BUIYT/CIOT	mobilization	 over	 50	 percent	 of	 respondents	 identified	 as	

pickup	truck	drivers	reported	recent	exposure	to	messages	about	wearing	seat	belts	in	pickup	trucks.		
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	Dr.	Angela	Eichelberger,	

1200	New	Jersey	Avenue	SE.,	NTI-130 Editor,	fax	202-366-7394,	e-mail:	angela.eichelberger@dot.gov.

Washington,	DC	20590

Among	all	drivers,	self-reported	experience	with	seat	

belt	enforcement	increased	from	27	percent	before	the	

2004	BUIYT/CIOT	to	36	percent	after	the	mobilization.	

By	the	end	of	the	second	BUIYT/CIOT	effort	in	2005	

personal	experience	with	belt	enforcement	was	31	percent	for	cars	but	increased	to	42	percent	among	pickup	

truck	drivers.	After	the	2006	mobilizations	pickup	truck	

occupants	reported	personal	experience	decreased	significantly,	to	35	percent.

Changes in Seat Belt Use

The	table	below	shows	results	from	observational	surveys	of	seat	belt	use	conducted	in	the	weeks	before	the	

2004	BUIYT	implementation	and	in	June	at	the	conclusion	of	CIOT	mobilizations	(post-2004,	post-2005,	and	

post-2006).

Seat Belt Usage by State

Baseline 

2004

Post 

2004

Post 

2005

Post 

2006

AR Overall 60% 64% 68% 69%

Pickup 43% 65% 58% 60%

LA Overall 67% 75% 78% 75%

Pickup 60% 69% 72% 71%

NM Overall 87% 90% 90% 90%

Pickup 76% 88% 86% 85%

OK Overall 68% 80% 83% 84%

Pickup 58% 69% 73% 76%

TX Overall 88% 83% 90% 90%

Pickup 81% 79% 86% 86%

Results	varied	across	State	and	wave.		From	baseline	

2004	 to	 post-2004	 seat	 belt	 use	 increased	 in	 all	 States	

except	Texas.		Belt	use	increased	among	pickup	truck	

occupants	 in	 four	 of	 five	 States:	Arkansas,	 Louisiana,	

New	Mexico,	and	Oklahoma.		From	post-2004	to	post2005,	seat	belt	use	increased	in	all	States	except	among	

occupants	of	pickup	trucks	in	Arkansas	and	New	Mexico.		The	increases	in	seat	belt	use	from	baseline	to	post	

2005	were	greater	for	occupants	of	pickup	trucks	compared	to	occupants	of	cars	in	all	States	but	Oklahoma.	

From	 post-2005	 to	 post-2006	 seat	 belt	 use	 increased	

for	all	States	except	Louisiana.		Seat	belt	use	in	pickup	

trucks	increased	in	three	of	the	five	States	(Arkansas,	

Oklahoma,	and	Texas).		From	baseline	to	post-2006,	the	

increase	 in	 seat	 belt	 use	 among	 occupants	 of	 pickup	

trucks	 was	 greater	 than	 the	 increase	 in	 seat	 belt	 use	

among	occupants	of	cars	in	all	States.		Belt	use	in	pickup	

trucks	improved	in	all	five	States	with	the	greatest	gains	

in	the	States	that	started	with	the	lowest	rates.	

The	next	figure	shows	use	rate	by	vehicle	type	for	baseline	2004,	June	2004,	June	2005,	and	June	2006.		Overall	

occupants	use	rates	are	the	Section	157	representative	

statewide	 use	 rates.	 	 Seat	 Belt	 use	 rates	 for	 pickup	

occupants	 are	 from	 the	 unweighted	 raw	 counts	 from	

the	 statewide	 surveys.	 This	 data	 shows	 that	 belt	 use	

improved	for	both	pickup	trucks	and	all	vehicle	occupants	outperforming	the	average	improvements	posted	

nationwide.	Belt	use	in	pickups	still	lags	behind	that	of	

other	vehicle	types.

Region-wide Changes in Seat Belt Usage

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

Percent

Baseline 2004 Post-2004 Post-2005 Post-2006

Region Overall

Region Pickup

68%

60%

69%

73%

76%

80%

83% 84%

Summary

Safety-themed	 pickup	 truck	 messages	 preceded	 the	

normal	enforcement-centered	CIOT	for	the	2004	mobilization.	 	 That	 changed,	 beginning	 in	 2005,	 when	

enforcement-centered	 pickup	 truck	 advertisements	

were	coupled	with	enforcement-centered	CIOT	advertisements.		Although	the	seat	belt	use	rate	for	cars	and	

pickup	trucks	increased	region-wide,	the	8-percent	gap	

between	the	pickup	truck	seat	belt	rate	and	the	overall	

vehicle	seat	belt	use	rate	has	not	changed.	

How to Order

To	order	May 2006 Click It or Ticket Seat Belt Mobilization: Final Report (61	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.dot.gov.	

John	Siegler,	Ph.D.,	was	the	Contracting	Officer’s	Technical	Representative	for	this	project.