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

Number 356 January 2009

Innovative Seat Belt Demonstration Programs in 

Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming

Seat belt use remains below the national average of 83 percent in many secondary seat belt law States, where police

can issue a seat belt citation only after stopping a motorist

for another traffic violation. In 2005, the National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration began working with Kentucky,

Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming, all secondary law

States at the time, to support programs that used innovative

approaches to increase seat belt use.

States developed innovative countermeasures to augment

their annual Click It or Ticket (CIOT) high-visibility seat belt

mobilizations. They focused on high-risk driver populations

such as pickup truck drivers whose belt use was unusually

low or on novel enforcement or media techniques to promote

compliance. NHTSA provided additional funding to the

States for these activities. Project evaluations were embedded as an integral part of the program.

Before planning theirinnovative programs, each State undertook an Occupant Protection Program Assessment or similar

initiative to examine the status of the State’s seat belt use and

program activities. Recommendations for program improvement from these assessments often became part of the demonstration program.

Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming used

their cooperative agreement funds to implement seat belt

programs separate from their annual CIOT activities.All four

States used enforcement, public education, and paid media

as the core of their intervention, designing activities to adapt

to the unique characteristics and conditions of their State.

Kentucky: Following the occupant protection assessment,

which included a strong recommendation to adopt a primary

seat belt law, Kentucky passed a primary law in June 2005.

The new primary seat belt law became effective on July 12,

2006, and included a provision that police could only issue

courtesy warning tickets for the first 6 months until January

1, 2007.As a result of becoming a primary law State, the focus

of Kentucky’s program shifted to a media and enforcement

program to support the issuance of the warning tickets during the moratorium, and an evaluation of the effect of warnings versus citations after the moratorium was lifted.

Mississippi: In the spring of 2006, Mississippi had planned a

demonstration program to increase seat belt use statewide by

supporting heavy enforcement with enforcement messaging.

On May 27, 2006, Mississippi passed a primary seat belt law

and shifted its goal to increasing seat belt usage in two counties with lower usage rates. Mississippi ran a special seat belt

enforcement mobilization supported by targeted paid media

in these two counties. One of the two radio advertisements

used local Mississippi talent to targetAfrican-American drivers, whose belt use was very low. CIOT TV ads were aired

in November. Seat belt use and public awareness were measured before and after the mobilization in the intervention

and in matched control counties.

North Dakota: North Dakota had previously executed a

successful demonstration program focused on increasing

belt use by male pickup drivers, a group with historically

low restraint use rates. In September 2005, the State entered

into a second cooperative agreement with NHTSA to implement a demonstration program with a specific geographic

focus. North Dakota identified four priority counties based

on observed belt use and implemented strong community

outreach and education efforts with an intensive targeted

media campaign and high-visibility enforcement. The priority counties had the greatest potential to make an impact on

the overall statewide seat belt usage rate.

Wyoming: Wyoming’s cooperative agreement also began

in September 2005 and followed the same model of priority and comparison counties used in North Dakota over the

same time period. Wyoming selected six priority counties

that had high crash and fatality rates, low seat belt use, and

populations of sufficient size to potentially affect seat belt use

statewide. This program focused on increasing seat belt use

among male pickup truck occupants 18 to 34 years old, the

group with the lowest belt use. Pickup trucks are prevalent in

Wyoming, comprising up to 50% of the vehicle fleet.

Findings 

All States made excellent use of the evaluation process and

benefited from embedding an evaluation as an integral part of

their programs. In Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming,

adequate baseline data were collected before and after the

interventions in both experimental and control sites. The programs used a range of evaluation approaches including direct

observations, telephone and driver licensing office surveys,

focus groups, and analysis of secondary source data such as
citations and warnings. All four States achieved significant

statewide increases in belt use above baseline belt use rates.

In Kentucky, the courtesy warning period combined with

visible enforcement and sustained media messaging

enhanced the effectiveness of the passage of the primary law.

Seat belt use increased from 67% under secondary enforcement to 76% as a primary law State. The warning period

and intense publicity prepared both law enforcement and

drivers for stricter belt enforcement by helping engage the

former in seat belt efforts and making the latter more understanding of the new law.

Kentucky’s Observed Seat Belt Use—Statewide

62

64

66

68

70

72

74

76

78

Percent Belted

Baseline

(Secondary

Enforcement

pre-7/06)

Sept. 2006

(Warning)

Dec. 2006

(Warning)

Feb. 2007

(Regular

Primary)

Apr. 2007

(Regular

Primary)

May 2007

(Enhanced

Primary)

Mississippi’s program focused on counties with the lowest seat belt use and achieved mixed results. Seat belt use

increased from 35% to 46%, in Leflore County and decreased

from 69% to 65% in Lee County. Belt use among non-Whites

increased 28 percentage points, rising from 44% to 56%, an

impressive improvement.

Mississippi Seat Belt Rates

n	 Non-White vehicle occupants (43.8% to 56.3%)

n	 Male vehicle occupants (51.0% to 59.2%)

n	 Non-White male vehicle occupants (38.5% to 52.8%)

n	 Leflore County vehicle occupants (35.4% to 46.4%)

n	 Lauderdale County vehicle occupants (58.2% to 72.9%)

n	 Leflore County passenger car occupants (37.3% to 51.3%)

n	 Lauderdale County passenger car occupants (59.8%

to 75.8%)

Seat belt use in counties targeted by North Dakota’s program

increased from 66% to 80% and from 58% to 71% in comparison counties. Overall, North Dakota’s seat belt use increased

from 76% in 2005 to 82% in 2007. The greatest increases

were in Burleigh County (up 21%), Ward County (up 21%),

and Grand Forks County (up 19%). Females’ belt use was

higher and increased 15 percentage points while males’ use

increased 11 percentage points. Belt use was higher among

rural occupants before and after the mobilizations. In North

Dakota, urban areas are defined as those with populations

greater than 2,500, not typical of other States.

North Dakota’s Observed Seat Belt Use in Priority Counties

Comparison

Priority

40.0%

Feb-06

(Baseline)

Mar-06 Apr-06 Jun-06 Dec-06 Mar-07 Jun-07

45.0%

50.0%

55.0%

60.0%

65.0%

70.0%

75.0%

80.0%

85.0%

Percent Seat Belt Use

80.0%

65.6%

70.5%

58.4%

In Wyoming, the seat belt use in targeted counties increased

from 55% to 70%. This included an increase in seat belt use

on rural roads, from 64% to 75%, and an increase from 55%

to 70% on urban roads. Statewide, Wyoming’s seat belt use

increased from 61% in 2006 to 72% in 2007. Van and SUV

occupants were most likely to be buckled up; pickup truck

occupants were least likely. Pickups recorded a higher

increase in usage than passenger vehicles and SUVs (up 16.5,

11.9, and 14.6 percentage points, respectively).

Wyoming’s Observed Seat Belt Use in Priority Counties

50.0%

55.0%

60.0%

65.0%

70.0%

75.0%

Percent Seat Belt Use

Survey 1Survey 2

Survey 3Survey 4Survey 5Survey 6

Survey 7Survey 8

70.3%

54.5%

How to Order

To order Innovative Seat Belt Demonstration Programs in 

Kentucky, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming (7 pages

plus extensive appendices for each State), 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 project manager.

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,

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

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., NTI-130

Washington, DC 20590