Traffic Safety Facts 

Traffic Tech – Technology Transfer Series 

Number 353 January 2009 

Evaluation of the 2006 

Click It or Ticket Campaign 

Since	2002,	the	May	Click It or Ticket	(CIOT)	Mobilization	—	an	 

intense,	short-duration	seat	belt	publicity	and	enforcement	 

program	—	has	raised	seat	belt	use	rates	more	substantially	 

and	more	quickly	than	any	other	program.	During	the	May	 

2006	 CIOT	 Mobilization,	 NHTSA	 supported	 State-funded	 

law	enforcement	of	seat	belt	laws	with	a	national	paid	and	 

earned	media	campaign.	 

The	Preusser	Research	Group	recently	completed	an	evaluation	of	the	2006	Click It or Ticket	Mobilization,	which	included	 

case	 study	 evaluations	 for	 four	 separate	 special-emphasis	 

demonstration	programs	that	took	place	in	22	States	in	conjunction	with	CIOT. 

Media Activity 

The	 National	 Highway	 Traffic	 Safety	 Administration	 

(NHTSA)	 spent	 approximately	 $9.2	 million	 on	 a	 national	 

paid	 media	 purchase	 and	 received	 an	 estimated	 $10.3	 in	 

added	advertisements.	NHTSA’s	national	media	contractor	 

estimated	the	TV	and	radio	purchases	delivered	1,294	gross	 

rating	points,	which	included	a	50-percent	return	in	valueadded	and	bonus	media	weight	from	the	national	TV	media	 

buy.	As	such,	the	estimated	nationwide	purchase	resulted	in	 

93	percent	of	the	target	audience	(men	18	to	34)	viewing	the	 

CIOT	advertisement	16	times.	 

In	addition,	22	States	participated	in	NHTSA	demonstration	 

projects	that	focused	on	increasing	seat	belt	use	in	rural	areas	 

or	in	pickup	trucks.	The	Buckle Up in Your Truck	campaign	 

targeted	seat	belt	use	among	pickup	truck	occupants	in	five	 

south-central	States	in	NHTSA’s	Region	6	(Arkansas,	Louisiana,	New	Mexico,	Oklahoma,	and	Texas),	seven	southeastern	 

States	 in	 NHTSA’s	 Region	 4	 (Alabama,	 Florida,	 Kentucky,	 

Mississippi,	 North	 Carolina,	 South	 Carolina,	 and	 Tennessee),	 and	 four	 central	 States	 in	 NHTSA’s	 Region	 7	 (Iowa,	 

Kansas,	Missouri,	and	Nebraska).	In	six	Great	Lakes	States	in	 

NHTSA’s	Region	5	(Illinois,	Indiana,	Michigan,	Minnesota,	 

Ohio,	 and	 Wisconsin),	 additional	 paid	 advertisements	 targeted	increasing	belt	use	in	rural	areas.	Advertisements	for	 

all	these	regions	typically	aired	for	two	weeks	immediately	 

before	the	Click It or Ticket	advertisement	campaign. 

High Visibility Enforcement 

Approximately	 8,793	 law	 enforcement	 agencies	 across	 the	 

50	States,	the	District	of	Columbia,	Guam,	and	Puerto	Rico	 

reported	issuing	697,115	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.	In	comparison	to	the	2005	CIOT,	the	number	of	seat	belt	citations	issued	decreased	4	percent	among	 

reporting	agencies. 

Seat Belt Citations Issued by Type of Law and Year 

20,000 

30,000 

40,000 

50,000 

60,000 

70,000 

80,000 

Secondary Law Locations (28) 

Primary Law Locations (27) 

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 

Data	from	a	random	sample	of	municipal	and	State	Police	 

enforcement	 agencies	 (55)	 of	 various	 sizes	 in	 primary	 and	 

secondary	 law	 States	 in	 all	 NHTSA	 regions	 showed	 that	 

annual	seat	belt	citations	dropped	31	percent	from	98,778	in	 

2002	to	68,654	in	2006.	Ticketing	decreased	34	percent	in	primary	States	and	23	percent	in	secondary	States	among	these	 

agencies.	 The	 data	 showed	 that	 law	 enforcement	 agencies	 

serving	 populations	 over	 100,000	 and	 State	 Police/Patrol	 

serving	 States	 with	 larger	 populations	 issued	 significantly	 

less	seat	belt	citations. 

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

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
Changes in Seat Belt Use 

Seven	States	with	primary	seat	belt	laws	and	11	States	with	 

secondary	seat	belt	laws	reported	the	results	of	their	pre-	and	 

post-CIOT	observational	seat	belt	surveys,	which	used	statewide	samples.	Most	of	these	States	participated	in	NHTSA	 

demonstration	programs.	Primary	law	States	start	and	finish	 

higher	than	secondary	law	States.	 

Pre- and Post-2006 CIOT Statewide Seat Belt Use 

Observations Averaged by Type of Law 

70% 

80% 

90% 

100% 

Post Statewide Survey 

Pre Statewide Survey 

Secondary Law (11 States) Primary Law (7 States)

76% 

80% 

84% 

87% 

Between	2005	and	2006,	seat	belt	use	improved	in	a	majority	 

of	States	and	Territories.	Improvements	were	more	likely	to	 

occur	in	the	22	primary	States	plus	DC	and	Puerto	Rico	(79%)	 

compared	 to	 the	 28	 secondary	 States	 (69%).	 Belt	 use	 rates	 

have	 improved	 in	 a	 majority	 of	 States	 each	 year	 mobilizations	were	conducted;	however,	the	proportion	of	States	that	 

continue	to	measure	improvements	has	declined	over	time.	 

States Reporting Improved Statewide Seat Belt Use 

By Type of Law and Year 

50% 

60% 

70% 

80% 

90% 

100% 

Secondary Law

Primary Law 

86% 86% 

80% 82% 82% 

68% 69% 

79% 

Secondary Law 

2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 

 

 

 

 

Fatality Trends 

The	campaign’s	 effectiveness	was	examined	 by	 using	data	 

from	NHTSA’s	Fatality	Analysis	Reporting	System	(FARS).	 

Using	the	2003	CIOT	as	an	intervention	point,	with	an	equal	 

number	of	data	points	before	and	after,	there	was	a	significant	increase	in	the	proportion	of	belted	fatal	occupants	in	 

the	43-month	period	following	the	2003 Click It or Ticket campaign	 compared	 to	 what	 would	 have	 been	 expected	 from	 

the	trend	of	the	preceding	43	months,	t(84)	=	-11.27,	p<.001.	 

Overall,	seat	belt	use	among	fatally	injured	crash	victims	has	 

been	rising	since	2000. 

Proportion of Belted Fatalities, 


November 1999-November 2006
 Proportion of Belted Fatalities 

.52 

.50 

.48 

.46 

.44 

.42 

.40 

.38 

Nov 1999
 

Jan 2000
 

Mar 2000
 Mar 2000
 

Jul 2000
 

Sep 2000
 

Nov 2000


Jan 2001
 

Mar 2001
 

May 2001
 

Jul 2001


Sep 2001
 

Nov 2001


Jan 2002
 

Mar 2002
 

May 2002
 

Jul 2002


Sep 2002
 

Nov 2002


Jan 2003
 

Mar 2003
 

May 2003
 

Jul 2003


Sep 2003
 

Nov 2003


Jan 2004
 

Mar 2004
 

May 2004
 

Jul 2004


Sep 2004
 

Nov 2004
 

Jan 2005
 

Mar 2005
 

May 2005
 

Jul 2005


Sep 2005
 

Nov 2005


Jan 2006
 

Mar 2006
 

May 2006
 

Jul 2006


Sep 2006
 

Nov 2006


Date 

Evaluation Summary

Over	time,	fewer	States	are	reporting	an	increase	in	statewide	 

belt	use	and	these	gains	are	becoming	smaller.	The	amount	 

of	dollars	spent	on	paid	advertisements	has	remained	consistent	over	time	at	the	national	level	but	the	amount	spent	by	 

States	decreased	in	2006.	Each	year	between	2002	and	2005	 

municipal	 law	 enforcement	 agencies	 serving	 populations	 

greater	 than	 100,000	 reported	 issuing	 fewer	 seat	 belt	 citations.	State	police	agencies	in	States	with	large	populations	 

also	reported	issuing	fewer	seat	belt	citations. 

How to Order 

To	 order	 May 2006	 Click	 It	 or	 Ticket	 Seat Belt Mobilization 

Evaluation: Final Report	(61	pages	plus	appendices),	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. 

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,	e-mail:	angela.eichelberger@dot.gov. 

1200	New	Jersey	Avenue	SE.,	NTI-130 

Washington,	DC	20590