Kids Urge State Leaders to Pass Primary Adult Seat Belt Laws
15 February 1999
Kids Urge State Leaders to Stop #1 Killer of Children By Passing Primary Adult Seat Belt LawsCampaign Unveils New Advertising to Support State Efforts to Enact Strong Laws
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 -- "Strong seat belt laws save kids --
when's it gonna click?" That's the message being delivered in state capitals
throughout the nation this week as kids call on their governors, state
legislators and other elected officials to enact primary seat belt laws. The
meetings are part of a stepped-up effort by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety
Campaign to support state campaigns to enact strong belt laws. The effort was
kicked-off today at a news conference in Washington, DC.
In a video taped message, Governor Howard Dean, M.D. (VT) noted a
scientific study published recently in the journal of the American Academy of
Pediatrics which concluded, "Driver restraint use was the strongest predictor
of child restraint use ... A restrained driver was three times more likely to
restrain a child." Dean cited the relationship between driver and child seat
belt use as a major reason why he actively supports the effort to enact a
primary seat belt law in Vermont.
"Unbuckled kids are in serious danger because car crashes are the leading
risk children face," said Jacob Scanlon, a 12-year-old seat belt activist from
Virginia. "To keep kids safe, my state and other states need strong seat belt
laws that cover adults."
"Mounting evidence shows clearly that adults who don't buckle up, don't
buckle up kids," added Lt. Governor John H. Hager (VA). "To get kids buckled
up, we need to get everyone buckled up. That's why we need a strong, primary
seat belt law in Virginia and in other states that don't yet have one."
The Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign also unveiled new television,
radio and print advertisements it has developed to support state legislative
efforts. The action in the ads showcases the urgent need for stronger belt
laws to save children's lives by portraying the real-life experience of
thousands of Americans. Initial plans call for use of the ads to support
local campaigns in Florida, Illinois and Virginia, however they will be made
available to help support the work of other state campaigns for primary belt
laws currently underway.
"What makes these ads unique is that unlike traditional safety ads urging
people to buckle up," said Janet Dewey, executive director of the Air Bag &
Seat Belt Safety Campaign, "these ads urge support for strong seat belt laws
to save children's lives."
Under primary laws, officers may make a stop and issue a citation solely
for failure to wear seat belts, like other traffic violations. Secondary laws
permit an officer to ticket a driver for not wearing a seat belt only after
making a stop for another offense. Currently, 14 states and the District of
Columbia have primary laws and 35 states have secondary seat belt laws
covering adults; New Hampshire has no belt law covering adults. Seat belt use
averages 10-15 percentage points higher in states with primary enforcement,
and another 10-15 percentage points higher still in states that visibly
enforce their laws.
"Unbuckled kids are an epidemic in America. Seat belt laws covering only
children aren't getting the job done to protect kids," said Milton Little,
executive vice president and COO, National Urban League. "Every state has a
strong child restraint law, yet six out of ten children killed in crashes are
unrestrained. And the problem isn't just with young children -- we are losing
teens who don't buckle up themselves or their passengers." A recent study by
the Johns Hopkins University and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
found that African American children are three times more likely to die in
crashes than other kids and African American and Hispanic teens are twice as
likely to be killed in a crash than other teens.
Primary laws are a proven method to increase both adult seat belt use and
child restraint use. For example, when Louisiana passed a primary seat belt
law, adult belt use increased by 13 percentage points and child restraint use
jumped from 45 percent to 82 percent in just two years -- and that's with no
change to the law covering kids.
"Primary seat belt laws save lives, and we hope to see them passed," said
Senator Nathaniel Exum (MD), treasurer, National Black Caucus of State
Legislators. "At the same time, there are real concerns among people of color
that these laws may not be enforced fairly. That is why we support safeguards
in every primary seat belt law to ensure uniform enforcement."
A program of the National Safety Council, the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety
Campaign, along with a broad, community-based coalition, is supporting several
state efforts underway to advance from secondary to primary laws. The
Campaign is coordinating the state capital visits happening this week. Some
examples of the visits include:
* Idaho: On February 12, Idaho SAFE KIDS and 50 children will proceed to
the State Capitol carrying a coffin filled with white crosses to symbolize the
number of Idaho children who have died in car crashes in 1997 and letters of
support for stronger laws. The children will meet with the Governor's wife and
several legislators to ask for a strong primary seat belt law.
* Mississippi: On February 17, approximately 200 elementary school
children will parade with members of the Mississippi SAFE KIDS Coalition to
the State Capitol to meet with legislators and emphasize the need for a
primary belt law.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that
increasing national seat belt use from its present 68 percent to 90 percent
would save more than 5,500 lives, prevent more than 130,000 injuries and would
save taxpayers nearly $9 billion every year. According to the Centers for
Disease Control, crashes kill more kids than all diseases combined. Last year
alone, more than half of the 2,087 children who died in crashes were totally
unrestrained. This effort to enact strong, primary seat belts supports the
national goals to increase seat belt use to 85 percent and reduce child
occupant fatalities by 15 percent by the year 2000.
The Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign is a public/private partnership of
automotive manufacturers, insurance companies, child safety seat
manufacturers, occupant restraint manufacturers, government agencies, health
professionals and child health and safety organizations. A program of the
National Safety Council, the Campaign's goal is to increase the proper use of
safety belts and child safety seats and to inform the public about how to
maximize the lifesaving capabilities of air bags while minimizing the risks.
