In May of 2009, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas launched high visibility enforcement and awareness campaign in select key counties in their states to address lower belt use by 16-20 year old drivers and passengers. Four waves of enforcement and paid media were conducted between May 2009 and May 2010. Preliminary evaluation results were promising.

Mississippi teen belt use observation surveys revealed a statistically significant increase of 10.8 percentage points after the campaigns compared to baseline measurements (65.8% to 76.6). Mississippi very effectively complemented their enforcement waves with comprehensive awareness and outreach to teens in eight target counties. Texas’ teen belt use rate before the project began was relatively high at 83.6% in the five most populated counties in the State. At the end of the demo, Texas teen belt use rose to 89.8%. Texas also felt that the emphasis on teens during Click It or Ticket in 2009-10 helped propel the State’s overall use rate to an all-time high of 93.8%. New Mexico and Louisiana’s teen belt use rates increased at more modest levels. New Mexico went from 84.1% to 86.6% in their eight target counties. Louisiana’s teen use rate rose from 78.5% to 81.3% in their seven targeted parishes over the course of the campaign.

The States plan to continue their emphasis on teen seat belt use during the annual Click It or Ticket mobilization each May, as well as during other key times during the year, such as prom and graduation season in the Spring and during National Teen Driver Safety Week in October.

The Teen Challenge

Teens have higher fatality and injury rates in motor vehicle crashes than any other age group. One of the most effective measures a teen can take to prevent injury and death in a crash is to wear a seat belt, but the majority of fatally injured teens are not buckled up. While observed seat belt use for teens has risen gradually, the majority of 16-20 year old passenger vehicle occupants killed in car crashes continue to be unrestrained (58 percent in 2006). Past demonstration projects and evaluations of teen belt use indicate that strategies that have been effective to increase belt use for adults are also the most promising strategies for teens. These include primary laws and highly-publicized enforcement of belt laws (such as “Click it or Ticket” programs). Historically, NHTSA has done smaller-scale, community-based projects to address this problem area. Unfortunately, seat belt use for teens in fatal crashes has remained virtually unchanged and necessitates a concentrated, intense, large-scale effort.