Jonna VanDyk Washington Traffic Safety Commission

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Jonna VanDyk Washington Traffic Safety
Commission
WTSC Law Enforcement Meeting 9/24/08
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Seat belt use among people killed in crashes 2001
- 2007
Day
Night
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WA State Patrol Pilot Project

• 41 contacts
• 29 seat belt citations
• 1 DUI
• 6 drug arrests
• 2 warrants (1 felony, 1 misdemeanor)
• 5 suspended driving arrests
• 6 uninsured motorist infractions
• 2 stolen vehicles recovered

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Seat Belt Patrols Day vs. Night
Day
Night

• Need more advanced planning
• Need more officers
• Hard to see violators
• Low traffic volumes
• Law enforcement agencies understaffed
• officers say they are fun!

• Officer works individually
• Easier to schedule
• Fewer staffing issues
• Easier to see violators

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Game plan

• WTSC obtained 403 Grant from NHTSA (2)
• Implement statewide nighttime seat belt project
• Mobilizations
• Spring 2007, 2008, 2009
• Fall 2007, 2008
• Dunlap evaluation task order from NHTSA
• First year evaluation/report
• Total evaluation/report

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The Goal is General Deterrence
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Media

• Paid
• 300k budget per mobilization
• T.V., radio, newspaper
• Variable message road signs
• Earned media
• Aggressive pitching
• Press conferences
• Localized messages
• Tickets issued
• patrol locations
• participants

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Productivity Nighttime vs. Daytime

• Tickets per patrol hour
• 74.8 more child car seat tickets
• 82.5 more DUI/DUID citations
• 532.4 more felony arrests
• 79.5 more other alcohol arrests
• 3.8 fewer seat belt tickets
• 85.5 fewer speeding tickets

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• 2007 Washington crash data
• 416 vehicle occupants killed
• 19 drop from previous 10-year average (495)
• a 26 drop in unbuckled VO killed at night

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(No Transcript)
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Promoting Teen Seat Belt Use -- The Click it
And Ticket Project
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The mirror image of Click it or Ticket

• Rewards seat belt use
• Same themes tickets, law enforcement (subliminal
  messages)
• Goals
• Improve teen seat belt use
• Adopt a fun, memorable teen traffic safety
  project
• Promote other traffic safety issues
• Reach a wider (community) audience

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How the project works

• Teens drive onto school campus buckled up
• They are given a ticket
• They cash in the ticket for candy
• The ticket enrolls them in a drawing
• The drawing prize 124 debit card.
• Teens promote the project at the school
• They develop posters
• They ask teachers to play ed videos
• They make announcements on school PA system
• They chat it up

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Tri Cities project extensive media coverage

• More than 30 T.V., radio print news stories
• Front page, top of the fold in the Tri City
  Herald
• Student PIOs on radio T.V.
• Posters in the school
• Principal announcements
• Student chatter

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Student leaders lead the project

• Promotes student engagement
• Peer to peer education (more successful?)
• Student jobs
• Design post posters
• Morning announcements
• Promote Traffic Safety Videos
• Hand out tickets
• Give out candy
• Give out pens
• Cheer the winners
• Conduct media interviews

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Seat belt use survey results

• Intervention Site Southridge H.S.
• Oct. 81 March 96.6 (15.6)
• Control Sites
• Kamiakin High School (Kennewick)
• Oct. 89.9 (NTSBE) March 86.3 (-3.6)
• Moses Lake High School
• Oct. 83.6 (NTSBE) March 79.5 (-4.1)

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• Jonna VanDyk
• Occupant Protection Program Manager
• WA Traffic Safety Commission
• jvandyk_at_wtsc.wa.gov
• 360-725-9885