NTSB Chair Praises Seat Belt Safety Campaign
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark V. Rosenker recently praised the National Safety Council's Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety campaign for advocating primary enforcement seat belt laws, and for its leadership in improving passenger safety.
The campaign is ceasing operations at the end of this year after more than a decade of service since its founding in response to a 1995 safety board's recommendations that asked automobile manufacturers to warn parents of the dangers that air bags posed to children.
"The campaign has been a remarkable example of a public/private partnership, including the safety board, other federal agencies, and the private sector working as a team to advance air bag safety and increase safety belt use," Rosenker said. "They have been instrumental in creating public awareness and change on our highways. I congratulate them on their success in furthering vehicle occupant safety."
The campaign also spearheaded national adoption of the "Click It or Ticket" program and fostered a massive national annual law enforcement mobilization to enforce seat belt use laws. Their initiatives have helped to achieve a national seat belt use rate of more than 82 percent, a 21-percentage-point increase.
Furthermore, the campaign's efforts led to adoption of primary enforcement seat belt use laws in more states; these laws now cover about two-thirds of the U.S. population, compared to less than 40 percent when it began.