1. Report No.

 DOT HS 810 753

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle

 Effectiveness of the May 2005 Rural Demonstration Program and the Click It or Ticket Mobilization in the Great Lakes Region: First Year Results

5. Report Date

 April 2007

6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s)
 J.L. Nichols, K. A. Ledingham, and D.F. Preusser

8. Performing Organization Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

Preusser Research Group, Inc. 7100 Main St. Trumbull, CT 06611

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.

 DTNH22-05-D-15043

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street SW. Washington, DC 20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Final Report

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. Supplementary Notes

The Contracting Officer's Technical Representative for this project was John Siegler.

16. Abstract

NHTSA’s Great Lakes Region (GLR) implemented a Rural Demonstration Program (RDP) prior to the May 2005 Click It or Ticket (CIOT) mobilization with the goal of increasing seat belt usage in rural areas. Paid media was used to notify rural residents that seat belt laws were being enforced. In three of the six GLR States (IL, IN, OH), enforcement was included during this phase; however, in the remaining three States (MN, MI, WI), only the paid media was implemented. All States intensified enforcement during CIOT. Media expenditures averaged $212,000 per State during the RDP phase and $516,000 per State during CIOT, most media funds were spent on television and about 130,000 seat belt citations were issued over the two phases of the program. In rural targeted areas, awareness of seat belt messages increased most during the RDP, while awareness of enforcement-related messages and activities increased most during CIOT. During the RDP, States that had intensified enforcement had significant increases in usage in their rural targeted areas. Generally, usage did not increase unless enforcement was present. During CIOT, States that had intensified enforcement during RDP showed substantially greater overall statewide gains than States that had not intensified enforcement during RDP.

17. Key Words

Belt Usage

18. Distribution Statement

National Technical Information Service Springfield, VA 22161 and free of charge at www.nhtsa.dot.gov

19. Security Classif. (Of this report)
Unclassified

20. Security Classif. (Of this page)
Unclassified

21. No. of Pages

22. Price