Fatality and injury rates soared in recent years in South Carolina. In fact, 2000 was slated to be the worst year on record for traffic fatalities in the state. In an effort to turn the tide on fatalities and injuries, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, in coordination with the Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region IV Office, launched its Click It or Ticket campaign. The campaign, modeled after the successful North Carolina program and designed to publicize high visibility enforcement of seat belt and child seat laws, was implemented during the November 2000 Operation ABC (America Buckles up Children) Mobilization in an effort to boost the seat belt use rate by 10 percentage points above the previous year. In planning its campaign, South Carolina engaged leaders of the minority community—a Diversity Outreach Subcommittee—for two purposes: (1) to assist in generating greater awareness among minority populations of the need to buckle up; and (2) to assist law enforcement efforts by providing guidance for a program free of discriminatory activities. The Subcommittee’s recommendations were utilized by the State's enforcement agencies to ensure equal treatment of the motoring public during the mobilization period (Appendix A).
The Objectives. (1) to create an awareness of safety belt enforcement efforts through extensive paid and earned media; (2) to increase the safety belt use rate by 10 percentage points above the previous year (from 65.2 percent); and (3) to expand involvement of the minority community (30 percent of the state’s population is African American) in creating an awareness of the need to buckle up. The third objective created quite a challenge since belt use among the nonwhite population lagged 10 percentage points behind whites. Additionally, an underlying concern among campaign strategists was the racially tense environment in the state (after a very heated debate in the legislature over the removal of Confederate flag from the Capitol dome).
Campaign planners were faced with two challenges in South Carolina – will paid media heighten motorists’ awareness thereby resulting in a significant increase in safety belt use in a secondary law state? (South Carolina’s law does allow primary enforcement at safety checkpoints.) Second, how can law enforcement agencies implement a stringent enforcement campaign in a racially tense environment and still effectively address the minority community’s concerns regarding racial profiling? To address these challenges, a unique strategy was employed.
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