We generally perceive rural America as a safe place to live, raise our families, and grow old. Traffic and road congestion are minimal, making travel a more pleasant and seemingly safer experience than city driving. The reality is you are twice as likely to be killed or injured on a rural roadway than you are in an urban area. “At risk” driving behaviors are more prevalent in rural versus urban crash statistics, which may be the result of a misconception of a “low risk” environment by rural motorists. For example, seat belt use is considerably lower in rural areas, and alcohol and speed-related crashes are higher.

Unlike the devastating death toll of the 9-11 attack, which was a series of confined incidents in a few locations over the course of less than a day, motor vehicle crashes occur every 5 seconds in this country, injuring someone every 15 seconds, and killing someone every 13 minutes of every day leaving no community — urban or rural — unscathed. The point is, Americans united in retaliation over the 3,000+ people who died on September 11 and these actions have resulted in suppressing repeated incidents. More than 40,000 Americans die each year due to motor vehicle crashes. We Americans need to come together in a unified effort to combat needless death and injury on our highways, if we are serious about improving health and safety in this country. That effort is Buckle Up America.

More lives can be saved by the mere act of everyone buckling their seat belts and properly restraining their children in the vehicle than any other single effort to reduce motor vehicle-related injury and death. In striving to get everyone buckled up on every trip, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) Buckle Up America Campaign is an ongoing national effort to rally public and private support and activity to increase seat belt use. The goals set forth are ambitious - to achieve a 90 percent seat belt use rate by 2005 and to reduce the number of child occupant fatalities (0-4 years of age) by 25 percent (using fatalities in 1996 as a baseline) by 2005. Since the start of the campaign in 1996, the latest available information shows that the national seat belt use rate increased 13 percentage points, from 61 percent in 1996 to 73 percent in 2001. In addition, child occupant fatalities dropped 17 percent by 2000, from a total of 653 in 1996 to 542 in 2000. The Partners for Rural Traffic Safety project is one component of many Buckle Up America national campaign initiatives designed to achieve these goals. Much has been achieved, but much more remains to be done.

Recognizing that this important issue requires immediate and widespread attention, the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), initiated the Partners for Rural Traffic Safety project. This program outlined strategies designed to increase seat belt usage and the proper use of child safety seats, which were field-tested in 15 rural communities across the country. As a result of the success of this pilot phase, NRHA and NHTSA are encouraging all rural community leaders to use the information in this guide to achieve significant increases in seat belt usage in your community. You will not find another more cost effective or beneficial activity to save lives and reduce injuries. That’s a fact.

In the pilot phase of the project, during 1997 and 1998, 12 of the 15 communities that took part significantly increased seat belt use during 30-day campaigns. Seat belt usage rates increased from an average of 43 percent to 51 percent, an 8-point increase in the 15 pilot communities. After the program was enhanced during the second year, seat belt use increased from an average of 13.8 percent for communities that took part in the first year to 20.2 percent for communities that took part in the second year. The largest increase among the 15 sites was in Lafayette County, Arkansas, where seat belt usage in 1997 increased from 27.7 percent to 64.8 percent, a 133.9 percent change. In addition, approximately 109,000 people in these rural communities had been wearing seat belts before the campaigns began, a number that increased by nearly 18,000 residents at the end of the campaigns.

Nine communities took part in the pilot phase in 1997, and six in 1998. These projects occurred in small and medium-sized communities, some with fewer than 1,000 residents but none larger than 42,000 residents. Collectively, the 15 projects reached a total population of more than 213,000 residents. As a foundation for success, the Partners for Rural Traffic Safety project uses community involvement and field-tested strategies as the keys for successful campaigns to increase seat belt usage and the proper use of child safety seats, particularly in vehicles equipped with air bags.

For the Partners’ pilot projects, local NRHA members served as the Community Partner Team Leader and NRHA national office staff provided training and technical assistance to the Community Partner Team. The team leader was responsible for identifying community leaders from such fields as health care, law enforcement, business, and education who would serve on the Community Partner Team. Each team member agreed to plan, organize, and engage others in their sector, increasing participation in campaign activities.

Project costs were minimal. Each community received $1,500 to $2,000. Communities donated a number of in-kind contributions and related services with some even holding fund raisers to help support the project. Traffic safety materials and related items such as Vince and Larry© costumes and rollover seat belt convincers were provided on request by NHTSA and State Highway Safety Offices. Every project was different. The idea was to empower each team to develop activities that met the needs of their respective communities.

• Principles of community development and its relationship to this project;
• Roles and responsibilities as a community partner team member and sector leader;
• Motivational techniques to involve people in the process to ensure collective ownership of the project;
• Planning tools; and
• Strategies to evaluate the overall success of the project.

By using the roadmap and tools enclosed in this Kit, any rural community can replicate the success achieved by the 15 communities that took part in the pilot project. You should focus your activities to support the program’s primary objectives:

The Partners for Rural Traffic Safety Action Kit includes three key components to help Community Partner Teams conduct a successful campaign:

Except for these key components, the project can be customized to fit the needs of your community. Everything you need to get started is included in this kit. All you need is one person to organize a Community Partner Team. That person is you. By taking the initiative, you can improve the health and well being of everyone in your community. This project can achieve positive results by saving lives and reducing injuries from motor vehicle crashes in your community.