Buckle Up America Week and the Operation ABC Mobilization

"Buckle Up America/Operation ABC Mobilization" planning materials will be available in early spring 2000. For more information, check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov or contact your NHTSA Regional Office (see State and Local Resources for contact information).

Here's a great idea to get you thinking about Buckle Up America Week and what you can do:

Success Story

Unique Partners Keep On Trucking, Keep On Buckling!

The "Buckle Up America" (BUA) message has gotten increased visibility on highways all around the country, thanks to the "Because Life is a Long Haul" program, built on new partnerships developed by NHTSA Region VI.

Truck drivers typically spend 10-15 hours a day on the road. On one hand, the more hours and miles on the road, the greater the risk of being involved in a crash. But that also means that the more that a truck is on the road, the greater the number of people who see it – and whatever message it might display. The "Because Life is a Long Haul" program encourages truck drivers to buckle up while using truck equipment itself to promote the buckle up message to others on the road.

American Freightways was among the first to jump on board. The company agreed to paint "Buckle Up America" across the back of 1,500 of its 18-wheelers.

"Rolling Strong Trucker Gyms," a national chain of truck stop gymnasiums, displayed BUA posters.

ABF, Inc. posted billboards on I-40 in Arkansas with the Buckle Up America logo and the slogan, "Safety Is Our Driving Force."

Aggregate Haulers Inc. of Fort Worth, an intrastate hauler, is installing 500 8-inch by 4-foot adhesive signs on their tailgates.

At McLane Company Inc. and Merit Distributors Inc., both of Temple, Texas, worn out mud flaps are being replaced with white flaps picturing the BUA logo in blue and red. Eventually, up to 3,000 trucks will carry this message throughout the southern half of the United States.

NHTSA Region VI Regional Program Manager Kenneth Copeland gave a BUA presentation to 20 safety representatives of trucking firms at the Oklahoma Safety Council. They pledged to hang more than 150 BUA posters at their terminals
and requested 500 BUA truck trailer signs and other materials.

Success Story: Unique Partners Keep On Trucking, Keep On Buckling! (continued)

The Louisiana Motor Transport Association, Inc. agreed to promote BUA and ordered more than 6,500 adhesive-backed posters to supply to member firms.

The participants include not only businesses but government agencies as well. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carriers (OMC) included the BUA logo in their new brochure for their No-Zone Campaign and have incorporated it into the graphics that go on truck trailers and buses as part of that program. The Region VI OMC provides BUA posters to each trucking company that they visit as part of their auditing process.

All together, Region VI motor carriers have agreed to place more than 15,000 BUA messages on their vehicles. As a result, thousands of people each day will be reminded to always buckle up.

The steps that were used to create this program can be duplicated around the nation. Each state has an association of trucking companies that are affiliated with the American Trucking Associations, Inc. Most states also have smaller safety organizations or safety councils that represent the industry in larger metropolitan areas. These smaller organizations generally meet once a month and this topic is a natural for their luncheon meetings. The statewide associations generally have an executive board that generally meets once a month and has one meeting a year with its entire membership.

To build successful partnerships with the trucking industry, first identify the trucking organizations in your state. They can assist you in contacting other smaller trucking organizations and individual companies. For example, Region VI worked with OMC to meet the executive director of the state association. If possible, do a short presentation to their executive board or at their yearly meeting. The Region VI staff identified and contacted the local safety councils and conducted 20-30 minute presentations at their luncheons. A few of the larger motor carriers were contacted directly. Frequently, smaller companies will follow the leadership of the larger companies.

Region VI developed a short test on seat belt facts that can be used at the smaller meetings. This test allows the audience to think and talk about the cost of not wearing a seat belt before they are provided the answers. A presentation with photos and short descriptions of what trucking companies are doing to support the campaign was developed to show the different ways that a company could participate in the program.

For more information, contact Kenneth Copeland at 817-978-0120 or kcopeland@nhtsa.dot.gov.