Conducting strong occupant restraint enforcement is a principal component of BUA. Seat belt and child safety seat enforcement increased under the umbrella of BUA programs. Buckle Up mobilizations (special traffic enforcement programs), Campaign Safe and Sober, and Chiefs Challenge helped to boost the level of occupant restraint enforcement. Additionally, the passage of primary enforcement seat belt laws influenced the level of ticket writing in a number of states. Seat belt and child restraint enforcement increased in secondary states as well.
Data on seat belt citations issued and/or convictions of seat belt violators were obtained from 32 states, for years 1996 through 1998, and represent either annual statewide totals or annual state police activity.
Across all reporting states, the number of tickets issued increased (9.9%) from 1996 to 1998 (Table 4). Nine of the 32 states had a primary law. The remaining 23 states operated under a secondary law. In general, secondary locations experienced more of an increase in the number of seat belt tickets, comparing 1996 to 1998, than primary locations (14.5 versus 0.6%). On a per- resident basis, the increase in the number of tickets issued was also larger for secondary states compared to the primary states (12.7 versus -2.1%). Not every state reported an increase. Four primary states and eight secondary states reported a decrease in tickets issued.
| 1996 | 1998 | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Level | |||
| total states (32) | |||
| number of tickets | 1,862,965 | 2,009,119 | +7.8 |
| per 10,000 residents | 102.08 | 107.88 | +5.7 |
| primary states (9) | |||
| number of tickets | 886,681 | 891,742 | +0.6 |
| per 10,000 residents | 113.66 | 111.32 | -2.1 |
| secondary states (23) | |||
| number of tickets | 976,284 | 1,117,377 | +14.5 |
| per 10,000 residents | 93.43 | 105.28 | +12.7 |
| Cities (Population >250,000) | |||
| total cities (31) | |||
| number of tickets | 197,750 | 194,068 | -1.9 |
| per 10,000 residents | 121.27 | 117.45 | -3.1 |
| primary cities (16) | |||
| number of tickets | 107,681 | 103,661 | -3.7 |
| per 10,000 residents | 131.50 | 123.95 | -5.7 |
| secondary cities (15) | |||
| number of tickets | 90,069 | 90,407 | 0.4 |
| per 10,000 residents | 110.95 | 110.79 | -0.1 |
| Cities (Population <250,000) | |||
| total cities (44) | |||
| number of tickets | 34,100 | 36,525 | +7.1 |
| per 10,000 residents | 120.79 | 126.81 | +5.0 |
| primary cities (23) | |||
| number of tickets | 23,035 | 21,154 | -8.2 |
| per 10,000 residents | 135.97 | 123.12 | -9.4 |
| secondary cities (21) | |||
| number of tickets | 11,065 | 15,371 | +38.9 |
| per 10,000 residents | 98.01 | 132.25 | +34.9 |
| State Police | |||
| total (13) | |||
| number of tickets | 952,540 | 909,000 | -4.6 |
| per 10,000 residents | 88.55 | 82.94 | -6.3 |
| primary (5) | |||
| number of tickets | 537,997 | 441,675 | -17.9 |
| per 10,000 residents | 113.71 | 91.3 | -19.7 |
| secondary (8) | |||
| number of tickets | 414,543 | 467,325 | +12.7 |
| per 10,000 residents | 68.79 | 76.34 | +11.0 |
| 1996 | 1998 | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Level | |||
| total states (29) | |||
| number of tickets | 118,212 | 127,979 | +8.3 |
| per 10,000 residents | 7.47 | 7.93 | +6.1 |
| Cities (Population >250,000) | |||
| total cities (31) | |||
| number of tickets | 21,204 | 22,825 | +12.3 |
| per 10,000 residents | 12.46 | 13.81 | +10.9 |
| Cities (Population <250,000) | |||
| total cities (44) | |||
| number of tickets | 4,403 | 3,940 | -10.5 |
| per 10,000 residents | 15.60 | 13.68 | -12.3 |
| State Police | |||
| total (10) | |||
| number of tickets | 55,220 | 65,121 | +17.9 |
| per 10,000 residents | 5.35 | 6.19 | +18.5 |
In 1996, primary states issued more citations per-resident than secondary states (113.7 versus 93.4). BUA mobilized law enforcement in both primary and secondary law states to issue more tickets, and although secondary law states responded more, primary states still issued many more tickets per-resident than secondary states in 1998 (111.3 versus 105.3).
Data on seat belt citations issued and/or convictions of seat belt violators were obtained for 31 cities with a population over 250,000 people, for years 1996 through 1998. Sixteen of the cities were located in states with a primary law, 15 in secondary law locations.
Across all study locations, there was a slight decrease (-1.9%) in the number of tickets issued, comparing 1996 with 1998. The study locations with a primary law experienced a 3.7 percent decrease in the number of tickets issued; large cities with a secondary law experienced relatively no change (0.4%). On a per-resident basis, the decrease in ticketing was more apparent for the overall cities (-3.1%), more apparent for primary cities (-5.7%), and a slight decrease was apparent for secondary cities (-0.1%). On a per-resident basis, the number of tickets did not increase in large cities. Before and after BUA, cities in primary locations were issuing more tickets per-resident than secondary locations.
Data on seat belt citations issued and/or convictions of seat belt violators were obtained for a stratified random sample of 44 cities with a population under 250,000 people, for years 1996 through 1998. Twenty-three of the cities were located in states with a primary law, 21 in secondary law locations. Overall, the number of tickets issued in the mid and small cities increased (7.1%) from 1996 to 1998. This was due to a large increase in secondary locations (38.9%), where as in primary locations, there was a decrease (-8.2%). Some primary law locations (11) and some secondary law locations (9) reported a decrease in ticket writing.
In 1996, primary law cities were issuing more citations per-resident than cities with secondary laws (136.0 versus 98.0). BUA mobilized law enforcement in secondary states to issue more (132.2). Over the same time period, the number of tickets issued in primary locations decreased (123.1), so that, by 1998, cities in both primary and secondary locations were issuing tickets at a much closer level, but now, secondary states were issuing more per-resident.
Data on seat belt citations issued to seat belt violators were obtained for 13 state police agencies, for years 1996 through 1998. Five were located in primary law states and eight located in secondary law states. Overall, the number of tickets issued decreased (-4.6%), mostly due to a decline in ticketing in primary law states; tickets issued per-resident decreased -6.3 percent. The number of tickets issued by state police in primary law states fell -17.9 percent; on a per-resident basis, the decrease was 19.7 percent. The number of tickets issued by state police in secondary locations increased 12.7 percent, and the rate of ticketing per-resident 11.0 percent. State police in primary law states continued to write more tickets than did state police in secondary law states.
Data on child safety seat citations issued and/or convictions for child restraint violations were obtained from 29 states, for years 1996 through 1998 (Table 4). The data represent either annual statewide totals or annual state police activity. Measured, enforcement activity increased in number (8.3%) as well as on a per-resident basis (6.1% across all locations).
Data on child safety seat citations issued and/or convictions of child restraint violations were obtained from 31 large cities, each with a resident population of over 250,000, for years 1996 through 1998. The number of child restraint tickets issued increased over time by 12.3 percent. The increase was also evident on a per-resident basis (10.9% across all locations).
Data on child safety seat citations issued and/or convictions for child restraint violations were obtained from 44 mid and small cities (population < 250,000), for years 1996 through 1998. Measured, enforcement activity decreased in number (-10.5%) and on a per-resident basis (-12.3%).
Data on child safety seat citations issued and/or convictions for child restraint violations were obtained for 10 state police agencies, for years 1996 through 1998. Enforcement activity increased in number (17.9%) and on a per-resident basis (15.7% across all locations).