Increased Safety on the Road
Problem:
In 1996, 35 people, including 26 children, died from air bag related injuries in relatively low speed car crashes. Virtually all of the children killed were completely unrestrained or not properly secured in a seat belt or safety seat. Recognizing the risks that air bags posed, especially to children, auto makers, major insurance companies, occupant restraint manufacturers, child safety seat manufacturers and the government joined together to establish the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign. The immediate goal of the campaign was to prevent more deaths and the long term goal was to increase child restraint and seat belt use. The campaign had a three part strategy: educate the public on the benefits and risks of air bags, enact strong standard seat belt laws, and enforce child passenger safety and seat belt laws.
What we did:
Public Opinion Strategies was hired from the inception of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign to measure:
Actual safety behavior of adults and parents in a motor vehicle;
Awareness of proper safety behavior of adults and parents in a motor vehicle;
The effectiveness of different messages to change improper behavior of adults and parents in a motor vehicle; and
The change in behavior and attitudes about safety in a motor vehicle.
We conducted 12 national surveys of drivers, 4 national surveys of just drivers of children age 12 or under and more than 15 focus groups from 1996 to 2001.
The result:
Attitudes and reported behavior regarding child safety in a motor vehicle have shifted over the course of the campaign. The campaign was successful at getting more adults to buckle up and making sure more parents are properly securing their child in a safety seat or seat belt away from passenger air bags. Our surveys over since 1996 demonstrate that:
More people now know about air bag risks and how to protect children from these risks and more people report restraining children properly in vehicles with air bags.
The rate of child deaths from air bags declined by over 90% and adult deaths declined by 60% between 1996 and 2000. This takes into account triple the number of passenger air bags on the road in 2000.
Only 10 states had standard adult seat belt laws in 1996 and all states required children to be restrained, but many state laws covered only very young children or children only in the front seat. Seven states and the District of Columbia have upgraded to standard adult seat belt laws since 1996.
Safety Issues - Client List
Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign
Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association
DaimlerChrysler
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