Click It or Ticket

2010 Mobilization State Activities

May 24 - June 6

Far too many people continue to ride unbuckled, especially at night. In 2008, more than 12,000 passenger vehicle occupants died in crashes at night, and nearly two-thirds of those were unbuckled. To increase seat belt usage, states are conducting federally-funded seat belt enforcement zones and checkpoints throughout the Memorial Day holiday season. Federal and state-funded advertisements will remind the public to Click It or Ticket.

Below are just a few examples of state 2010 CIOT mobilization efforts. For additional information, contact the public information officer for your State Highway Safety Office. For a list of seat belt laws by state, check out GHSA's Seat Belt Law chart.

American Samoa—As part of its enforcement campaign, the American Samoa Department of Public Safety is using a variety of media and events to publicize the Click It or Ticket message and is offering incentive programs for both participating law enforcement officers as well as motorists who are buckled up.
Arizona—The Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety is placing Click It or Ticket ads in movie theatres across the state, as part of its high visibility enforcement campaign. The ads remind patrons to buckle up when they leave the movie theature and feature a police officer with the message: "We're watching. Buckle up or pay the consequences."
Arkansas—The Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Office (AHSO) is working with fast food establishments (Popeye’s, Sonic, Chick-Fil-A, Wendy’s, Domino’s Pizza, etc.) to display CIOT window clings and place stickers on all drive-thru orders. The restaurants also donate free drink coupons to those who are buckled up. The beverages are provided by the outlets. Arkansas also partners with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to display CIOT messages on statewide electronic highway message boards. To reach the target audience of 18- to 34-year-old males, Arkansas uses sports marketing through messages at the Arkansas Travelers baseball games and print ads in Hooten’s Arkansas Football and Arkansas Football 360 magazines. Further targeted outreach includes Facebook ads and online banner ads on sports and news websites.
California—The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) is using its Facebook presence to promote CIOT is several ways. First, fans are being invited to join and enter a contest to win major league sports or concert tickets by answering seat belt related questions. Also, special downloadable pledge buttons, themed “If not for you, for the ones you love,”are being offered. In addition, the state is creating several online polls with seat belt related questions. The OTS's Facebook Wall will be updated daily with news stories, photos and videos with seat belt themes and messages.
Delaware—The Delaware Office of Highway Safety is partnering with the statewide pizza chain Grotto Pizza to put Click It or Ticket bands around pizza boxes during the enforcement period. In addition, local coffee houses are placing CIOT cardboard coffee sleeves around the drinks they sell. CIOT magnetic bumper stickers are being distributed to law enforcement agencies for placement on patrol cars during enforcement activities. A local baseball sports complex has requested CIOT banners to place on their fields; and the OHS is mailing posters to high school wellness centers for placement in high traffic locations. Social media efforts include daily tweets through Twitter.com as well as online ads on Delawareonline.com and Comcast.net with clickable links to learn more about Delaware's seat belt law.
Georgia—The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety's (GOHS's) Georgia Is Buckle-Up Country campaign is reaching rural drivers using a combination of billboards, gas pump toppers and gas station TV ads. In 2008, nearly half of Georgia's 1,008 traffic fatalities occurred in rural communities. In addition to using social media sites Facebook and Twitter for messaging, GOHS is also targeting youngs adults by embedding CIOT ads in video games. The CIOT message is being reinforced during a news conference where the Governor will sign into law the state's new seatbelt law eliminating the exemption for pickup trucks.
Illinois—The Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Safety (IDOT/DTS) is placing a special emphasis on nighttime safety belt enforecement to counteract the overwhelming number of motor vehicle fatalities occuring during late night hours on Illinois roads. Last year in Illinois, only twenty percent of those killed in crashes between midnight and 3:00 a.m. were buckled up. (By contrast, six out of ten daytime fatalities were properly restrained.)
Kansas—The Kansas Bureau of Traffic Safety has placed Internet banner ads on websites geared toward its target audience. Kansas has set up a Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube channel and is utilizing each to push out information, articles and videos on seat belt issues throughout the CIOT mobilization period. In addition, ads have been placed on multiple Xbox online games to show up on the side of buildings, billboards and scoreboards within these games.
Kentucky—The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety (OHS) is using positive reinforcement in addition to its traditional enforcement strategy. Those not buckled up will receive a citation, but those who are buckled will receive a different kind of ticket – a “Click It FOR Tickets” voucher that allows them to register to win tickets to a race at the Kentucky Speedway racetrack. OHS is using Facebook and Twitter to spread the word, and an informational video is being posted on Facebook, YouTube, and the OHS website. The video is also being emailed to all state government employees. Internet ads are running on MySpace and other sites targeting young male drivers (such as automotive magazine sites). In addition, the NHTSA-produced “Stuck on You” commercial is airing in cinemas throughout the state.
Louisiana—The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission recently participated in a teen demonstration project in which grafitti art (a body outline with the message "Unbelted occupant, ejected 20 feet" and the CIOT logo) was powerwashed into sidewalks around town. The project caught the attention of the media and Louisiana anticipates ongoing coverage through the CIOT mobilization campaign. Another popular program features enforcement officers using positive reinforcement by distributing iTunes cards for free music downloads for belted teens. This has the potential to be an ongoing program.
Maryland—The Maryland Highway Safety Office (HSO) is running two innovative programs. First, in lieu of traditional billboards, the HSA has placed gas pump top advertising and store displays at 95 gas stations across the state. Ads are targeted to stations located within a one mile radius of where an unbelted fatality had occurred. For the HSO's Buckle Up for a Buck program, banks donate dollar bills, which police distribute to drivers observed wearing their seat belts. In a variation of this campaign, officers distribute free food coupons donated by Chick-Fil-A and 7-Eleven. The program has garnered a good deal of media attention.
Michigan—In addition to television, cable and radio ads, the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning is placing targeted ads on sites such as foxsports.com, cnet.com, gamespot.com, espn.com and mlb.com. The state also is employing Facebook engagement ads as well as mobile appearing on targeted sites accessible through video capable devices like smart phones. On YouTube, people can find additional videos that complement the television ad and feature the "beep beep" man – the centerpiece of the creative campaign.
North Carolina—The North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program is sponsoring Click It or Ticket nights at six minor league baseball teams across the state. Each night includes various agencies highlighting different aspects of traffic safety, such as child passenger safety, impaired driving and a seat belt demonstration using a seat belt convincer. Each night also features a game ticket discount for all law enforcement and a Click It or Ticket promotional item for fans. The campaign kicks off May 24 with an event at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park prior to the Click It or Ticket sponsorship night.
North Dakota—The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) is using a rollover simulator – a revolving half truck that shows what happens to an unbelted crash test dummy during a rollover crash – during its kickoff news conference. NDDOT's new enforcement ad tagline is “Pick Your Click,” which refers to the public’s choice between the click of their seat belt or the click of an officer’s pen as he writes them a ticket. The ad is posted on NDDOT’s and local Safe Communities programs' Facebook pages and on YouTube. A “Pick Your Click” email blast is also circulating. Campaign outreach, conducted through the state's Safe Communities network, include rollover simulators and seat belt convincer demonstrations, radio trivia contests, and school-based seat belt promotions. NDDOT is also distributing a car air freshener designed in the form of a North Dakota license plate that reads BUKL UP.
Pennsylvania—Pennsylvania is introducing aerial enforcement into the mix this year. State Police will be using their S.P.A.R.E. (State Police Aerial Reconnaissance and Enforcement) program over the Memorial Day weekend to complement the traditional ground enforcement.
Rhode Island—Rhode Island is piloting nighttime belt enforcement, because the majority of the state's fatalities occur at night and nearly 80 percent of nighttime fatalities were unbelted in 2008. The state is using social media to share the message. Social media tools include TweetDeck for Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and Blogger.
Utah—Utah is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of the CIOT campaign this year. Through its "Clickin' for Chicken" program, law enforcement officers are issuing Chick-fil-A coupons to buckled motorists. For the second consecutive year, professional soccer team Real Salt Lake is promoting the campaign with the message "Real Fans Buckle Up." Online paid media includes advertising space on ksl.com, AdReady Network and Vehix Auto Network. Messages are also being placed on on hulu.com and Facebook, include static and animated banner ads. A newly created Facebook quiz asks fans to answer five questions to find out what kind of a driver they are. They are then asked to pledge to buckle up for a chance to win a $45 gift card – the cost of a seat belt citation in Utah.
Vermont—Vermont is piloting a program using advertisements on gas pump toppers in one county. The ad's message is targeted to pickups: Pickups rock, but they also roll: Buckle Up, featuring picture of an upside down truck. Program results will be compared with a similar county without the program, to determine its effectiveness.
Virginia—Virginia is supporting its Click It or Ticket Blitz Operations by using social media websites Facebook and Twitter. Messages will include the number of law enforcement officers who are out on the roads looking for traffic violators. Several individuals are putting out these messages to strengthen awareness. Messages will be more "first person" than highway safety office "sponsored." On the social norming side, Virginia is using 50th anniversary crash footage and the "Embrace Life" video to support the buckle up message on Facebook and YouTube to reinforce the seat belt message.

More Information

GHSA News Release: States Launch Massive Seat Belt Use Crackdown (May 24, 2010)
NHTSA News Release: U.S. DOT Targets 45 Million Americans Still Not Buckling Up (May 24, 2010)
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