Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for African-American males 14-years-old and younger. Deaths from motor vehicle crashes are the second leading cause of death among African-American males ages 15 to 24.
Safety belt use rates for African-American drivers and passengers typically fall 10% below the average all drivers nationwide. So, the NHTSB has developed program initiatives to combat teen deaths in general, as well as being designed to target specific risk groups.
Through a NHTSB-sponsored program, the African-American Church Call to Buckle Up (AACCTBU) of Ohio organized a campaign whose goals were to increase safety belt use by 6% in general and among 1,000 area African-American high school students specifically. The campaign also targeted illegal underage alcohol consumption which is higher among African-American teens than national averages.
The program conducted educational sessions and distributed literature to increase seatbelt safety and illegal alcohol consumption awareness and designed a billboard displaying the message “What’s Holding You Back? Buckle Up!” which was placed on a prominent roadway traveled daily by many of the target population. Group members waved homemade signs with the same message to drivers on the roadway every day for one week.
These types of community-specific safety education and awareness programs are to be commended. They are probably much more effective and readily received than expensive national media campaigns. We should do more of this to avoid the tragic loss of life in car crashes involving un-belted and alcohol-impaired teen drivers and passengers.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
