BUPA Teen Mobilization 2018

2018 Teen Education and Enforcement Mobilization is scheduled for

October 15 – October 27, 2018

Over 105 law enforcement agencies across Pennsylvania have agreed to participate in the 13-day Teen Seat Belt Mobilization scheduled from October 15 – October 27, 2018. This Teen Mobilization will coincide with the National Teen Driver Safety Week. The goal of the mobilization is very specific; save young lives by increasing belt use among drivers and passengers under the age of 18 through a coordinated enforcement and educational campaign. The focus will primarily be on youth drivers (under the age of 18) on school campuses, targeted youth events, and on roadways around their high schools. The goal of the mobilization is to reach over 120 secondary schools and contact 50,000 students.

This mobilization emphasizes enforcement as a key strategy to achieving the identified goal. Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) will be issuing seat belt citations when appropriate. Drivers and passengers under the age of 18, regardless of seating position, are required to be secured in a properly adjusted and fastened safety seat belt system. This is a primary offense and an officer is authorized to stop the vehicle solely on that violation. The cost for conviction is a minimum of $60.00 for teens.

All participating LEAs will complete one (1) Seat Belt Informational Site per secondary school, on or around the school campus, work with the school and local media to generate earned media and public awareness, complete school presentations and then initiate teen seat belt enforcement.

Law enforcement officers will work with their schools to present in-class “Survival 101” and “Sixteen Minutes “programs. “Survival 101” is a dynamic 35-to 45-minute multimedia presentation geared toward middle and high school students. In addition to occupant protection it covers unsafe driving practices, crash dynamics, consequences and preventive safety measures. Each session is led by a police officer with first-hand experience and includes topics like distracted driving with an emphasis on cell phones and texting, as well as aggressive driving and fatigue.

“Sixteen Minutes” is a targeted 16-minute program for students approaching their 16th birthday. Held in monthly small group sessions, the program gives students a chance to talk personally with a trained law enforcement officer before getting behind the wheel for the first time.

Buckle Up PA (BUPA) understands that providing students with a strong, comprehensive traffic safety education could mean the difference between life and death. Traffic crashes continue to remain the leading cause of death for Pennsylvania’s young people and two thirds of those killed each year still remain unbelted. The Teen Seat Belt Mobilization provides one more opportunity to save more young lives or reduce serious injuries.

Teen Crashes by the numbers:

• From 2013 to 2017, there were 86,375 crashes involving at least one 16 to 19-year old driver in Pennsylvania, resulting in 547 fatalities.

• 62.7 percent of those crashes involved the teen driver driving too fast for conditions 23,691 crashes.

• Driver inexperience 8.625

• Driver distraction 11,274

• Improper/careless turning 10,526

• There was a total of 54,116 crashes with one or more of these teen driver factors.

• In Pennsylvania in 2017, there were 42 teen drivers 16 to 19 years old who were killed in crashes.

• Of those teen drivers, 22 of them did not have their seat belt on.

• 128,188 crashes occurred in Pennsylvania in 2017 resulting in 1,137 fatalities.
– 378 unbelted occupant fatalities
– 264 belted occupant fatalities
– 107 seat belt use unknown
– 384 non-occupant fatalities (motorcycle, pedestrian, etc.)

• Seat belts were not worn by over 40% percent of people killed in occupant-related traffic crashes. The percentage rises significantly at night.

• Pennsylvania’s seat belt usage rate was 85.6 percent in 2017 and the Teen usage rate is believed to be lower.