Campaign Safe & Sober
From Summer 1994Volume I, Number 2
For the next two years, NHTSA will focus much of its energies on Campaign
Safe & Sober. NHTSA created this national traffic safety initiative
in response to Secretary of transportation Feberico Peña's spring
1993 challenge to the nation to reduce the proportion of highway fatalities
that are alcohol-related to 43 percent and to increase safety belt use to
75 percent by 1997.
During 1993 and 1994, NHTSA worked closely with key traffic safety and public
health organizations to identify strategies for reaching the Secretary's
goals. These groups agreed that, to be successful, the campaign must include
effective public information and education (PI&E), support for relevant
state legislation, and highly visible law enforcement.
These components have been blended to form Campaign Safe &Sober,
which is designed to maximize flexibility for states and other participants
while preserving the effectiveness of the basic campaign strategies. Beginning
in fall 1994, the campaign will designate quarterly action periods, eachof
which is focused on specific combinations of program messages. The focus
for fall 1994 will be on driving while intoxicated. Safety belts will be
the focus of the winter 1994 quarter. Spring 1995 will emphasize youth,
and summer will focus on speeding.
Several months before each quarterly action period, NHTSA will distribute
PI&E resource packages to state agencies containing program ideas as
well as previews of national media materials, sample news releases, relevant
research and evaluation data, and camera-ready artwork.
The legislative component of Campaign Safe & Sober is designed
to support efforts to introduce or upgrade priority highway safety legislation,
such as administrative license revocation or primary enforcement of safety
belt laws. This support will include fact sheets, economic impact analyses,
and assistance in conducting state workshops.
The focus of the enforcement component will be on periodic high-visibility
traffic enforcement efforts, called specific Traffic Enforcement Programs
(sTEP). The sTEP approach has proven to be effective in changing traffic
behaviors. For example, recent driving under the influence sTEPs in Binghamton,
N.Y., were credited with a 39 percent decline in drinking drivers as measured
by roadside surveys. Similar programs in Bergen County, N.J., produced a
10 to 15 percent decline in single vehicle nighttime crashes. The key to
successful sTEPs is the coupling of increased enforcement to a public education
campaign emphasizing this enforcecment activity. NHTSA will support sTEPs
with demonstration projects, outreach to enforcement agencies, and by working
with national organizations to develop community support for enhanced enforcement.
For ideas on how your organization can participate in Campaign Safe &
Sober, please contact Susan Gorcowski at NHTSA Traffic Safety Programs,
NTS-11, 400 7 th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, (202) 366-2683.
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Revised: October 24, 1996
