Avoiding “Tween” Tragedies: Demonstration Project to IncreaseSeat Belt Use Among 8- to 15-year-old Motor Vehicle Occupants

The purpose of this project was to increase seat belt use among 8- to 15-year-old motor vehicle occupants (“tweens”) by using a comprehensive approach involving police-driven educational programs, earned and paid media, and enforcement of Pennsylvania’s occupant protection law. Fifteen school districts, comprised of 15 high schools, 15 junior high schools, and 31 elementary schools, participated along with law enforcement officers from 13 municipal police departments and two Pennsylvania State Police barracks. Intervention components included three age appropriate educational programs, innovative enforcement strategies, community outreach, and earned/paid media exposure involving radio, television, and newspapers. Seat belt use significantly improved from the pre- to post-intervention periods in the elementary, junior high, and high schools by 13, 17, and 20 percentage points, respectively. Back seat positioning for elementary school children (12 and under) improved by 23 percentage points. In the post-intervention period, 90% of tweens wore seat belts when their drivers were also belted. Information from knowledge-attitude-behavior surveys indicated positive increases for all school levels in terms of reporting a higher level of steady seat belt use for tweens and their parents/drivers. In addition, elementary school tweens reported a higher level of consistent backseat use. Tweens also reported their knowledge and understanding of seat belt safety and laws in numbers higher than before the study. Recommendations are provided for further outreach to tweens, research needs, enforcement and education.