Assessing the Effectiveness of Montana\u2019s Vehicle Occupant Protection Program

https://doi.org/10.21949/15181372015PDFTech ReportFHWA/MT-15-001/8221-0018221-001Occupant protection devicesSeat belt useSafety campaignsSafety educationEvaluation and assessmentPublic information programsTraffic law enforcementMontanaMontana. Dept. of Transportation. Research ProgramsStanley, LauraManlove, KeziaPeck, AlyssaWestern Transportation InstituteUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationUS Transportation CollectionThe purpose of this project was to quantitatively evaluate the relationships between MDT's occupant protection program activities and seat restraint usage throughout Montana, in an effort to clarify how MDT's occupant protection programs may affect seat restraint use. Quantitative evaluations of program effectiveness are critical to optimizing program impacts, yet performing evaluations of these programs is challenging. Here, a cross-disciplinary research team worked in collaboration with Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) to produce a quantitative evaluation of four programs (Office of Public Instruction driver education programs, Selective Traffic Enforcement Programs, Buckle Up Montana coalitions, and media campaigns) aimed at improving seat belt use rates in the state of Montana. Program impacts were measured using National Occupant Protection Survey data from 2010 to 2012. The evaluation suggested that MDT\u2019s programs largely operate independently of one another. Buckle Up Montana program presence was associated with increased seat restraint use rates, and this was especially true in areas that were not in large media catchment areas. Selective traffic enforcement programs showed a strong relationship with increased seat restraint use, but this relationship disappeared in models that included all programs. Driver education program completion rates were not associated with increased seat belt use. There was no saturating effect of program impacts, except for media campaigns, where additional dollars lead to improved occupant protection rates only to a point. Detecting program-specific effects was challenging using the NOPUS data, and the team suggested additional data collection for isolating particular program effects in the future.90