Increasing Seat Belt Use in New York City: Evaluation of a Demonstration Project

A high-visibility seat belt enforcement program was implemented along Northern Boulevard and surrounding neighborhoods in northern Queens, New York City. The goal was to determine if high-visibility enforcement could increase belt use in a localized diverse community within a major city. Enforcement levels were substantial. Nearly 6,000 tickets were issued across the four program waves conducted about every three months from June 2007, through April 2008. Media consisted of locally placed billboards and posters plus substantial police presence including 160 belt use checkpoints. Residents recalled seeing the billboards, posters, and the police checkpoints. Belt use along Northern Boulevard increased significantly over the life of the program (p<.05) and as compared to similar measurements conducted along Grand Concourse in the Bronx, a comparison area (p<.01). It was concluded that an urban police agency, with strong leadership and sufficient resources, can increase belt use along a known high-risk corridor without purchasing prohibitively expensive citywide media.