Safety belt use statewide is starting to slip slightly. The most recent safety belt surveys indicate that seat belt use has dropped 3 – 4 percentage points.

When the standard safety belt law took effect, belt use reached a record-high 83.5 percent in March 2000, jumping from the 70 percent the state experienced with a secondary enforcement law.

Officers wrote over 13,000 tickets during the November 2000 enforcement wave. In May 2001, with a record amount of money on enforcement being spent, only wrote 8,106 tickets.

It is critical that the community’s perception is that there is a high risk of getting stopped and being ticketed for not wearing a seat belt and properly restraining children.

Higher belt use rates result in fewer fatalities and injuries. It is critical that we maintain our commitment to support increased belt use.

Your efforts to promote the importance of buckling up is one way to continue the reduction of fatalities and injuries and move toward protecting even more Michigan drivers and passengers.

Here’s a list of some of the things you can do to not only educate and change behavior, but to maintain and increase the usage rate. Everything you do to increase awareness of enforcement of the belt law, especially the lowest use group – young males - helps protect your entire community from the danger of traffic crashes.

• Write or call your local law enforcement agencies to express your support for enforcing seat belt laws. Ask them for ways you can help.
• Write letters to local newspapers asking for increased coverage of seat belt stories and expressing support for enforcing seat belt laws.
• Contact the Michigan Resource Center at (800) 626-4636 to obtain Click it or Ticket materials and provide those materials to people in your community and your workplace.
• Reward those who have been "saved by the belt." Contact the Michigan Resource Center at (800) 626-4636 to obtain "Make the Connection" brochures
• Identify major events or locations where the Click it or Ticket message can be prominently featured and seek placement of the message there. Does your community have summer festivals, sporting events, concerts or other activities that would reach a large audience?
• Talk to local radio station managers and ask them to increase the airings of public service announcements encouraging people to buckle up, especially during peak driving hours.
• Ask local law enforcement agencies or those that have been "saved by the belt" to "appear" on radio talk shows or speak to community groups to reinforce the need to buckle up.
• Get the "buzz" going – talk among your friends, colleagues and neighbors about successful seat belt stories you’ve heard or experienced.
• Spread the message that tickets will be issued to unbuckled occupants.
• Remind other supporters of safety belts to encourage safety belt use.

The following agencies won radars and lasers for their outstanding participation efforts in the Click it or Ticket campaign. Benzie County Sheriff Department (radar), Brighton Police Department (laser), Farmington Hills Police Department (laser), Flat Rock Police Department (radar), Hastings Police Department (radar), MSP- Cheboygan (radar), MSP- Iron Mountain (radar), Muskegon Township Police Department (radar), Norton Shores Police Department (radar), Woodhaven Police Department (radar). Congratulations!

OHSP is currently in the process of realigning some program responsibilities to achieve better program balance and coordination. Tina Hissong will administer the child passenger safety program as part of the youth programs area. Motorcycle safety will be divided into training under Tina's guidance with helmet legislative issues assigned to Mark Iansiti. Impaired motorcycle riding along with impaired biking and pedestrians will reside in the alcohol programs area and be coordinated by Alicia Sledge.

Pedestrian safety projects will be implemented through the Safe Communities program administered by Sue Guggemos with Chad Canfield managing pedestrian engineering issues at the community level.

Pat Carrow will take the lead in a new effort to work with diverse groups with the expectation that more effective education and public information materials can be developed and distributed. Analysis of our belt use and impaired driving injury data indicates that this will become increasingly important as the demographic make up of Michigan changes over the next few years

Other changes are also being made to internal administrative processes to improve efficiencies and support the program realignments identified above. See the OHSP Staff Listing at the back of this newsletter for an easy-to-read breakdown.

• Zero Tolerance Means Zero Chances

OHSP is developing a Zero Tolerance Means Zero Chances statewide campaign. The campaign will consist of bookmarks, billboards, keychains and public service announcements that explain Michigan’s zero tolerance laws and the consequences that happen when the laws are violated. The Zero Tolerance Means Zero Chances logo will also be placed on all underage drinking materials in Michigan, replacing the original logo, "Zip, Zero, Zilch." Look for these new materials at the Michigan Resource Center after October 1, 2001.

• New video for parents and guardians on the dangers of underage drinking

A video is being produced that will inform parents where minors are obtaining alcohol and encourage parents to get involved. Discussion will take place in the video about minors obtaining alcohol, knowing and unknowingly from their own homes. Parents and guardians will be informed as to the consequences they face for allowing minors to drink in their homes, and also the consequences that minors who are caught drinking will face. Serious conversation will also take place regarding the dangers of teenage drinking. The video will be completed by September 30, 2001. For more information regarding this video or other underage drinking countermeasures, contact Kristina Hissong, OHSP Youth Programs Coordinator at (517) 333-5754 or hissongk@state.mi.us.

OHSP has submitted a grant to the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requesting $500,000 to participate in a two-year demonstration project focusing on impaired driving enforcement. If the grant is approved, the funding is required to support a full-time alcohol law enforcement coordinator for the state. This coordinator will work with law enforcement agencies throughout the state to assist in the coordination of their saturation patrols. The grant will also require OHSP to contract with a public relations firm specifically to publicize Michigan’s alcohol enforcement efforts. This firm will work closely with the law enforcement coordinator to ensure that all impaired driving enforcement efforts are well-publicized locally, as well as several statewide news events to promote the July and December "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." mobilization efforts.

The Michigan Alcohol Forum is scheduled for November 6, 2001, at the MAC Marriott in East Lansing. The forum is designed to bring together executive-level agency representatives to discuss priority impaired driving issues in Michigan. Three breakout tracks at the forum are youth, treatment and server issues. Invited participants will actively participate in one of the three intense working seminars following the opening session. The result of the alcohol forum will be a state action plan. Jim Nichols from NHTSA’s traffic safety research office in Washington, D.C. will present information on national and state data on alcohol-related traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries. Col. Michael D. Robinson, director of the Michigan State Place, will open the forum.

Repeat Offender Training (part of UP update)

Repeat offender training seminars are planned to be presented in the U.P. during September. The training will consist of reading drivers’ records; repeat offender legislation and testifying at driver license appeal hearing. Two trainings are planned in Marquette and Escanaba. Distance satellite connections will be used to allow the training to be submitted to other locations in the U.P. Information regarding the exact training dates and locations will be posted on the L.E.I.N. network. For more information on these trainings, contact Jamie Dolan, UP traffic safety coordinator at (906) 225-7036 or dolanj@state.mi.us.

Child Passenger Training (part of UP update)

The Michigan Department of Community Health provided a Standardized Child Passenger Technical Training Course on August 7-10, 2001 at Bay de Noc Community College in Escanaba, MI. Over 20 students representing Native American Tribes throughout the Upper Peninsula, as well as others, successfully completed the course, which was developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The four-day course was taught through a combination of lectures, discussions of new issues, role playing and hands-on practice with both child safety seats and vehicle safety belt systems, and will ensure that information and materials being taught and disseminated to the public about child passenger safety issues are up-to-date, accurate and consistent.

For more information on these trainings, contact Jamie Dolan, UP traffic safety coordinator at (906) 225-7036 or dolanj@state.mi.us.

U.P. Regional Office Debuts Newsletter (part of UP update)

Fall is always a special time in the U.P., and October will mark the arrival of the U.P. regional traffic safety newsletter. If interested in receiving information about grant opportunities, regional traffic safety facts, upcoming regional events, and highlights of U.P. activities, contact Lea Casper at (906) 225-7030 ext. 240 or casperl@state.mi.us to be placed on the mailing list. Ideas and submissions for future issues are also welcome!

Repeat Offender Registration Denial Procedures

Last year, a portion of the repeat offender law took effect which prohibits Secretary of State from registering vehicles to a repeat offender. Approximately 62,000 letters were sent to individuals affected by the repeat offender registration denial provision. An estimated 14,000 additional individuals per year will be affected by this provision. The Department of State will continue to notify individuals as they become subject to the law.

The law prohibits repeat offenders from transferring the title of their vehicle to family members without court order. The statute does not apply when the vehicle is being sold to a non-family member. There are certain procedures that should be followed in order to obtain a court order to transfer a vehicle to a family member:

• Requests must be made at the circuit court level
• If the transfer is approved by the circuit court, the Department of State will transfer the title of the vehicle, as long as the transferee is not also subject to registration denial.
• If a registration is inadvertently issued to an individual also subject to registration denial, the Department of State will immediately issue a letter suspending the registration, upon discovery of this error.
• If a lien holder is reflected on the title, the Secretary of State’s branch office will require the person presenting the circuit court order to also present authorization from the lien holder consenting to the title transfer.

Persons receiving a vehicle title transferred from a repeat offender should be aware of repeat offender penalties which defines new crimes for knowingly allowing an individual to drive without a valid license causing serious bodily injury (2 year) or causing death (5 year).

For answers to questions regarding registration denial, contact the Department of State’s Driver License Appeal Division at (517) 373-1714.

The ability to do multiple tasks in the work place is a skill every manager desires in his or her employees. However, when this skill is attempted behind the wheel, it often leads directly to a negative impact on your company’s bottom line.

Distracted driving is a major contributor in an estimated 4,000 to 8,000 crashes nationally every day. It is evident that it is a behavior that needs to be modified to reduce the personal tragedy to employers, employees and their families, as well as the economic losses an organization suffers when an employee is involved in a traffic crash.

The Driving Force: National Drive Safely Work Week (DSWW) is September 10-14, 2001. This year’s campaign focuses on the issue of distracted driving. Although a flood of media attention has been placed on distracted driving, few reports have gone the extra step to offer real-world solutions to combating the issue. Evidence suggests that calling attention to the issues involved in distracted driving holds potential for helping all drivers become more aware of distractions that may contribute to crashes and, help them stay more focused on the road.

The 2001 DSWW tool kit is packed with information and messaging to help draw attention to the contributing factors in distracted driving and enable employees to identify and develop strategies to better manage them. In addition, the kit provides materials and activities to use as constant reminders to help keep your employees buckled up. Safety belts are everyone’s best defense against the distracted drivers sharing the roads with us!

Inside the campaign toolkit, you’ll find everything you need to launch a successful campaign. These materials are not dated and may be used throughout the year to promote safety. The tool kit contains:

• Your own "road map" complete with detailed instructions, ideas and activities to make it simple for you to implement a memorable and effective campaign
• Fact sheets filled with information and traffic safety tips in both of the key issue areas.
• A sample newsletter article for your company publications
• A campaign poster to display at your place of business
• Camera-ready artwork that can be used for paycheck stuffers, table tents, daily communications messages, the creation of your own campaign flyers and more to customize your campaign
• A catalogue of other products and incentives that support safe driving activities including training videos, T-shirts, hats, pens, post-it notes and much more!
• A CD ROM with most all of the information on this campaign that can be downloaded on most any desktop computer

Get on the Road to Safety & order your campaign kit today!

This year, to encourage even more participation, Michigan Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) will subsidize the cost of the campaign tool kit so that for just $15, Michigan employers and community groups can improve employee relations and enhance safety while having a positive impact on their company’s bottom line!

Prevention Network has hired two new, part-time Safe Communities (SC) resource consultants – Rob Alway from the West Shore Safe Communities Coalition and Mike Kearns from the Detroit Fire Department. Both have backgrounds in Emergency Medical Services and have completed the EMS Community Injury Prevention Officer training through SWM Systems, Inc. They have been actively involved in SC activities and recently completed the resource consultant training. They will provide technical assistance on the Assessing Community Traffic Safety (ACTS) tool and all aspects of the Safe Community program for community coalitions. For SC assistance or questions, contact Laurie Bulock, Prevention Network, (517) 393-6890.

Strategic Plan is underway (part of Safe Communities)

The new long-term SC Strategic Plan identified four major goals:

1. Maintain existing SC coalitions and ensure a minimal level of traffic safety programming.
2. Develop and strengthen existing SC coalitions by testing various coalition building strategies that can be applied to other SC coalitions and other community-based efforts. Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) can play an important role in targeting SC coalitions and providing intensive support.
3. Integrate SC coalition efforts with Michigan State Police (MSP) initiatives. As part of the MSP strategic plan, OHSP will partner with other divisions to test the SC concept and pilot a program. Plans are being developed to partner with MSP Emergency Management Division (EMD). A pilot site in Ottawa County has potentially been selected. NETS will also be a part of this initiative.
4. Improve SC program support systems. This action strategies calls for further refining and developing the ACTS instrument. The ACTS is one of the most important components to OHSP’s sustainability efforts.

It is anticipated the number of safe communities could exceed 40 in 2001 with at least five more coalitions starting the ACTS.

ACTS Update (part of Safe Communities)

The following communities, cities or counties completed the ACTS:

• Rockford (Kent County) – facilitated by Rockford Safe Communities
• West Shore Safe Community Coalitions (Muskegon, Oceana and Mason counties)
• City of Burton – facilitated by the Genesee County Health Department
• Benzie and Wexford Counties – facilitated by the Traverse Bay Area Safe Communities

Walk Our Children to School Day (part of Safe Communities)

National Safe Communities Web Site (part of Safe Communities)

The national Safe Communities website customer feedback form helps NHTSA learn about the activities which coalitions are involved, as well as the types of assistance, training, and resources program staff would like to have available. We strongly encourage coalitions to complete this short questionnaire, which is located at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/safecommunities/feedback/.

A new list serve notification process has been established to enhance communication with the new Michigan State Safety Commission (MSSC) advisory group established as a result of the merger between the Michigan Traffic Safety Management System (MTSMS) and the MSSC.

List serve is an electronic e-mail system that will notify members of traffic safety meeting dates, provide meeting agendas and keep the group up-to-date on the latest traffic safety information. The new list serve is a "post only" system. "Post only" means that you will not be able to reply to the list serve notice. In a future phase, this feature will be expanded. To reply to the notification, you will need to contact the Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) by e-mail. List serve members can contact OHSP to have current issues put on the system for presentation and discussion.

Each year, OHSP organizes two major conferences, the SMS Traffic Safety Summit and the Secondary Road Patrol (SRP) Conference. OHSP is currently examining the possibility of conducting these conferences concurrently. The conference would be held April 30 – May 1, 2002 at the Holiday Inn South in Lansing. The groups would enjoy meals and general sessions in a combined networking atmosphere. The breakouts would be separate so the SRP could continue its’ yearly training while the other participants attend various traffic safety sessions. The SRP group would hold their traditional opening sessions on April 29, 2002. Further information will be posted on the OHSP website as it becomes available.

Spotlight news

Hats off to the East Lansing Police Department for doing a superb job in introducing their new underage drinking enforcement program, Spotlight. The Spotlight grant began in February with a press conference to introduce the news media to the program. Prior to the press conference, a meeting was held with representatives of businesses that possess liquor licenses, informing them of the focus of the program. Licensees' were advised of legal classes being offered and provided with Spotlight posters and stickers to place in their establishments.

East Lansing Police Department did an outstanding job informing obtaining media coverage for Spotlight – four Lansing television stations and three local newspapers covered the event. Michigan State University’s "State News" ran articles prior to St. Patrick’s Day.

On March 17, 2001, Spotlight was put into action. Nine officers (three from Ingham County Sheriff Department, three from Meridian Township Police Department, and three from East Lansing Police Department) worked together, being paired up with an officer from a different department. During the enforcement period, violations were issued for minors in possession of alcohol (10), minors refusing to take a preliminary breath test (1), adults furnishing alcohol to minors (2), possession of marijuana (1), fleeing from a police officer (1), and giving false identification to a liquor establishment (1).

Post-enforcement publicity also went well – several newspapers, including the Lansing State Journal, ran a story on the program and the number of tickets that were issued. If interested in implementing Spotlight, contact Bob Stanberry, OHSP law enforcement liaison at (517) 719-2229.

The new Underage Alcohol Enforcement Response Team will be launched this fall by OHSP to focus on parties where minors are consuming alcohol. The program looks at the role of law enforcement and community agencies in preventing underage drinking parties and safely dispersing them when they occur.

This is a "canned" program including step-by-step information on how to work with schools and community members to identify where and when parties involving minors will occur and how to use media and enforcement campaigns to bring about changes in community norms concerning underage drinking.

For more information, contact Kristina Hissong, youth programs coordinator at (517) 333-5754 or hissongk@state.mi.us or Bob Stanberry, OHSP law enforcement liaison at (517) 719-2229.

News from Prosecuting Attorneys Association

Vehicle forfeitures is one more arrow in our quiver to stop intoxicated driving. In 1999, the Legislature provided that prosecutors may now ask the court to forfeit the defendant’s car to the state. The purpose of this was to close down one of the defendant’s options when they decide to drink to excess and then drive. Take away the car and it becomes more difficult to drive. That includes cars driven by someone other than the owner if the owner knew, or should have known, that the defendant was going to commit a violation of the OUIL statutes. However, for this law to have a significant impact, all segments of law enforcement must be involved; from the initial officer, to the command staff, to the prosecutor making the request of the court.

As usual, it will take all of us working together to make the biggest impact on this societal problem. Granted, unlike the drug forfeiture laws, there is not much of a monetary incentive for initiating a forfeiture under the OUIL statutes. In this situation, the incentive is protecting the public. By taking the car out of the defendant’s hands, we may save a life.

If you are a police officer, the next time you stop a car, review the report, or try to determine if a warrant should be issued, keep in mind the option of forfeiture. Should this defendant forfeit the right to own his car because he was driving it intoxicated? This important question should be routinely asked. By asking the question we are at least considering all of the options.

As a reminder, People v Martinez 187 Mich App 160 (1991), held that a police officer may order the passengers out of a motor vehicle on a traffic stop. However, pursuant to People v Burrell, 417 Mich 439 (1983) passengers do not have to identify themselves to the officer or answer any questions. "Absent a statutory provision to the contrary, Burrell [the passenger] was under no obligation to even respond to the question [about his identity], much less to respond truthfully." In other words, unless the passenger has done something illegal, they do not have to answer any questions, including identifying themselves.

Recently in an unpublished case, Defendant Lee was driving a 1990 Mercury two door car which was stopped by the police for an equipment violation-illegal window tint. He was then arrested for driving without a valid operator’s license, and the car was searched pursuant to an arrest. Inside the car was a handgun and marijuana. The defendant was charged with possession of drugs and a gun. A Circuit Court dismissed the case stating the stop was illegal and finding it was necessary for the officer to establish an inability to see through the tint. The Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision finding that any tint, other than the four inch strip allowed from the top of the windshield, is illegal and thus the stop was proper. People v Lee, (Unpublished) Released March 9, 2001, Number 220788. An unpublished opinion has no binding authority on the courts, it is only used as persuasive authority.

Michigan Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus joined Ford Motor Company, State legislators, Michigan Association of United Ways, and a host of national safety organizations in July to call for a new safety habit in Michigan—booster seat use for children who have outgrown traditional safety seats. They made the first of 24,000 booster seat donations to needy families in the state as part of Ford’s national Boost America! campaign.

"Our children are Michigan’s most precious resource, and this program will help keep them safe as they travel our roads and highways," said Lt. Governor Posthumus. "I applaud Ford and its partner organizations for taking the initiative to sponsor a campaign like this that will make a positive difference in the lives of Michigan children and families."

Ford Motor Company is leading the $30 million national campaign to encourage booster seat use because national research shows that there is a huge safety void. Children ages four through eight are at increased risk for injury or death because typically they ride with adult belts that do not fit them properly, or ride unprotected. New safety research found that more than eight in ten parents or caregivers have read or heard about booster seats. But only about 19 percent in Michigan actually are putting their children in booster seats.

In addition to the initial 24,000 donated seats in Michigan, Ford Motor Company is providing booster seats to its customers through participating Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Mazda dealers in Michigan. Customers will receive a voucher for a free or discounted booster seat at any Toys "R" Us store.

Led by Ford Motor Company and launched nationally last April by a veritable who’s who of highway safety organizations that are working in close partnership, Boost America! is the largest child safety effort ever by an automobile manufacturer. It includes a combination of communications and other outreach efforts designed to shift public opinion in favor of additional safety protection for young passengers.

An innovative booster seat educational curriculum has been sent to 152,000 elementary schools and day care centers coast-to-coast. Included for the elementary school children is an entertaining video by actors Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Younger children will receive information from "Blue" from Nickelodeon’s Blues Clues. Demand for the curriculum is exceeding expectations, and it includes a take-home component so parents can be involved in their child’s safety learning experience.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ford’s lead Boost America! partner, while crash-related fatalities have declined steadily for children under age four because most ride in traditional safety seats, there has been no similar reduction in fatalities among children four through eight years old. NHTSA attributes this safety deficit at least in part to the reality that booster seat use nationally is only 21 percent. More than 500 children ages four through eight are killed every year in motor vehicle crashes, including 10 in Michigan (1999 NHTSA statistics).

More information about the campaign is available at www.boostamerica.org or toll-free at (866) BOOST-KID.