Abstract "Seatbelts Are For Everyone (SAFE) is a Kansas state initiative program launched in 2008 by DCCCA Inc. (Developing Caring Communities Committed to Action) to increase teen restraint compliance through education, positive reinforcement, and enforcement. This teen-led, peer-to-peer program aims to reduce the number of teen motor vehicle injuries and fatalities. The SAFE program has been a component of the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office (KTSRO) for over a decade. The program was expanded to Oklahoma and Missouri in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and Iowa adopted the program in 2021.
The goal of the current research project is to understand the efficacy of the SAFE program through a multifaceted approach. This project will be conducted in two parts; the first part includes surveying high school students on the topics of seatbelt, traffic laws and other safe driving behaviors covered by the SAFE program that can help in understanding their attitudes, perceptions, knowledge and experience regarding road safety and how it differs between students participating SAFE and non-SAFE schools. In addition, this part will also include socioeconomic analysis to determine the influence of equity factors on the driving behaviors and perception of Kansas teen drivers. The second part of the study will include conducting literature review, examining Kansas fatal and serious injury crashes involving teens over a 13-year period, from 2010 to 2023, and their potential contributing factors, identifying various safety programs, best practices and initiatives across the nation focused on improving teen safety and emphasizing the importance of educating and training young drivers during their early driving phases. It is critical to instill safe driving behavior for young people from an early age to foster a safety culture and better mobility in the future."
Description Seatbelts Are For Everyone (SAFE) is a Kansas state initiative program launched in 2008 by DCCCA Inc. (Developing Caring Communities Committed to Action) to increase teen restraint compliance through education, positive reinforcement, and enforcement. This teen-led, peer-to-peer program aims to reduce the number of teen motor vehicle injuries and fatalities. The goal of the current research project is to understand the efficacy of the SAFE program in Kansas. This project will be conducted in two parts; the first part includes surveying high school students on the topics of seatbelt, traffic laws and other safe driving behaviors covered by the SAFE program that can help in understanding their attitudes, perceptions, knowledge and experience regarding road safety and how it differs between students participating SAFE and non-SAFE schools. In addition, this part will also include socioeconomic analysis to determine the influence of equity factors on the driving behaviors and perception of Kansas teen drivers. The second part of the study will include conducting literature review, examining Kansas fatal and serious injury crashes involving teens over a 13-year period, from 2010 to 2023, and their potential contributing factors, identifying various safety programs, best practices and initiatives across the nation focused on improving teen safety and emphasizing the importance of educating and training young drivers during their early driving phases.
Objective "The current project proposal aligns with two of the US DOT Strategic Goals (FY 2022-26 U.S. DOT Strategic Plan and Progress Report, n.d.), Safety and Equity.
• Safety: The US DOT's primary objective is to enable people to be safer, which includes measures to encourage safer driving behaviors among the public, commercial drivers, and all road users. People in motor vehicles who do not use seat belts are one of the three most common and persistent behavioral safety factors in fatal incidents, alongside speeding and impaired driving. Evaluating and comprehending the SAFE program's performance and impact on teen drivers will be critical in increasing teen driver safety across the state. The project's recommendations can help the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office (KTSRO) and the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) promote and expand the state's SAFE program.
• Equity: It is important to determine the equity factors contributing to crashes involving teen drivers through crash analysis from 2010 to 2023. This analysis will help in identifying various socioeconomic factors and crash characteristics that may have influenced the driving perception and behaviors of teen drivers in Kansas and identifying them could help in improving the roadway safety across the state."