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The Vehicle Injury Prevention Program (VIP)

An Effective Practice

Description

The Vehicle Injury Prevention (VIP) program used a multifaceted public health education campaign to improve restraint use. The program brought together six areas of the community: health care, education, law enforcement, private industry, government, and media sectors. Community safety education and program awareness included brochures, t-shirts, safety videos, literature, demonstrations of proper car seat use, health fairs, and radio, print, and television media. Educators developed student activities, and companies provided educational materials and t-shirts for elementary school children. Law enforcement officers awarded incentives to properly restrained drivers during survey periods. Drivers without proper restraint use were given traffic citations. Government officials promoted efforts to increase proper car seat and seat belt use, and media was used to inform the public about the program and the consequences of improper safety restraint use.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this program is to increase the proper use of seat belts and car seats.

Results / Accomplishments

The program was evaluated using observations of proper restraint use at baseline before the program was initiated, and nine months after implementation. Motorists in the target areas significantly improved their restraint use from 39% pre-intervention to 54% post-intervention (p < 0.05). Restraint use in a comparison community remained unchanged over the same time period.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Pediatric Injury Center at Ben Taub Hospital
Primary Contact
Marcus Hanfling
Pediatric Injury Center
1504 Taub Loop, 5550
Houston, TX 77030
MarcusHanfling@hchd.tmc.edu
http://www.hchdonline.com/about/facilities/btcc.ht...
Topics
Community / Public Safety
Community / Transportation
Organization(s)
Pediatric Injury Center at Ben Taub Hospital
Source
Injury Prevention
Date of publication
Jun 2000
Date of implementation
Sep 1996
Location
Houston, TX
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