National Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign

January 19, 2009

Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign In an effort to advance automotive safety, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) belongs to the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign.

The campaign is a private/public partnership to raise awareness about the proper use of seat belts, as well as to educate the public about the lifesaving capabilities of automobile air bags.

One of the campaign’s highest priorities is to encourage every state to enact primary seat belt laws, which would allow law enforcement officers to stop and ticket drivers solely for failing to use seat belts. To date, only 20 states have primary seat belt laws on their books. Seat belt use in these states is significantly higher than in states with secondary seat belts laws, where police must first ticket a motorist for another violation before issuing a seat belt citation, according to NSC.

NADA is committed to improving automobile safety, and is pleased to be part of a campaign that shares that goal. Dealers are in a strong position to make a real difference in the driving public’s safety. Encouraging more states to pass primary enforcement laws is one important example.

As part of a comprehensive effort to improve passenger safety, NADA has also initiated a booster seat awareness campaign to promote child seat safety. The "Boost for Safety" campaign, conducted in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is a national grassroots effort to raise awareness about proper booster seat use for the parents of children aged four to eight years old.