Click It or Ticket (CIOT) mobilizations are national, State, and local high-visibility enforcement (HVE) efforts designed to encourage motorists to buckle up. They have been conducted at the national level each year around Memorial Day since 2003. The 2012 CIOT mobilization included 49 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 10,000 law enforcement agencies participated during the two-week enforcement period. The mobilization was preceded by earned and paid media alerting the public to the upcoming CIOT publicity began with earned media (i.e., news media coverage of the planned enforcement mobilization). States tailored material developed by NHTSA to best suit their local press events and news story coverage. This material included fill-in-the-blank news releases, op-ed articles, letters to the editor, talking points, poster art, and fact sheets. The television, radio, and Internet paid advertisements focused on day and night seat belt enforcement and were directed to reach 18- to 34-year-old males, classified as a high-risk group based upon data analysis. NHTSA fatality data show that this group is disproportionately represented among unrestrained fatalities. The program goal was to reach 25 to 30% of this audience at least eight times over the two-week publicity period. The funding level for paid media was $20 million. The CIOT advertising budget peaked in 2005 with $23 million in State advertisements and $10 million in national ads. There was generally more variability in State expenditures over this time, ranging from $23 million in 2005 to $12 million in 2012. National expenditures ranged from $8 to $10 million and stabilized at $8 million in 2008, where the value has been for the last 5 years. (Author/publisher)
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