This research explores the effectiveness of a seat belt incentive program in an entire community. The project was conducted in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, North Carolina, a community with a population of 50.000 during 1983. Results indicate that driver overall belt use increased from 24 percent in the baseline phase to a peak value of 41 percent in the last week of the incentive phase. The first six months of the follow-up phase show weekly belt use consistently around 36 percent, indicating that effects of the campaign have continued to persist.
Abstract