The Advertising Council in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has unveiled a new public service announcement package aimed at the African-American audience. The PSAs are an effort to encourage African-Americans to use seat belts.
Statistics show while only 71 percent of all motorists use safety belts, the use rates among African-Americans is more than 10 percent lower than the annual average. African-American young people are especially at risk; figures show vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death for blacks through the age of 14 and the second-leading cause of death between the ages of 15 and 24.
The Safety Belt Education campaign began in 1985. Since that time, seat belt use has jumped by more than 50 percent, saving an estimated 10,000 lives a year.
