VW Backs Enforcement of Seat Belt Laws

27 November 1998

             Volkswagen of America, Inc. Joins Over 1,000 Groups
                  Giving Their 'Endorsement for Enforcement'

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Nov. 25 -- Volkswagen of America, Inc.,
headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, today announced its official support
of a national mobilization this Thanksgiving holiday to protect children by
stepping up enforcement of child passenger safety laws.  More than 5,000 law
enforcement agencies across the nation are conducting the second 1998 wave of
the "Operation ABC Mobilization: America Buckles Up Children" -- the largest
ever coordinated enforcement of the law against drivers who don't buckle
up children.  Volkswagen joined over 1,000 organizations nationwide endorsing
the intensive, 50-state lifesaving enforcement effort.
    "Tens of thousands of law enforcement officers in all 50 states will be
out in force protecting children from the greatest danger they face -- being
unrestrained in a crash," said Janet Dewey, Executive Director of the Air Bag
& Seat Belt Safety Campaign, sponsor of the Operation ABC Mobilization.  "We
know these officers are energized by the ground swell of support from parents
and organizations across the country like Volkswagen."
    "Although only law enforcement officers can write the tickets, we stand
firmly behind the lifesaving message that each ticket delivers," said Clive
Warrilow, President and CEO of Volkswagen of America, Inc.  "Volkswagen is not
only an employer, we're parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who want to
protect our children.  The Operation ABC Mobilization is the kind of broad
community-based movement our nation needs to save children's lives."
    The Thanksgiving Operation ABC Mobilization comes on the heels of an
extremely successful Mobilization last Memorial Day.  The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration's observational surveys before and after the
last May Mobilization showed six million more people buckling up.  This
translates into an estimated 670 lives saved each year if these people
continue to use their seat belts.  In addition, a survey by the National
Safety Council showed fatalities went down by more than 35 percent during the
Mobilization/Memorial Day period.
    "The impact of the last Operation ABC Mobilization illustrates that
high-visibility enforcement works," said Warrilow.  "That is why we give our
official endorsement.  We hope officers can expand the Mobilization's success
and, once again, save lives with a clear message to all:  The law requires
that children be buckled up at all times.  No exceptions.  No excuses!"
    Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death to American children.
    Studies consistently show that the best way to get children buckled up is
to get adults buckled up.  According to government observational data, when a
driver buckles up, children are buckled up 87 percent of the time; however,
when a driver is unbuckled, child belt use drops to only 24 percent.  That is
why, increasingly, officers are strengthening enforcement of adult belt laws
during the Operation ABC Mobilization.
    Many drivers just don't believe they'll be in a crash, so they don't put
on their own seat belt or make sure that children are restrained.
    A government survey of parents who have infants shows that the lack of
adult belt use particularly endangers babies:  parents who don't buckle up are
more likely to improperly place babies in the front seat, leaving them at
serious risk of being injured or killed by an air bag.  According to federal
investigations, almost all of the children who have died from air bag related
injuries were completely unrestrained, improperly restrained or were infants
riding in a rear-facing infant seat.
    "In addition to getting kids buckled up, we need to get the word out to
parents that all children 12 and under belong properly buckled up in the back
seat -- especially in a vehicle equipped with air bags," said Dewey.
    As part of their enforcement activities throughout the Operation ABC
Mobilization, officers will distribute information on air bag safety and the
importance of making sure children 12 and under ride properly buckled up in
the back seat.
    Operation ABC Mobilization, organized by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safely
Campaign in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is part of the Buckle Up
America Campaign -- an ongoing national safety initiative to increase seat
belt use and save the lives of Americans.  The Mobilization is supported by
the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs
Association, Operation CARE and the National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives.