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Subaru Backs Enforcement of Seat Belt Laws

27 November 1998

Subaru Stands Behind National Crackdown on Drivers Who Don't Buckle Up Children

  Subaru Joins Over 1,000 Groups Giving Their `Endorsement For Enforcement'

    CHERRY HILL, N.J., Nov. 25 -- Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA)
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 crackdown on
drives who don't buckle up children.
    "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.
    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.
    "Although only law enforcement officers can write the tickets, we stand
firmly behind the lifesaving message each ticket delivers," said Richard
Marshall, SOA director of corporate communications.  "The impact of the last
Operation ABC Mobilization clearly illustrates that high-visibility
enforcement works," said Marshall.  "That is why Subaru gives its official
Endorsement for Enforcement."
    Studies consistently show that the best way to get children buckled up is
to get adults buckled up.  According to 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.
    "In addition to getting kids buckled up, we must 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.  The
Mobilization also seeks to reach part-time seat belt users.  "Some people
believe they secure their children, but they don't actually buckle them up on
every trip, particularly the short trips," Dewey added.  "Most crashes happen
within a few miles from home.  That's why it's so important to secure everyone
in the vehicle every time and on every trip."
    Operation ABC Mobilization, organized by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety
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 International Association of
Chiefs of Police, National Sheriffs Association, Operation CARE and National
Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives support the Mobilization.
    Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy
Industries Ltd. of Japan.  Headquartered near Philadelphia, the company
markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a
network of nearly 600 franchised dealers across the United States.  All Legacy
models sold in the U.S., including the Outback and Sport Utility Sedan, are
produced at the company's American manufacturing plant, Subaru-Isuzu
Automotive, Inc., near Lafayette, Ind.  In 1998, Subaru celebrates 30 years in
the U.S. market, having sold over three million vehicles.