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Nationwide Reaffirms Its Support to Traffic Safety and Unbuckled Kids

25 May 1999

Nationwide Reaffirms Its Support to Traffic Safety and Unbuckled Kids

    COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 24 -- Citing sobering statistics on
unbelted child deaths, Nationwide announced today its support for Operation
ABC Mobilization: America Buckles Up Children campaign, to be conducted over
the Memorial Day holiday.
    "Nationwide is not only an employer; our people are parents, grandparents,
aunts and uncles who want to protect our children.  We feel this campaign
encourages that every child is buckled," said Dimon McFerson, chairman and CEO
for Nationwide.  "Nationwide has been a long-time advocate for highway auto
safety and strongly supports this lifesaving initiative."
    According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
in 1997 six out of every ten children who died in crashes were unbelted.
Tragically, nearly half of these children would be alive today if only they
had been properly restrained.  That, along with the fact, motor vehicle
crashes took the lives of 2,087 child occupants, ages 0 to 15 and injured
nearly 320,000 more.
    Research indicates that adult seat belt use plays a significant role in
child use.  NHTSA national fatal crash statistics show that when the driver is
buckled, a child is restrained 87 percent of the time.  However, when a driver
is unbuckled, child belt uses drops to only 24 percent.  This is why officers
are strengthening enforcement of adult belt laws during Operation ABC
Mobilization.
    Nationwide joins more than 1,000 organizations across the country that
endorses the intensive lifesaving enforcement effort.  More than 5,000 law
enforcement agencies across the nation are conducting the wave of this
campaign which is the largest coordinated crackdown on drivers who don't
buckle up children.
    "The law requires children to be buckled up, but because the law is being
broken, children are being crippled and killed in crashes everyday," McFerson
said.  "Nationwide supports the work of law enforcement officials that have
been sworn to protect and serve as they work to curb these tragic incidents."
    Visible enforcement of child passenger and seat belt safety laws is one of
the most effective ways to save lives.  NHTSA reports that Mobilization
projects conducted in 1998 encouraged more than 19 million more Americans to
buckle up -- the largest single increase in eight years.  Expectations are
these Americans will continue to wear their belts resulting in 1500 lives to
be saved.
    Commenting on the success of last year's Mobilization efforts, McFerson
said, "The results clearly demonstrate that high visibility enforcement works.
Nationwide hopes the current and future efforts will increase the use of
restraints, will save more lives and reduce additional sufferings from
injury."
    Nationwide has demonstrated its support through organizational leadership
and financial sponsorship of the Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign and
other seat belt and child passenger protection projects in various states.
Nationwide believes campaigns such as this have helped state governments and
law enforcement agencies to more aggressively enforce child-restraint and seat
belt legislation.
    The message is simple as ABC -- A-air bag safety. B-buckle everyone up.
C-children in the back seat.
    It is time to make unbuckled children unacceptable through strong adult
and child passenger safety laws and create enforcement of these laws.
    Nationwide is one of the country's largest multi-line insurers and
financial service organizations.