Statewide ad campaign warns motorists of upcoming safety belt enforcement

November 10, 2003

Television and radio ads hit the airwaves today as part of a statewide advertising campaign to warn motorists of an upcoming safety belt crackdown. Buckle Up or Pay Up will be paired with the well-known Click it or Ticket message during a two-week blitz.

Advertising begins a week before the enforcement effort, giving motorists advance notice, and the opportunity to avoid a citation. The two-week national safety belt mobilization runs Nov. 17-30 and will involve nearly 500 Michigan law enforcement agencies.

The Buckle Up or Pay Up message was introduced in May to improve upon efforts to increase safety belt use in the state. Federal traffic safety funds will pay for the $400,000 ad campaign in Michigan, targeting motorists least likely to buckle up: young men and urban centers. No state general fund money is being used to support this effort.

The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning revised the campaign earlier this year, using focus group input to further refine and strengthen the message. Focus group participants made it clear that the safety belt fine was a strong incentive to buckle up. And, following recently enacted legislative changes, a safety belt citation will now be slightly more costly, $65 rather than $50.

The ads are scheduled to run on radio stations in Battle Creek, metro Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Saginaw. Television and cable ads will appear in metro Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Lansing.

Read more press releases from the Michigan State Police.