[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 150 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42754-42756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20148]
[[Page 42754]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Discretionary Cooperative Agreements To Support Seat Belt
Enforcement With State Associations of Chiefs of Police
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Announcement of Cooperative Agreements in conjunction with the
Buckle Up America Campaign to increase seat belt enforcement with the
State Associations of Chiefs of Police.
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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
announces a cooperative agreement program to solicit support for the
Buckle Up America (BUA) campaign. NHTSA solicits applications from the
State Associations of Chiefs of Police to participate in the BUA
campaign, by mobilizing law enforcement agencies to increase the use of
seat belts and child safety seats, the most effective safety devices
for reducing injuries and fatalities in traffic crashes. Only
applications submitted by the State Association of Chiefs of Police
will be considered. The State Associations of Chiefs of Police will
take a leadership role in involving their State law enforcement
agencies in increasing enforcement of seat belt and child safety seat
laws by participating in the mobilization periods, high visibility
enforcement, training officers and public information and education.
DATES: Applications must be received no later than September 7, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Applications must be submitted to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Contracts and Procurement
(NAD-30), ATTN: Rose Watson, 400 7th Street, SW, Room 5301, Washington,
DC 20590. All applications submitted must include a reference to NHTSA
Cooperative Agreement Program No. NTS-01-9-05154.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General administrative questions may
be directed to Rose Watson, Office of Contracts and Procurement at
(202) 366-9557. Programmatic questions should be directed to Sandy
Richardson, Traffic Law Enforcement Division, NTS-13, NHTSA, 400 7th
Street, SW, Washington DC 20590 by e-mail srichardson@nhtsa.dot.gov or
by phone (202) 366-4294. Interested applicants are advised that no
separate application package exists beyond the contents of this
announcement.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
It's a fact: On America's roads, someone is killed every 13 minutes
and someone is injured every nine seconds in traffic crashes. It takes
only a few seconds to fasten a seat belt. Yet this simple action,
repeated every time you get into a motor vehicle, may be the most
significant driving-related behavior change you can make to extend your
life. Wearing a seat belt dramatically increases your chance of
surviving a crash.
Each year, approximately 42,000 Americans die in traffic crashes
and another three million are injured. Sadly, many of these deaths and
injuries could have been prevented if the victims had been wearing seat
belts or were properly restrained in child safety seats.
Seat belts, when properly used, are 45 percent effective in
preventing deaths in potentially fatal crashes and 50 percent effective
in preventing serious injuries. No other safety device has as much
potential for immediately preventing deaths and injuries in motor
vehicle crashes. The current level of seat belt use across the nation
prevents more than 9,500 deaths and well over 200,000 injuries
annually. Through 1997, more than 100,000 deaths and an estimated 2.5
million serious injuries have been prevented by seat belt use.
But, seat belt use rates and the resulting savings could be much
higher. As of 1998, the average use rate among States in the U.S. was
still well below the goal of 85 percent announced by the President for
the year 2000 and at least a dozen States have use rates below 60
percent. On the other hand, use rates of 85-95 percent are a reality in
most developed nations with seat belt use laws, and at least six States
and the District of Columbia achieved use rates greater than 80 percent
in 1998. A national use rate of 90 percent, among front seat occupants
of all passenger vehicles, would result in prevention of an additional
5,500 deaths and 13,000 serious injuries annually. This would translate
into a $9 billion reduction in societal costs, including 356 million
for Medicare and Medicaid.
In April 1997, the Buckle Up America (BUA) campaign established
ambitious national goals: (a) To increase seat belt use to 85 percent
and reduce child fatalities (0-4 years) by 15 percent by the year 2000;
and (b) to increase seat belt use to 90 percent and reduce child
fatalities by 25 percent by the year 2005. This campaign advocates a
four part strategy: (1) Building public-private partnerships; (2)
enacting strong legislation; (3) maintaining high visibility law
enforcement; (4) and conducting effective public education. Central to
this Campaign's successes is the implementation of two major
enforcement mobilizations each year (Memorial Day and Thanksgiving
holidays).
Objectives
To help achieve the new national seat belt goals, NHTSA seeks to
establish cooperative efforts between NHTSA and State Associations of
Chiefs of Police to increase the use of seat belts and child safety
seats. Specific objectives for this cooperative agreement program will
be to support the Buckle Up America campaign by increasing periodic
waves of high visibility enforcement and by promoting participation in
Operation ABC's national mobilizations (May and November).
1. Periodic ``Waves'' of High Visibility Enforcement
The history of efforts to increase seat belt use in the U.S. and
Canada suggests that highly visible enforcement of seat belt laws must
be the core of any successful program to increase seat belt use. No
State has ever achieved a high seat belt use rate without such a
component.
Canada currently has a national seat belt use rate well above 90
percent. Nearly every province first attempted to increase seat belt
use through voluntary approaches involving public information and
education. These efforts were effective in achieving only very modest
usage rates (no higher than 30 percent). By 1985, it became obvious to
Canadian and provincial officials that additional efforts would be
needed to achieve levels of 80 percent or greater. These efforts,
mounted from 1985 to 1995, centered around highly publicized ``waves''
of enforcement, a technique that had already been shown to increase
seat belt use in Elmira, New York. When these procedures were
implemented in the Canadian provinces, seat belt use generally
increased from about 60 percent to well over 80 percent, within a
period of 3-5 years.
The Canadian successes using periodic, highly visible ``waves'' of
enforcement, as well as successes of such efforts implemented in local
jurisdictions in the U.S., prompted NHTSA to implement Operation Buckle
Down (also called the ``70 by ``92'' Program) in 1991. This two-year
program focused on Special Traffic Enforcement Programs (sTEPs) to
increase seat belt use. It was followed by a national usage rate
increase from about 53 percent in 1990 to 62 percent by the end of 1992
(as measured by a weighted aggregate of State surveys).
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Neither the level of enforcement nor its public visibility was uniform
in every State. Had these ``waves'' of enforcement been implemented in
a more uniform fashion in every state, the impact would likely have
been much greater.
In order to demonstrate the potential of periodic, highly visible
enforcement in a more controlled environment, the State of North
Carolina implemented its Click-It or Ticket program in 1993. In this
program, waves of coordinated and highly publicized enforcement efforts
(i.e., checkpoints) were implemented in every county. As a result, seat
belt use increased statewide, from 65 percent to over 80 percent, in
just a few months. This program provided the clearest possible evidence
to demonstrate the potential of highly visible enforcement to increase
seat belt use in a large jurisdiction.
2. National Mobilizations
National law enforcement mobilizations have also proven effective
in increasing seat belt use. The BUA campaign supports two national
mobilizations each year (Memorial Day and Thanksgiving holidays).
During the 1998 mobilizations conducted throughout the week surrounding
Memorial Day and the week surrounding Thanksgiving, between 4,000 and
5,000 law enforcement agencies participated in Operation ABC. Their
efforts were covered by several hundred national and local television
organizations in all major media markets. More than 1,500 print
articles were written in response to each mobilization. As a result of
the May mobilization, seat belt use increased significantly nationwide
as more than 6,000,000 motorists were convinced to buckle up. Since
that time, seat belt use has continued to increase significantly.
Period of Support
Cooperative agreements may be awarded for a period of support for
(1) year. The application for the funding period (12 months) should
address what is proposed and can be accomplished during that period.
Subject to the availability of funds, the agency anticipates awarding
up to 5 cooperative agreements in the amount of $50,000 each, totaling
$250,000. Federal funds should be viewed as seed money to assist the
Associations in working with local law enforcement agencies in the
development of traffic safety initiatives. NHTSA may choose to extend
the period of performance under this agreement for an additional 12
months, subject to the availability of funds. If NHTSA elects to do so,
it will notify the recipients within 60 days prior to the expiration of
this agreement and the recipients will submit a proposal for an
aditional 12 months of performance.
Eligibility Requirements
In order to be eligible to participate in this cooperative
agreement program, an applicant must be a State Association of Chiefs
of Police, and must meet the following requirements:
--Have ability to provide funding to law enforcement agencies in the
state.
--Have written support and approval from the applicant's chief
executive officer to conduct seat belt enforcement programs to
participate in and encourage local law enforcement participation in the
Operation ABC Campaign and in other seat belt enforcement programs.
(Include copy with proposal.)
--Obtain written support from the Governor's Representative or his/her
designee in the State Highway Safety Office (SHSO) demonstrating that
the applicant's proposal is consistent with the State's overall plan.
(Include copy with proposal.)
Application Procedure
Each applicant must submit one original and two copies of their
application package to: NHTSA, Office of Contracts and Procurement
(NAD-30), ATTN: Rose Watson, 400 7th Street, S.W., Room 5301,
Washington, D.C. 20590. Applications are due no later than September 7,
1999. Only complete application packages received by the due date will
be considered. Submission of four additional copies will expedite
processing, but is not required. Applications must be typed on one side
of the page only. Applications must include a reference to NHTSA
Cooperative Agreement Program No. NTS-01-9-05154. The applicant shall
specifically identify any information in the application for which
confidential treatment is requested, in accordance with the procedures
of 49 CFR part 512, Confidential Business Information.
Application Contents
The application package must be submitted with OMB Standard Form
424 (Rev. 4-88, including 424A and 424B), Application for Federal
Assistance, with the required information filled in and the certified
assurances included. While the Form 424-A deals with budget
information, and section B identifies Budget Categories, the available
space does not permit a level of detail which is sufficient to provide
for a meaningful evaluation of the proposed costs. A supplemental sheet
should be provided which presents a detailed breakdown of the proposed
costs, as well as any costs which the applicant proposes to contribute
in support of this effort. The budget should be a 1-year plan. Also
included shall be a program narrative statement which addresses the
following:
1. A description of the project to be pursued which provides:
a. A detailed explanation of the proposed strategy to support the
enforcement efforts, including methods for gaining support (both within
the community and law enforcement leadership) for ``waves'' of highly
publicized seat belt enforcement and for mobilization efforts. In
addition, an explanation of the strategies to fund local law
enforcement agencies to participate in the national mobilizations, and
to conduct ``waves'' of highly publicized seat belt enforcement. A
description of efforts to address training needs (e.g., differential
enforcement or diversity sensitivity) of law enforcement jurisdictions
and how training will be marketed to these jurisdictions.
b. The goals, objectives, and the anticipated results and benefits
of the project (supporting documentation from concerned interests other
than the applicant can be used.)
c. Written evidence of approval by the applicant's Chief Executive
Officer.
d. An explanation demonstrating the need for assistance.
e. Description of any extraordinary social/community involvement.
f. A discussion of the criteria to be used to evaluate the results
(e.g. number of citations, number of officers trained, seat belt use
surveys, level of earned media coverage, etc.).
2. A list of the proposed activities in chronological order to show
the schedule or accomplishments and their target dates.
3. Identification of the proposed program coordinator for
participation in the proposed project effort.
4. A description of the applicant's previous experience related to
this proposed program effort (i.e. past participation in highly
publicized enforcement or participation in the Operation ABC national
seat belt mobilizations).
5. A statement of any technical assistance which the applicant may
require of NHTSA in order to successfully complete the proposed
project.
Application Review Process and Evaluation Factors
Initially, each application will be reviewed to confirm that the
applicant
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meets the eligibility requirements and that the application contains
all of the information required by the Applications Contents section of
this notice. Each complete application from an eligible recipient will
then be evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee. The applications
will be evaluated using the following criteria:
1. The potential of the proposed project effort to increase seat
belt use. (40%)
The likeliness and feasibility of the applicant's projects to
increase enforcement efforts by law enforcement jurisdictions of proper
seat belt and child safety set use. The degree to which the applicant
has identified jurisdictions that might benefit from training
opportunities concerning proper seat belt and child safety seat use,
and effectiveness of the applicant's plan for providing that training.
The overall soundness and feasibility of the applicant's approach to
participating and successfully seeking law enforcement participation in
mobilization efforts, public information campaigns concerning seat belt
and child safety seat use, and child safety seat clinics.
2. The applicant's proposed strategy for participating and seeking
the participation of local law enforcement agencies in the Buckle Up
America national seat belt mobilizations. 40%
The likeliness and feasibility of the Association's proposal, as
described in its innovative project plan, to assist smaller law
enforcement agencies in participating in the Buckle Up America national
seat belt mobilizations. The degree to which the applicant has
demonstrated a complete understanding of the requirements for
successful participation in the Operation ABC national seat belt
mobilizations. The overall soundness and feasibility of the applicant's
proposed strategy and demonstrated ability to involve and coordinate
this project with smaller law enforcement agencies.
3. The applicant's ability to demonstrate support and coordination
with local government and the State Highway Safety Office. 15%
The degree to which the proposal describes efforts and commitment
to obtain the support from local government officials throughout the
State. The likeliness and feasibility of the applicant's proposal for
reaching local and state government executives throughout the state,
including suggested methods for generating interest, making initial
contacts and reasons for taking this approach as opposed to others.
4. The adequacy of the organizational plan for accomplishing the
proposed project effort through the experience and technical expertise
of the proposed personnel. 5%
Program management and technical expertise will be estimated by
reviewing the qualifications and experience of the proposed personnel,
and the relative level of effort of the staff. Consideration will be
given to the adequacy of the organizational plan for accomplishing the
proposed project effort. Consideration will also be given to the
Association's resources and how it will provide the program management
capability and personnel expertise to successfully perform the
activities in its plan.
NHTSA Involvement
The NHTSA will be involved in all activities undertaken as part of
the cooperative agreement program and will:
1. Provide a Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR)
to participate in the planning and management of the cooperative
agreement and to coordinate activities between the selected State
Associations of Chiefs of Police and NHTSA;
2. Provide information and technical assistance from government
sources, within available resources and as determined appropriate by
the COTR;
3. Provide liaison between the selected State Associations of
Chiefs of Police and other government and private agencies as
appropriate; and
4. Stimulate the exchange of ideas and information among
cooperative agreement recipients through periodic meetings.
Terms and Conditions of Award
1. Prior to award, the recipient must comply with the certification
requirements of 49 CFR part 29--Department of Transportation
Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-procurement) and
Government-wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)
2. During the effective period of the cooperative agreement(s)
awarded as a result of this notice, the agreement(s) shall be subject
to NHTSA's General Provisions for Assistance Agreements (7-95).
Reporting Requirements
1. The recipient shall submit brief quarterly reports documenting
project effort to date which will include information on
accomplishments, obstacles and problems encountered, noteworthy
activities. The report shall be due 15 days after the end of each
quarter, and a final report summarizing the project effort within 30
days after the completion of the project. An original and three copies
of each of these reports shall be submitted to the COTR.
2. The recipient may be requested to conduct an oral presentation
of project activities for the COTR and other interested NHTSA
personnel. For planning purposes, assume that these presentations will
be conducted at the NHTSA Office of Traffic and Injury Control
Programs, Washington, D.C. An original and three copies of briefing
materials shall be submitted to the COTR.
Issued on: July 28, 1999.
Rose A. McMurray,
Associate Administrator for Traffic Safety Programs.
[FR Doc. 99-20148 Filed 8-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
