Today's Date: March 28, 2024
Make-A-Wish and celebrity wish granters announce goal to recruit 1 million people to become "WishMakers"   •   PMI Foods Gives Easter Donation of 15,000 Pounds of Prime Rib to New Life Church in Arkansas   •   Fastenal Releases 2024 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report   •   Sypher Secures Strategic Partnership with FAIA to Fuel Growth   •   Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. Expands OTC Portfolio for Children with the Introduction of bébé Bottoms™   •   Equalpride Partners with TransLash Media for Trans Day of Visibility, Amplifying Voices of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts   •   YMCA of the USA Partners With Old Spice To Increase High School Graduation Among Boys And Young Men Of Color Through Mentorship   •   Parkland Corporation Announces the Results of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders   •   Visit Visalia Recognizes Autism Awareness Month in April   •   Re:wild and Colossal Biosciences team up to leverage revolutionary technology to save critically endangered species on the brink   •   John Legend to Perform at City Year Los Angeles’ 13th Annual Spring Break Event   •   Empire State Realty Trust Receives WELL Health-Safety Leadership Award; Becomes Among the First Commercial Office and Multifamil   •   Torrid Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2023 Results and Initiates Fiscal 2024 Guidance   •   Coachella Concerned That People Have Sex, Says AHF   •   VIRGIN HOTELS CHAMPIONS INCLUSIVE TRAVEL FOR NEURODIVERSE TRAVELERS   •   Amerex Group Unveils Red Carter Swimwear's Revitalized Collection   •   More $10-a-day child care spaces   •   Jamieson Wellness Publishes Inaugural Sustainability Impact Report   •   Suffolk Kicks off 2024 “Build With Us @ Suffolk” Program in Boston for Trade Partners, Opening Doors for Minority-,   •   Carnegie Learning Named 2024 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Educational Game and Best AI Implementation in Ed Tech
Bookmark and Share

Campaign Wants Blacks To 'Click It'

 WASHINGTON —African Americans are killed and injured in vehicles at a higher rate than the national average and they are less likely to use seat belts.

Now a group of black organizations, along with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), have launched a new seat belt safety awareness campaign aimed at persuading African Americans to click their seat belts.

“It’s shocking because vehicle crashing is a leading cause of death for African Americans of all ages,” Dr. Avis Jones DeWeever, executive director of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), said in an interview with BlackAmericaWeb.com. “The power to be able to change the situation and save thousands of lives each year is in our hands. What caught our attention about this particular issue is the shocking statistics and the fact that it is something that is 100 percent preventable. It’s my belief when people are made aware then their behavior will change.”

The kickoff for the new seat belt awareness campaign was held Thursday at NCNW in Washington, D.C., and attended by various organizations, including NCNW members, representatives of the National Medical Association and Congressional Black Caucus. The campaign includes the promotion of Seat Belt Sunday, to be observed by churches and faith‐based organizations nationwide on Sunday, June 12.

David L. Strickland, NHTSA administrator, said the Department of Transportation has worked for a number of years on projects aimed at getting African Americans to buckle up.

Strickland said the 2008 National Occupant Protection Use Survey “shows seat belt use continues to be lower for African American occupants than for other groups, although it has increased. In 2008 belt use among African Americans was at 75 percent and went up to 79 percent in 2009. But overall in 2009 for the entire country the belt rate use was 84 percent; in 2010 it was 85 percent.

“Basically, I think part of it is a lack of awareness and education about the chances of being in a crash” said Strickland, who recalls growing up with parents who didn’t use seat belts in the ‘70s or ‘80s but made sure he wore his.

“I think a lot of it is frankly cultural barriers. A lot of folks, like me, didn’t grow up using belts and child safety seats. We have much lower belt usage among young people--period, especially young men who think they are invincible. (Traffic crashes are the No. 1 killer for young people from ages 3 to 34, Strickland said.) People don’t want to be seen as a nerd, which is cultural as well.”

Members of the National Medical Association consider the reluctance of some African Americans to wear seat belts a “public health issue.”

Speaking for the NMA, Dr. Doris Browne said, “It’s summertime and people are getting out on highways, we want to increase awareness and focus on prevention.”

Browne expects NMA members to discuss the new campaign and come up with various ways of supporting it when the group meets for its national convention in July.

“We will definitely encourage community organizations to get on board, whether they are general organizations or faith-based and professional associations and this includes fraternities and sororities.”

In 1999, Meharry Medical School convened a Blue Ribbon Panel on seat belt usage. They conducted focus groups to find out why they were not buckling up. Some of the responses:

  • seat belts are uncomfortable (particularly for the obese)
  • just going around the corner
  • can't wear a seat belt if leaning back (cool first)
  • not cool

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration already has an African American Toolkit that provides educational materials that can printed and used by community organizations.

 


STORY TAGS: Black News, African American News, Minority News, Civil Rights News, Discrimination, Racism, Racial Equality, Bias, Equality, Afro American News

Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News