NHTSA Region 9


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Impaired Driving
Child Passenger Safety
Multicultural Outreach
Occupant Protection
Older Drivers
Pedestrian/Bicycles
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Regional Highlights

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Multicultural Outreach

What You Should Know about African Americans and Safety Belts

  • Recent research demonstrates that minorities are over-represented in motor vehicle crashes.

  • Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for African Americans through the age of 14. They are the second leading cause of death for African Americans between the ages of 15 and 24, surpassed only by homicides.

  • In 2000, the seat belt use rate among African Americans was five percentage points lower than that for whites.

  • A recent survey showed that 42 percent of minority children (of which African Americans were a part) were at greater risk of air bag related injuries because they were more frequently placed in the front seat of vehicles with passenger-side air bags. By contrast, 15 percent of white children were improperly placed in the front seat of these vehicles.

Good News

  • Safety belt use among African Americans registered a major gain between 2000 and 2002, increasing to 77 percent, an 8 percentage point increase since 2000. 

What You Should Know about Hispanics and Safety Belts

  • For Hispanics, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for ages 1-34.

  • A recent study examined motor vehicle fatality exposure rates and found that, although African American and Hispanic male teenagers travel fewer vehicle miles than their white counterparts, they are nearly twice as likely to die in a motor vehicle crash.

Differential Enforcement

  • The issue of a law enforcement officer stopping a citizen based purely on race or ethnicity, known as differential enforcement or "racial profiling," has recently become an issue in traffic safety.

  • While NHTSA supports the enactment of primary seat belt laws among the States, NHTSA strongly opposes any form of enforcement that uses race or ethnicity as a criterion for stopping a motorist. NHTSA continues to work with the Department of Justice to develop and promote best practices for conducting fair, professional traffic stops. NHTSA also continues to work with its State and community public safety partners to ensure that traffic stops are made for legitimate law violations. NHTSA encourages law enforcement agencies to adopt policies, management practices, training, and community outreach efforts to eliminate differential enforcement.

Region IX States Activities

In Region IX, there are a number of programs targeted toward diverse groups. El Protector, an Hispanic public education program, uses Hispanic police public affairs officers as spokesmen in the Hispanic community. They speak to Hispanic groups, appear at fiestas and other events, and appear on Hispanic television and radio stations promoting traffic safety messages and explaining California's laws to the Hispanic communities. They are also featured in Hispanic newspapers. They have developed pamphlets, videos and other materials in Spanish language to support the program. It is an institutionalized program in the highway patrol and several local police agencies.

In Nevada, the Washoe Tribe has certified Child Passenger Safety technicians who are Native Americans and are bilingual that can help educate parents and other care givers on the proper use, installation and selection of the correct child restraint system for their children and vehicles. Parents can also call for an appointment or drop-in at the posted times at the nearest fitting station in their area. The email address is www.nhtsa.got.gov or call the State Highway Safety Office.

Additionally, most of our Region IX states have established a court diversion program for Child Passenger Safety and education. They partnered with local law enforcement to sight child restraint law offenders who must attend a one-day class on child passenger safety. These classes are offered in English, Spanish and other languages depending on the needs of the community.

Diversity Resources and Publications List