NHTSA Region 4


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Multicultural Outreach
Occupant Protection
Older Drivers
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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.

In Southeast Region

In Southeast Region, minority populations make up a significant portion of the population. These groups represent 31% of the total population in the Southeastern states. Many traffic safety campaigns and programs have focused on reaching minority populations. These include outreach programs to train technicians in the minority community and increasing the amount and visibility of highway safety messages delivered in Spanish. Several local communities have established Spanish language programs for law enforcement officers. Southeast Region is currently working with its states to expand efforts for reaching these high-risk populations.

For census information about your state, please refer to: http://www.census.gov/index.html

Diversity Resources and Publications List

For Census Report on Minority Populations in the Southeast (view your state's census counts on minority populations)
http://www.census.gov/index.html