[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21817-21820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-10818]


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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 (NHTSA), 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 Associations of Chiefs of Police 
will be considered. The State Associations of Chiefs of Police will 
take a leadership role in involving the law enforcement agencies in 
their state 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 June 1, 2001, at 2 
p.m., Eastern Standard Time.

ADDRESSES: Applications must be submitted to the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Contracts and Procurement 
(NAD-30), ATTN: Ross S. Jeffries, 400 7th Street, SW., Room 5301, 
Washington, DC 20590. All applications submitted must include a 
reference to NHTSA Cooperative Agreement Program No. DTNH22-01-R-05143.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: General administrative questions may 
be directed to, Ross S. Jeffries, Office of Contracts and Procurement 
at (202) 366-6283. 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 [email protected] 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 41,000 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.
    Research has found that lap/shoulder safety belts, when used, 
reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants 
by 45 percent and the risk of moderate to critical-injury by 50 
percent. For light truck occupants, safety belts reduce the risk of 
fatal injury by 60 percent and moderate to critical-injury by 65 
percent. No other safety device has as much potential for immediately 
preventing deaths and injuries in motor vehicle crashes. From 1975 
through 1999, an estimated 123,213 lives were saved by seat belts.
    But, seat belt use rates and the resulting savings could be much 
higher. In June 2000, the average observed use rate reported by states 
with secondary enforcement laws was 63 percent, compared to 77 percent 
in states with primary enforcement laws. Many States in the U.S. are 
still well below the goal of 85 percent for the year 2000 and thirteen 
States had use rates below 60 percent in 2000. On the other hand, use 
rates of 85-90 percent are a reality in most developed nations with 
seat belt use laws, and seven States achieved use rates greater than 80 
percent in 1999. A

[[Page 21818]]

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 121,000 injuries annually. This would translate into an $8.8 
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; and (4) conducting effective public education. Central to 
this Campaign's success 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 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). 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.
    Several states have experienced considerable success in reaching 
higher levels of occupant protection usage rates though campaigns which 
focus on high visibility enforcement combined with a targeted public 
information and education campaign which highlights the zero tolerance 
message of the enforcement component. 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. South Carolina has recently achieved similar 
successes. NHTSA now seeks to replicate this program throughout its 
various Regions. High consideration will be given to those applicants 
that develop an approach that is compatible or consistent with this 
strategy.
    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 November 2000 mobilization 
period conducted throughout the week surrounding Thanksgiving, over 
10,000 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 the mobilization.

Period of Support

    Cooperative agreements may be awarded for a period of support of 
(1) year. The application should address what is proposed and can be 
accomplished during the funding period (12 months). Subject to the 
availability of funds, the agency anticipates awarding up to 3 
cooperative agreements in the amount of $50,000 each, totaling 
$150,000. 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 
additional 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 the 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 partnered with the State's program. 
(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: Ross S. Jeffries, 400 7th Street, SW., Room 5301, 
Washington, DC 20590. 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

[[Page 21819]]

of the page only. Applications must include a reference to NHTSA 
Program No. DTNH22-01-R-05143 . 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.
    Only complete packages received on or before June 1, 2001, 2 p.m. 
Eastern Standard Time will be considered.

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 
certifications and 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 of 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 meets the eligibility requirements and that the application 
contains all of the information required by the Application 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 by law enforcement jurisdictions of proper seat 
belt and child safety seat 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

[[Page 21820]]

    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 
the project effort to date, which will include information on 
accomplishments, obstacles and problems encountered, and noteworthy 
activities. Quarterly reports shall be due 15 days after the end of 
each quarter, and a final report summarizing the project effort shall 
be due 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 or at a conference identified by the COTR. An 
original and three copies of briefing materials shall be submitted to 
the COTR.

Rose A. McMurray,
Associate Administrator for Traffic, Safety Programs.
[FR Doc. 01-10818 Filed 4-30-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P