Minot Mayor's Council Highlights For January

The Occupant Protection committee scheduled car seat activities and checkups for the next year. Plans for the upcoming Child Protection Safety Week were discussed. Data indicates a drop in misuse of car seats between the years of 2000 and 2001. The coalition and coordinator will assist the Department of Health on their "Boost, Then Buckle" and "Don't Monkey Around, Buckle Up" campaigns through media attention, elementary school presentations and car seat checkups and roundups. TV, radio and newspaper coverage was scheduled. Incentives ordered from the Department of Health for these activities will be combined with incentives already on hand. Videotapes and other NHTSA information were ordered. The "Click It or Ticket" message was posted on the Broadway sign in conjunction with 157 blitz activities. Recent 157 surveys conducted by Optimist Club under direction of Captain Jeff Balentine, MPD, indicate a pre-survey usage rate of 46% and post-survey rate of 58%! The "Click It or Ticket" message reinforces the focus on high-visibility enforcement. National attention was given to the local Occupant Protection Outreach Campaign (funded though KIDS Council grant dollars "Buckle Up or Get Busted") in NHTSA's "Building Safe Communities publication!! A mock crash and Memory Tree Memorial are "in the works" with mock crash dates set for April 24 and/or 25. The coordinator will meet with the Park Board to discuss a Memory Tree Memorial during the second week of February. The Memory Tree is a visual reminder of the consequences of impaired driving and failure to wear safety belts.

Wal-Mart safety belt campaign pre-survey results indicate a baseline usage rate of 54%. Compilation of five pre-surveys (to accommodate shifts) was required to determine the baseline usage rate. Karey Moore of the Minot Air Force Base and Officer John Klug of the Minot Police Department assisted with the pre-surveys. The campaign kickoff has been postponed until February due to manager meetings and conventions in Kansas City.

Keith Altendorf, the Central Campus principal, reviewed information on a proposed high school safety belt campaign. He was enthusiastic about hosting the campaign from the end of March through mid May. A youth group will assist with and campaign planning will begin in February.

A two-hour Server Training is planned for Tuesday, March 5, 2002, at the Municipal Auditorium. Additional identification booklets have been ordered and invitations to establishments will be mailed in February. A Noon Show appearance in February will highlight the program. Saturation patrols will be implemented in conjunction with the 157 blitzes. Local ads will resume in February, in conjunction with the next Server Training session. A public information and education campaign for area middle and high schools is scheduled for March through May. Minot State University students will assist with a Mock Crash this spring; MADD members will collaborate with the coalition in this endeavor. The Minot State University Broadcasting Department will produce a documentary of the crash to be used in Driver's Ed classrooms and for other safety events.