(Washington, D.C.) The Metropolitan Police Department is joining more than 8,000 law enforcement agencies in launching the Memorial Day national enforcement blitz on deadbeat drivers - adults who disregard the law and don't buckle up children - starting today and continuing through the holiday weekend. To support the Operation ABC Mobilization, the National Safety Council is providing a national toll-free number during the week as a way for citizens to help protect a child they see riding unbuckled.

"People tell us all the time how frustrated and powerless they feel when they see an unbuckled child riding in a car," said Gerard F. Scannell, President of the National Safety Council. "This week by calling the Council's toll-free hotline, there is something they can do to help children in danger."

While officers in all 50 states intensify enforcement of child passenger safety laws through checkpoints and saturation patrols, citizens who see an unbuckled child in a vehicle can dial 1-800-764-5755 and leave a message about the vehicle, or they can leave the name and address of someone who routinely allows their child passengers to ride unbuckled. The National Safety Council will send a letter reminding that it's extremely dangerous for a child to ride unbuckled; and because there are laws in all 50 states requiring children that ride restrained, you could be stopped and ticketed if you're failing to protect them.

The last three years of Operation ABC Mobilizations have significantly contributed to an increase in child restraint use and a decline in child fatalities. But there is still more work to do. While more than 90 percent of infants and children ages one to four ride restrained, one out of three children ages 5 to 15 ride unbuckled. Today 15 million children are at deadly risk. Traffic crashes are the number one killer of children ages 5 to 14, and 60 percent of the kids killed in crashes are unrestrained. Half of those who die unbuckled in crashes would be alive today if the driver had made sure they were restrained.

"Seat belts and child safety seats are the greatest protection in the event of a crash, and parents should buckle up their children in the back seat on absolutely every trip," said (then) U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater .

The nation's law enforcement has declared zero tolerance for unbuckled children and the public supports this policy. In a recent national poll, 78 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement, "people who fail to buckle up their child passengers should be considered guilty of child endangerment." In the same survey, most deadbeat drivers (66 percent) admitted that the possibility of a ticket and fine is the best way to get them to follow the law and restrain their child passengers. By reminding drivers that they could be ticketed and fined, the National Safety Council hopes these letters will help prevent potential tragedies.

"Every mother would rather their son or daughter receive a ticket with a stiff fine -- if that's what it takes to get them to buckle up - than the deadly alternative of being caught in a crash unbuckled and unprotected," said Cassandra Ogden, President of the Professional Football Players' Mothers' Association.

Chief Robert Redfern, President of the New England Chiefs of Police , spoke at the national news conference in Washington D.C. to launch the effort. "Officers everywhere will write tickets this week because they know that's what it takes to protect children. You see kids riding unbuckled, but we unfortunately see firsthand the tragedies that can occur," he said. Redfern has taken a lead role in the crackdown because he and his family know firsthand the tragedy of losing a child in a crash.

Officers will also be stepping up enforcement of adult seat belt laws because it's a proven fact that most adults who don't buckle up themselves, don't buckle up kids. Research has found that buckled drivers are three times more likely to restrain their child passengers than drivers who don't buckle up.

" And for drivers here in the District who are trying to do the right thing, but either don't know how to secure their children properly or don't have the means to do so, we have Project Safe Child - a unique education and outreach effort that provides free child safety seats.

This comprehensive strategy - zero tolerance, coupled with visible enforcement and strong education and outreach - is making a difference. And I'm extremely proud of our results here in the Nation's Capital - a 20 percent reduction in traffic-related fatalities from 1998 to 1999.
                      Executive Assistant Chief Terrance Gainer