Occupant Protection

The Bureau supports seat belt and child passenger safety in a variety of ways.

Seat belt education and training efforts including workshops which feature the experiences of motor vehicle trauma injury victims conducted yearly at approximately 100 Iowa high schools, junior highs and grade schools by the Iowa Health System using Trauma Injury Prevention Strategies (TIPS/Think First) curriculum.

Another program is provided to teenagers through the Farm Safety for Just Kids "Buckle Up or Eat Glass" campaign designed to bring awareness to young drivers of the dangers encountered on rural roadways while riding or driving in pickups.

The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety is provided through the Iowa Illinois Training Council for corporations building a strong safety program for their employees both at work and home.

	The Bureau utilizes funds to provide statewide training for child safety seat technicians and child restraint training and educational programs for local communities through the Iowa Department of Public Health. Additional information on check-up events, fit stations, technicians, misuse, etc. can be found through the Iowa Child Passenger Safety Network.

The GTSB also funds Iowa's statewide child restraint usage survey conducted by the University of Iowa's Injury Prevention Research Center.

Occupant safety enforcement support is provided to local law enforcement agencies, as well as, the Iowa State Patrol working as individuals or in multi-agency efforts. These agencies participate in cooperative programs such as Iowa's Special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP) or Iowa's Corridor projects. Of special note is that all of the sTEP enforcement waves are set in conjunction with national campaigns and/or holidays.

The Iowa State Patrol also receives enforcement funding for Operation Combined Accident Reduction Enforcement (CARE), a national effort focusing on holiday weekend enforcement.