Evaluation of Innovative and Sustainable Seat Belt Enforcement

This Sources Sought Notice is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the NHTSA. The purpose of this Notice is to identify potential sources that may be interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The NHTSA welcomes Corporate Capability Statements from all individuals and organizations. The NHTSA does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted or NHTSA's use of such information. Acknowledgement of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of NHTSA's evaluation of the information received. As a result of this Notice, the NHTSA may issue a Request for Proposals (RFP). However, should such a requirement fail to materialize no basis for claims against the NHTSA shall arise as a result of a response to this Notice. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Occupant Protection Survey (NOPUS) indicate that the percent of unrestrained vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes remains alarmingly high, near 50 percent, despite a national seat belt use rate over 86 percent. There is still more work to be done to increase seat belt use across the Country and save lives. Research indicates that seat belt use is 45 percent effective in reducing the likelihood of death in a motor vehicle crash, therefore, gains in reducing the numbers of vehicle occupants killed in crashes can be had by increasing the use of seat belts in the participating jurisdiction. High-visibility enforcement (HVE) has proven to be an effective countermeasure in changing driver behavior and increasing seat belt use, however, the effects on driver behavior are short lived. Increased frequency of HVE may be the optimal solution, but diminishing resources and competing priorities, continue to challenge law enforcement's ability to address the continued need for highly visible and sustained seat-belt enforcement. This project will evaluate law enforcement developed and implemented innovative and sustained seat-belt enforcement initiatives. The overall goal of the project is to determine what types of seat-belt enforcement strategies can be developed that are different from regularly or annually conducted operations, and what the definition of sustained becomes for these proposed and implemented seat-belt enforcement operations. Furthermore, the project will also evaluate how these sustained initiatives increase or maintain high seat belt use overtime. The primary objectives of this evaluation contract are to: - 1. Document and evaluate the effectiveness of 2 new, innovative and sustained seat belt enforcement projects using process and outcome evaluation. - 2. Work collaboratively with the two LEAs selected under the NHTSA Innovative and Sustainable Seat Belt Enforcement contract to conduct a comprehensive study of the project; - 3. Develop a data collection and analysis plan to address the following: - a. Three years of baseline seat belt crash and citation data, relevant enforcement initiative data , and seat belt use rate data; - b. Seat belt crash and citation data, new enforcement initiative data , and use rate data; - c. Injury and fatality crash data related to restrained and unrestrained vehicle occupants; - d. Cost and effectiveness of innovative and sustainable seat belt enforcement; - e. The effectiveness of sustained enforcement as compared to a control jurisdiction; - f. Decreased unrestrained vehicle occupant fatalities; - g. Decreased unrestrained vehicle occupant Injuries. - 4. Document how the project sites define sustainable enforcement efforts different than on-going daily or annual operations. - 5. Monitor, document, collect and analyze earned media/communications related activity results and provide an impact analysis throughout the duration of the project. The types of data to be collected include but are not limited to types of media (print media, web based approaches such as social media, and traditional mediums such as TV, radio, etc.), reach, frequency, number of impressions. The results to be used to indicate the impact of communications activities in tandem with enforcement. - 6. Develop a cost effectiveness model for examining the cost and the outcomes of the sustained seat belt enforcement project relative to accomplishing its objectives. - 7. Provide regular progress reports, as well as preliminary, interim and final reports relevant to the data and findings for the purpose of learning from and recommending replicable strategies in other communities. The overall evaluation of the project will seek to learn from the successes, challenges, and solutions encountered, as well as cost-effectiveness. The Contractor shall work with the selected sites (two law enforcement agencies) to document the outcome and outputs of the enforcement efforts, and analyze the impact of the project on seat belt use. The Contractor shall work collaboratively with the selected enforcement sites to collect seat belt use and enforcement data, to include but not limited to enforcement, crash, and earned or paid media data. The Contractor shall provide analysis findings to the site's law enforcement agencies for use in their enforcement efforts. A continuous data collection process shall be developed and monthly reports and findings submitted to the NHTSA. A final findings report shall be submitted at the end of the project period. The report will include an overview of the evaluation project, the work plan, data collection methodology, trends, findings, and recommendations for replicability of the enforcement strategies. Of critical importance in the project is experience in working with law enforcement agencies and in evaluating complex, multi-state law enforcement initiatives. The specific tasks for this project are as follows: Conduct a kick-off meeting. Prepare an evaluation work plan. Develop Data Collection Method, Instruments, and Analysis Plan. Establish a data collection plan and outline collaborative agreement with enforcement sites to ensure coordinated, timely data collection process. Establish a working relationship with the selected enforcement agencies. Collect baseline data and relevant data before, during and post enforcement. Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the data to determine the impact of the enforcement strategy on seat belt use. The analysis will explore the overall impact of sustained enforcement on seat belt use over time as opposed to regular, annual seat belt enforcement operations. Collect and analyze communications data and its impact. Prepare and submit monthly progress reports and invoices. Participate in periodic (quarterly) meetings with enforcement sites. Prepare interim and preliminary reports. Produce a draft final report on the activities that occurred during this project and the results of the analyses for review and feedback. Produce a final report with results and recommendations. Conduct a final briefing. Provide NHTSA with a copy of all data sets collected for this project and full documentation for these data sets as well as scripts for all data analyses. Format of Corporate Capabilities Statement: Any interested organizations should submit the Corporate Capability Statement which demonstrates the firm's ability and interest in no more than 10 pages to perform the key requirements described above. All proprietary information should be marked as such. All respondents are asked to indicate the type and size of their business organization, e.g., Large Business, Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned-Business, 8(A), Historically Black College or University/Minority Institution (HBCU/MI), educational institution, profit/non-profit organization, in their response. Documentation supporting the respondent's depth of experience in working with law enforcement agencies, collecting and analyzing law enforcement data, managing complex, multi-state law enforcement evaluation projects, as well as competency in selecting and analyzing comparable comparison sites shall be provided. Interested offerors shall respond to this Sources Sought Notice no later than 5 calendar days from date of posting. E-mail is the preferred method when submitting responses to this Notice.