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Colorado State Patrol to Join Largest-Ever Buckle Up Campaign

18 May 1998

Colorado State Patrol and Law Enforcement Agencies Statewide To Join the Largest-Ever Nationally Coordinated Effort to Buckle Up Children

                  In All 50 States Officers Mobilize Against
                    The Leading Cause of Death to Children

    Coordinated by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) more than
50 municipal police and sheriff's departments and the Colorado State Patrol
will join more than 4,000 law enforcement agencies across the country in an
unparalleled effort to protect children -- Operation ABC '98: Mobilizing
America to Buckle Up Children. Tens of thousands of officers from all 50
states will conduct high-visibility enforcement of child passenger safety laws
throughout Buckle Up America Week, May 18-25.  CDOT's participation in
Operation ABC '98 will be officially announced at a news event on Tuesday, May
19.  Local officers and the state patrol will be on hand to launch this week-
long enforcement effort to save children's lives.  Media "ride-alongs" can be
scheduled throughout the week and holiday weekend.
    Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death to children in the U.S.
With summer highway travel expected to set a record this year, this effort to
get children buckled up is more important than ever.

    WHAT:   * Media Event to Kick Off Local Participation in Operation ABC '98
              -- A 50-State Enforcement Effort to Buckle Up Children

    WHO:    * Gail Schoettler, Lt. Governor
            * Janet Dewey, Executive Director, Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety
              Campaign
            * Operation C.A.R.E. representative
            * Col. Lonnie Westphal, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol

    WHERE:  * McNichols Sports Arena, parking lot

    WHEN:   * Tuesday, May 19 at 10:00 a.m., (MT)

    B-Roll Available: Feed Date: May 18. Time: 3-3:30 p.m. EDT (c-band) Galaxy
4, transponder 7 out of Conus downlink freq. 3840 h.; May 19.  Time: 1:30-2
p.m. EDT (c-band) Galaxy 9, transponder 1 out of NY downlink freq. 3740 v.;
May 20.  Time: 10:30-11 a.m. EDT (c-band) Galaxy 4, transponder 11 out of NY
downlink freq. 3920 h.

    Operation ABC '98 is sponsored by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign,
in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the
U.S. Department of Transportation's Buckle Up America Campaign.

    CONTACT:  Susan Denzer, 202-338-8700 or Mairi Nelson, 303-202-0383, both
for the Air Bag Safety Campaign.