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Nov. 21, 2011
For more information, contact:
Bonnie J. Prigge, (573) 265-2993
MoDOT’s Battle of the Belt program concludes
14 Meramec Region schools participate in the seat belt challenge
Fourteen schools in the Meramec Region participated in the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Battle of the Belt high school seat belt challenge, which ran from Oct. 3 to Nov. 11, 2011.
The Battle of the Belt Challenge, designed to increase seat belt use in teens, features an unannounced peer-conducted safety belt survey of students, followed by a peer-designed educational campaign, with a final surprise safety belt survey to conclude if more students are buckling up. Students can also submit a 30-second video with a focus on encouraging their fellow classmates to buckle up.
This year’s Meramec Region high school participants included: Cuba High School and Steelville High School in Crawford County, Owensville High School in Gasconade County, Vienna High School and Belle High School in Maries County, Chamois High School, Linn High School and Fatima High School in Osage County, John F. Hodge High School and Newburg High School in Phelps County, Waynesville High School, Dixon High School and Crocker High School in Pulaski County, and Kingston High School in Washington County.
Only 67 percent of Missouri teens buckle up, according to a 2011 survey, compared with 79 percent of Missourians and 85 percent of people across the nation. In 2010, 64 Missouri teens were killed in crashes where they were unbuckled.
For this year’s Battle of the Belt, Ford Driving Skills for Life donated $20,000 worth of iTunes cards, which were used as rewards for schools that participated. The Governors Highway Safety Association provided the incentives through a grant.
State and regional prizes will be awarded to schools with the highest and most improved seat belt usage once all survey data has been compiled. The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, American Family Insurance and the Missouri College of Emergency Physicians sponsor the program. MoDOT is in the process of compiling the results with announcements expected to be made soon.
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