JEFFERSON CITY – Wearing a seat belt is your best defense in a traffic crash. Give yourself a chance to live. Always buckle up, everyone, every trip, every time.
The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety wants to remind teens how dangerous a car ride can be if they don’t take wearing their safety belt seriously. Law enforcement will be out in full force March 15 -31 to crack down on unbelted teen drivers and save lives.
“The national average for safety belt usage is 90 percent. Missouri is below that average at only 84 percent, and teens in Missouri fall even lower at 70 percent,” said MoDOT Director of Highway Safety, Bill Whitfield. “We want to see those numbers go up.”
Consider some of the reasons you should choose to wear your safety belt:
- Under Missouri’s Graduated License Law, permit drivers and all passengers must wear safety belts.
- Of the 196 teenagers killed in traffic crashes from 2014-2016, over 74 percent of them were not buckled up.
- When properly used, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injuries to front-seat passenger vehicle occupants by 45 percent and reduce the risk of moderate-to-critical injuries by 50 percent.For more information on teen seat belt safety and Buckle Up Phone Down, visit saveMOlives.com, or find us on social media at Save MO Lives. ARRIVE ALIVE.
With no primary seat belt law or all-driver texting ban in Missouri, motorists are asked to personally take the challenge to Buckle Up Phone Down. Put your cell phone down while driving and always make sure you and your passengers are buckled up.
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