Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time.
JEFFERSON CITY – Warmer weather has many young Missourians out on the roads heading to spring break, prom and other exciting springtime activities.
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 16 -19 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 81 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 in the past three years, over 74 percent of them were not buckled up.
- According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, safety restraint systems, utilized correctly, 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 occupants of light trucks, using safety belts lower the risk of fatal injuries by 60 percent and moderate-to-critical injuries by 65 percent.
- For more information, visit saveMOlives.com, or find us on social media at Save MO Lives. Buckle up, and ARRIVE ALIVE.
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