Buckleupamerica.Org: Buckle Up For Bucks School Program is Effective

Massachusetts has an effective school program, entitled Buckle Up Week, which since 2006 has been educating the youth of that state on the dangers of driving without buckling up. Communities across the state have been conducting a Buckle Up Week to spread the word about this important safety issue.

One activity from Buck Up Week is called Buckle Up For Bucks. It is a drive to encourage drivers and passengers to wear seat belts. It works like this:

1. Community businesses are solicited for donations of discounts or prizes.
2. A suitable format for distributing the prizes is chosen, such as a peeler card or coupon.
3. The incentives are printed up, and distributed to seat-belt-wearers at school, college, and business parking lots.

Peeler cards are especially convenient for a number of reasons: they are small and portable, do not require special treatment such as refrigeration, are widely accepted by merchants, and they are easy to use.

Here are some of the other activities that are recommended for Buckle Up Week:

• Distribute Information: Printed materials containing the buckle up message are to be freely distributed throughout the week. The school's parking lot is a good place to leave booklets and flyers. Students are encouraged to bring home several copies of the literature to give to parents and friends.
• Conduct Safety Belt Pledge Drives: Solicit pledges from drivers and passengers to always use seat belts. Special posters announcing pledge sites are available from the state. The moral force behind a signed pledge is considered a significant contributor to future safety belt use.
• Spread Public Information: Local newspapers are a great way to get the safety belt message out. Buckle Up Week community organizers should encourage letter writing or preparation of guest columns for local publications to support seat belt use.
• Poster Contest: Kids love art contests, and schools are encouraged to have students participate in seat belt poster competitions. Individual students, classes, or grades can cooperate in designing and drawing poster entries, and the winners can be displayed in local storefronts, houses of worship, libraries, or wherever people congregate. Winners should sign their posters, and the winning students' names should be prominently displayed.
• Buckle Up Relay: A wonderful high school activity. Teams of four students are fielded. Each team gets into a parked car and buckles up. A timer is started, and the team has to rotate seats and buckle up until all team members have been belted in each seat. Donated prizes are awarded to the fastest team.

Massachusetts has a good idea. Why not consider something similar for your state? And remember, Always Buckle Up!