"I hope we all recognize that, from the delivery of vital goods to taking our children to and from school, commercial trucks and buses are important to our way of life.
"But nothing is more important than safety. Driving a 40-ton truck or a bus full of people is a big responsibility; drivers owe it to themselves, their families, and others to wear a safety belt every time they get behind the wheel."
The best thing about her message? It came from two schoolkids, Adam Carr of Tampa, FL, and Vijeyta Revankar of Seabrook, TX, in the form of prize-winning posters.
The "Be Ready, Be Buckled" student safety belt poster contest asked students to create posters stressing the importance of commercial truck and bus drivers using their safety belts every time they get behind the wheel.
Contest entries were divided into two age categories: kindergarten through second grade, and third through six grades.Vijeyta won in the younger category, and Adam won in the older group.
Each winner received a $100 savings bond sponsored by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA).
As Administrator Ferro said:
"It’s very exciting to see our nation’s students get energized and involved in an issue that affects the safety of so many. Congratulations to our winners and all the students who participated in this year’s contest! Safety belts save lives.”
FMCSA's Anne Ferro (far rt) presents Adam's award while his family looks on
Vijeyta and Adam, I echo those congratulations. Way to go, kids!
I'm also impressed by the generosity of ATA and OOIDA; it shows that commercial trucking organizations get that safety belts are a key part of safe driving. They're on board with our safety message to drivers.
DOT applauds those drivers who are buckling up. New data from FMCSA show 74% of commercial truck and bus drivers are
now using their safety belts. Now, that's up from only 65% in 2007, but we
won't rest until every commercial driver is using a
safety belt.
Sponsored by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership--with over
20 agencies and organizations--the national “Be
Ready, Be Buckled” Safety Belt Art Contest is a great way for
children across the United States to get involved in encouraging commercial drivers to buckle up.
I thank the partnership groups for their participation; I thank Administrator Ferro and the FMCSA, and I thank all of the students who submitted posters for the contest.
Whether it's distracted driving PSAs or safety belt posters, it really is encouraging to see kids leading the way in America's safe driving campaigns.
Everything possible needs to be done to get the attention of truck and bus drivers to not only not use cell phones while driving but to use seat belts every time while driving. In 2009, there were a number of deaths at the nation's mines involving trucks and heavy equipment where the drivers seem to be distracted and drove the truck backward too far or drove over a berm wall and rolled over with the driver being throwed out of the cab and killed. This is an important area of transportation that should not be overlooked when it comes to seatbelts and distracted driving. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey
Posted by: Michael E. Bailey | May 04, 2010 at 05:28 PM