Annual kids’ poster contest an opportunity to remind commercial drivers to "Be Ready. Be Buckled."

Safety has always been, and will always remain, DOT’s number one priority. And while we run many important safety campaigns, I like to remind people that, when you're on the road, one of the easiest and most effective ways of improving traveling safely is to buckle up.

And that message is even more effective when it's sent from a child to a parent.  So we're inviting students across the country to enter the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership’s “Be Ready, Be Buckled” poster contest.

 

More and more commercial drivers in America are using their seatbelts – from 2003 to 2010, seat belt use jumped from 48 percent to 78 percent. But, while this increase in seatbelt use is encouraging, it means that too many drivers are still ignoring the safety data and skipping one of the easiest ways to stay safe behind the wheel .

As 10-year old Lucia, last year’s Grand Prize winner, said, “Since not all bus and truck drivers buckle up, I want to remind them with my art that they should.” 

Adam Carr, a sixth grader from Tampa, Florida won the older group for the 2010 contest

Buckling up is especially important to Lucia because her uncles are truck and bus drivers.  The contest is open to children in grades K-6 with relatives in the truck and bus industries. It's a great way for the kids to learn about highway safety, and it’s also a great way for them to make a big difference by reminding their friends and family members in the commercial driving industry to buckle up--every trip, every time.

If you know a student interested in entering the contest, please encourage them to submit their entry soon – entries must be postmarked by Tuesday, February 14. For more information, please visit the FMCSA website.

Commercial drivers are critical to our national economy, and I’m excited to see kids taking the lead in this important initiative to keep them safe.

Comments

[Michael]

Here in Florida we recently passed a law requiring both front and back seat passengers to wear seat belts (previously only the front seat driver and front seat passengers were required to do so). As someone who personally knows of two individuals who were back seat passengers hurt in crashes and not wearing their seat belts, I applaud this law and believe it will save lives.

[Emily]

The last pic is almost professional, really cool. I hope kids' reminders work better than anything else.