Campaign encourages teens to "Buckle Up"

Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, September 04, 2008

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Bailey Hancock, Abby Sims and Darre Banks packed up the stencils after their early-morning project with Buckle Up Bluegrass.

Bailey Hancock, Abby Sims and Darre Banks packed up the stencils after their early-morning project with Buckle Up Bluegrass.

Bailey Hancock, Abby Sims and Darre Banks packed up the stencils after their early-morning project with Buckle Up Bluegrass.Therese Moseley, chairwoman of Buckle Up Bluegrass, asked Henry Clay High freshman Abby Sims to sweep off the pavement in preparation for stenciling.Ryan Tenges, with the Federal Highway Administration, and Henry Clay freshman Darre Banks sorted through the “Buckle Up” stencils outside the high school.Ninth-graders Bailey Hancock and Darre Banks spray-painted the “Buckle Up” message on the pavement at the main exit of Henry Clay High School.Abby Sims, Bailey Hancock and Darre Banks think the “Buckle Up” message can have an impact on teenagers. “When they drive up and see this, it will remind them to buckle up,” Sims said.

Three freshmen ducked out of class to spray-paint a message on the pavement at Henry Clay High School this week. But it’s OK! They had permission, and they were helping to encourage young drivers to wear their seat belts.

The reminder to “Buckle Up” – stenciled in white at all five of the district’s high schools – are the first volley in a month-long public safety campaign to get more teens into the seat-belt habit.

“Kentucky has one of the worst teen crash death rates in the country. If we could just get all the teenagers into seat belts, we could save a lot of lives,” said Therese Moseley, chairwoman of Buckle Up Bluegrass, a broad coalition of community groups that spans Fayette and six surrounding counties.

Henry Clay ninth-graders Abby Sims, Bailey Hancock and Darre Banks don’t drive yet, but they can see how the stenciled message at the school’s main exit could have an impact.

“When (older teens) drive up and see this, it will remind them to buckle up,” Sims said.

Moseley and Ryan Tenges of the Federal Highway Administration spent most of the day spreading that message, from Henry Clay to Tates Creek to Bryan Station to Paul Laurence Dunbar to Lafayette.

Statistics on seat-belt usage and fatality demographics prompted Moseley to launch Buckle Up Bluegrass. Among the partners are state and federal highway safety offices, the University of Kentucky, Fayette County Public Schools, and Central Baptist, where Moseley is a nurse educator. The group will promote the buckle-up message throughout September with efforts including:

  • Raffle tickets for $100 gas cards (to be handed out to drivers wearing seat belts as they arrive at high school football games);
  • An advertising jingle contest for 15- to 25-year olds;
  • A public service announcement, “Heaven Can Wait,” running at local movie theaters (view at www.highwaysafety.ky.gov; click on resources, then audio/video);
  • Signs and posters in parking lots and high school cafeterias;
  • An awareness video for parents to watch while they wait for teens to take their driver’s test;
  • Promotional material in businesses, doctors’ offices and area churches.

The LFUCG Division of Police also will focus on increased enforcement of seat-belt laws.

According to Moseley, Kentucky has logged 70 fewer crash deaths each year since the state’s primary seat-belt law went into effect three years ago. For statistics and more details about the campaign, go to www.buckleupbluegrass.com.