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FMCSA Challenges Children to Promote Safety Belt Use in Annual Art Calendar Contest

Thursday, October 30, 2014

WASHINGTON – On Nov 1, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will kick-off the 2015 "Be Ready. Be Buckled." student art contest organized by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership.  Open to students in kindergarten through sixth grade with relatives or sponsors in the commercial truck and bus industries, the contest educates kids about highway safety and urges commercial drivers to buckle up on every trip.

“Clicking on your safety belt should be an automatic practice for every driver and passenger since it’s the simplest and most effective way to save your life in the event of a crash,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.  “We hold this art contest to engage children and their parents in discussing safety and to provide a calendar of kids’ artwork that serves as a year-round reminder to buckle-up.”

In just the last three years safety belt use continued to rise among medium-to-heavy truck and bus drivers to an all-time high of 84 percent, according to a 2013 FMCSA study.  While good news, there remains work to be done to improve. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s most recent data from 2012 showed that 697 occupants of large trucks were killed in crashes; approximately 40 percent were not wearing safety belts.

“The good news is that overall safety belt use for professional bus and truck drivers has steadily increased each year and as a direct result, more lives are being saved,” said FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling.  “We are focused on reminding every driver that there is never an excuse to skip the important step of buckling-up.”

FMCSA will accept contest submissions through February 28, 2015. Students can submit their artwork by mail to the following address:

CMV Safety Belt Partnership
c/o CVSA
Attention: Nicole Leandro
6303 Ivy Lane, Suite 310
Greenbelt, MD 20770

Artwork will be evaluated in two categories: one for kindergarten through second grade, and another for third through sixth grade.

Twelve winners will be selected in April 2015, and their artwork will appear in the 2016 "Be Ready. Be Buckled." contest calendar.

All 12 students will also be honored at a ceremony at USDOT headquarters to be held in the spring.

To see last year’s winners and learn more about the "Be Ready. Be Buckled." contest, visit: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/safety-belt/index.htm.

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About the CMV Safety Belt Partnership:

The CMV Safety Belt Partnership is a collaboration among the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, other government agencies, and industry specific private-sector organizations designed to encourage safety belt use by commercial motor vehicle drivers.  Saving lives is FMCSA's main safety goal.  The partnership helps support this strategic objective.

Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership members:

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA)
American Bus Association (ABA)
American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
American Trucking Associations (ATA)
Associated General Contractors (AGC)
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA)
Commercial Vehicle Training Association (CVTA)
DRIVE SMART Virginia
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
First Student, Inc.
Great West Casualty Company
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
International Registration Plan, Inc. (IRP)
Krueger Ergonomics Consultants
Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)
National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT)
National Association of Public Funded Truck Driving Schools (NAPFTDS)
National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
National Private Truck Council (NPTC)
National Safety Council (NSC)
National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. (NTTC)
National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO)
Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS)
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)
Professional Truck Driver Institute, Inc.
Property Casualty Insurers Association of America
REI Safety Services
School Transportation Florida Department of Education
Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA)
Truckload Carriers Association (TCA)
United Motorcoach Association (UMA)

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FMCSA 25-14