News Release - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

WASHINGTON - NATSO, the trade association representing truckstops and travel plazas, has joined with the Department of Transportation for the first annual kids poster contest promoting safety belt usage among truck drivers.

Parents are usually the ones prompting their children to buckle up every time they get in a car, but children of truck drivers have a unique opportunity to turn the table and remind their parents about the importance of wearing their safety belts while on the job in a new poster contest sponsored by the Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Safety Partnership and led by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The winner will receive a $1,000 savings bond. The contest is part of a national safety belt campaign called "Be Ready. Be Buckled." that aims to increase safety belt use among truck drivers.

While 81 percent of the general driving population wears a safety belt, only 59 percent of commercial vehicle drivers buckle up when they climb behind the wheel.

"Buckling your seat belt is the single most effective - and the easiest - way to stay safe on American's roads," said John H. Hill, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. "If truck drivers won't buckle up for themselves, it's my hope that they will at least do it for their families and children as they go about their daily routine of moving America."

The contest is open to children age 5-12 who have at least one parent who is a truck driver. The finished poster must be hand drawn, no larger than 11" x 14" and relate to the campaign's theme, "Be Ready. Be Buckled." Entries must be submitted by February 29, 2008 to:

NATSO, Inc.
1737 King Street, Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314

Entries will be judged by an independent panel based on the one that best illustrates the contest's theme. The winner will be recognized, along with his or her family, in Washington, D.C. on May 5, 2008 during North American Occupational Safety and Health Week. Poster contest rules and entry forms, as well as more information about the CMV Safety Belt Partnership, can be found at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safetybelt. The winner will be announced in April 2008.

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