Safety Belt Usage Among Bus and Medium-to-Heavy Duty Truck Drivers Reaches New High

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that first-grader Annie Yu from Edison, N.J. and third-grader Heather Li of Orlando, Fla. won top honors in the 2014 “Be Ready. Be Buckled.” student art contest.  The Secretary made the announcement at a ceremony at U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters.

The annual contest is organized by DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership.  The artwork of the two winners and ten other talented students will be included in the 2015 “Be Ready. Be Buckled.” Art Contest Calendar, available this fall.

“Seatbelts save lives and this contest is a positive way to engage our most precious resource, children, to promote driver safety throughout the United States,” said Secretary Foxx.  “The calendars that feature these young artists also serve as a great year-round reminder to always buckle-up.”

FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro also reported at the ceremony that safety belt usage among bus and medium-to-heavy duty truck drivers is up six percent from 78 percent in 2010 to a new high of 84 percent in 2013.

“It’s a fact that when drivers and passengers buckle-up, their odds increase dramatically for surviving a crash,” said Administrator Ferro. “The results of our 2013 survey show that in just the last three years more commercial drivers are getting the message, and we will continue working through programs like the art contest to encourage the remaining 16 percent to buckle-up.”

Findings from the 2013 Seat Belt Usage by Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Survey are available here.

The two contest winners received framed replicas of their artwork plus a monetary award courtesy of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership.

The following is a list of the 12 students whose artwork will be featured in the 2015 "Be Ready. Be Buckled." Art Contest calendar:

To learn more about the "Be Ready, Be Buckled" contest, visit www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safetybelt.

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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 (FMCSA), 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 Truckstop 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

United Motorcoach Association (UMA)