Everyone knows that high school students thrive on old-fashioned rivalry. With that in-mind, the Seat Belt Challenge serves as a program that is successful in educating teens and motivating them to buckle up. The program incorporates principles of behavior change such as providing messages multiple times, using credible sources and including incentives for buckling up. In addition, it recognizes that adolescents are highly influenced by their peers and typically more motivated by short-term gain than long-term benefit. The Challenge is an intensive 4-week challenge period which includes the display of a crashed vehicle, slogan contests, buckling activities, rewards for buckled drivers, speakers, and seat belt messages everywhere from TV monitors to electronic message boards. High schools throughout Wright County compete against one another to see which school can get the highest percent of students wearing their seat belts.

Research has found that wearing a seat belt during a crash is the most effective measure a person can take to survive a crash and prevent an injury. In a car, seat belts increase the likelihood of surviving a fatal crash by almost 50%; in pick-up trucks it increases to 65%. Unfortunately, not only are teens more likely to be involved in a crash, they are also more likely NOT to be wearing their seat belt.

Let us know if your school is interested in the Seat Belt Challenge!