Participating schools found student drivers and passengers buckle up at a higher rate than the state and county rate of 84% and 77%, respectively, according to results from the challenge.
Shawnee, Southeastern and Northwestern schools even registered 100% seat belt use among their students.
“The high rates of participation among Clark County high school students shows they understand the potential life-saving impact that buckling up can have,” said Clark County Combined Health District Communications Coordinator Nate Smith.
The Clark County Combined Health District collaborated with local law enforcement and Auto Club AAA to conduct the countywide seat belt challenge between schools and bring awareness to the importance of wearing a seat belt.
When classes dismissed at the end of a school’s challenge day, students, law enforcement and CCCHD staged checkpoints to evaluate how many drivers were wearing their seat belt.
AAA and the CCCHD are sponsoring awards for the winning schools, including a $250 award that will go toward traffic safety.
In 2022, the national use rate of wearing a seat belt was 91.6%, and seatbelt use in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 14,955 lives in 2017, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
However, seat belt use is lowest among teen drivers, with most involved in fatal crashes being unbuckled as well as nine out of 10 of the passengers who died were also unbuckled. In 2020, 52% of teen drivers who died were unbuckled.
“For this reason, CCCHD’s Safe Communities Grant efforts continue to emphasize the importance of buckling up and driving without distractions, every time,” Smith said. “Educational opportunities for student drivers will continue throughout the remainder of this school year, and into the next academic year, as well.”
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