New seat belt safety campaign being launched

Talk about it

The “screaming seat belt” is giving way to a new South Dakota’s Office of Highway Safety campaign that reminds motorists that “Someone Needs You. Buckle Up.”

A recent state campaign to encourage seat belt use carried the message “Feed the Habit” and included a video in which a seat belt told a driver to buckle.

The driver screamed at the thought of a talking seat belt but quickly fastened his seat belt. The purpose of that campaign was to encourage people to consciously buckle up on every trip until the action became a habit.

“A lot of people found that screaming seat belt video pretty obnoxious, but it sure did catch their attention,” said Col. Craig Price, superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol. “We think it ran its course, and it is time to change our message as we continue to encourage motorists to buckle up, for their own safety and as examples to others to make seat belt use something they do every time they get into motor vehicles.”

The new campaign reminds motorists that other people need them, whether spouse, parent, child or friend. Research shows that seat belts do save lives in traffic crashes.

The chances of surviving a crash are much higher if the occupants remain in the vehicle. Seat belt use in South Dakota is at nearly 75 percent, Price said.

“It is gratifying to see so many people have developed the seat belt habit,” he said. “We still need to try to get the message to the remaining 25 percent who don’t buckle up regularly. The new campaign is basically saying, if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for a loved one.

“Someone needs you, and someone would be devastated if they lost you needlessly.”

The new campaign includes a video portraying a rollover crash in which an infant is secured in a safety seat but the parents aren’t using seat belts.

The period from May 23 through June 6 is designated nationally as a time to focus extra attention on seat belt use.

— from a SD Public Information Office news release

Tags: news, state, safety, seatbelt, transportation