NDOT Highway Safety Office Kicks Off Fall Seat-Belt Campaign

LINCOLN — Noting that 70 percent of all unbelted fatalities happen at night, NDOT’s Highway Safety Office kicked off an awareness campaign last week to promote increased seat‑belt usage, especially after dark. As part of the campaign, 15 daily delivery trucks sport a customized wrap with an image and language supporting seat-belt usage, as do fuel-pump toppers at 50 Lincoln area gas stations.

The campaign serves as a great reminder that by wearing seat belts and properly buckling children into age- and size-appropriate car seats and booster seats, people can reduce the risk of serious injury and death in a crash by half. Reducing crash-related injuries and fatalities is significant for many reasons. For every person killed in a crash, eight more are hospitalized and 99 more are treated and released.

According to the most recent statistics, 86 percent of Nebraskans use seat belts, which is less than the national average of 90 percent.