Transportation Deputy Secretary Victor Mendez and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Deputy Administrator Daphne Jefferson awarded two grand prize winners in the 2016 “Be Ready. Be Buckled.” Kids’ Art Contest for illustrations that focus on seat-belt usage.
Second-grader Jessica Hong won top honors in the kindergarten through second grade division for her poster depicting a group of children standing in front school bus and holding a giant seat belt. Fourth-grader Andy Chen earned the top spot in the third through sixth grades catagory for drawing a big rig driving down the highway next to a billboard with this year’s contest theme. Both students are from East Brunswick, New Jersey.
“This one simple step—buckling up every trip, no matter how short the distance—is the first line of defense in protecting against injury in the case of a crash,” said Mendez during a June 24 ceremony at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. “Whether you are a parent, a caregiver, a friend or a colleague, it is your responsibility to ensure that every passenger riding in your vehicle securely fastens his or her safety belt.”
Last fall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended that all school buses be equipped with lap-shoulder seat belts, but stopped short of requiring the occupant restraint systems. FMCSA recently announced that passengers riding in large commercial trucks will be required to use seat belts whenever the vehicles are operated on public roads in interstate commerce.
The Final Rule, which takes effect Aug. 8, revises FMCSA regulations, and holds motor carriers and drivers responsible for ensuring that their passengers use seat belts.
“Safety belts save lives, and their use by drivers has steadily increased during the past decade. That is great news because it means that every day, more and more people are returning home to their loved ones,” Jefferson said. “We want the protection of a seat belt applied to every passenger riding in a large truck. It can be the one thing you do that saves your life in a crash.”
The annual “Be Ready. Be Buckled.” Kids’ Art Contest is organized by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership, which includes FMCSA, NHTSA and 30 other government agencies and private organizations. The contest is open to students in kindergarten through sixth grade who also have a sponsor in the commercial truck and bus industries. The two grand prize winners received framed replicas of their artwork courtesy of the CMV partnership.
