Submitted
Thousands of vehicles will travel the Kansas roadways during the Labor Day weekend. Many families will head out for the long weekend as summer ends and the school year begins.
"Safe Kids Kansas," which is sponsored by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), State Farm Insurance and the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), want to encourage families to buckle up and drive safely to protect their most important cargo, their families.
This year, from Monday, August 25 through Sunday, September 7, a safety belt awareness campaign called “Bucks for Buckles” will be held in 41 cities across Kansas. Local volunteers will distribute dollar bills to drivers who have all occupants buckled up securely in their vehicles.
Those riding unrestrained will receive educational materials about the effectiveness of seat belts and child safety seats in saving lives and reducing injuries.
“No one can predict when they will be involved in a motor vehicle crash, yet almost all of us will be involved in a crash in our lifetime. In 2024, 339 people lost their lives on Kansas roadways, and approximately 30 percent were unbuckled,” Cherie Sage, State Director for Safe Kids Kansas, said. “The single most effective means of protecting the lives of you and your passengers is wearing seat belts and using appropriate child safety seats every time you ride in the vehicle – even short distances.”
According to the 2023 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Seat Belt Use Survey, 85 percent of Kansans surveyed were wearing their seat belts,, compared to the national average of 90 percent. Kansas saw a nearly 2 percent decline in seat belt usage from 2022 to 2023. Seat belts save more than 15,000 lives yearly and are the best defense against drunk, aggressive and distracted drivers.
“Seat belts reduce your chances of serious injury from a vehicle crash by as much as 50 percent,” Sage said. “It’s such a simple thing, so take your life into your own hands and buckle up.”
For more information about safety belts or child safety seat use, call (785) 296-1223 or visit SafeKidsKansas.org, SafeKids.org and Facebook.com/safekidskansas.