The Under-19 death and injury toll in motor vehicle crashes continues to rise.

All Middle and High Schools in Delaware are invited to participate in the Delaware Safety Council’s SmartDrive CLICK4Life campaign to encourage Teen Drivers AND Tween
and Teen Passengers to BUCKLE UP • EVERY TRIP • EVERY TIME | ABROCHATE • EN TODO VIAJE • TODO EL TIEMPO

THE REASON: Given the continuing rise of loss of life on Delaware roads this year – including Teen Drivers AND Passengers – had more of those teens been BUCKLED UP – they had a 50/50 chance of surviving those crashes.

The Delaware State Police 2021 Traffic Statistical Report, states that among motor vehicle occupants (drivers and passengers)  – 10 persons under the age of 19 became motor vehicle fatalities last year.  Alarmingly, SEVEN of those lost were either unrestrained or used their seat belts impropterly.

Even more strinkingly – 1296 additional under 19’s vehicle occupants were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2021.  Again, many of those were unrestrained or used their seat belts improperly.

THE GOAL: Delaware Safety Council’s SmartDrive program asks School Administrators to select a student group to lead a minimum 1 day service project to educate their students peers  and asking them – both drivers and non-drivers – to make th online CLICK4Life pledge – with the goal of improving seat belt use among all the students at your school.

The service project will also ask the cooperation of your School’s Cafeteria staff and is to be conducted during regular lunch periods.  Student organization members are asked to circulate in the cafeteria while students are seated, and simply ask their classmates and friends to take the CLICK4Life Pledge to BUCKLE UP – EVERY TRIP – EVERYTIME using their smartphones.  In schools where phone use is not permitted in the cafeteria, business sized pledge cards featuring the pledge information can be distributed to students.