Buckle-Up Bulldogs hold spring safety campaign

Car Air Fresheners The Buckle-Up Bulldogs at Madison High School won't start their summer break from classes without making another pitch for seat belt use.Advertisement  The teenagers are taking part in a statewide May Mobilization program that starts Monday (today) and runs until June 1. Students in communities from Lennox to Belle Fourche will remind motorists to wear their seat belts.According to Emily Olson, an MHS junior, the Buckle-Up Bulldogs already held one awareness event on May 7 at the high school. The safety awareness group handed out stickers and other prizes to individuals wearing their seat belts.Olson said the group will hold a shoulder-tap program on May 19 in the parking lot at Sunshine Foods in Madison. The students will remind drivers and passengers to wear their seat belts by tapping their shoulders as the vehicles drive out of the parking lot.Olson said that Buckle-Up Bulldog members willingly dedicate their time to spreading the safety message."Whoever volunteers and has the time goes and helps out," Olson said.The state Department of Public Safety coordinated a similar effort in 2007 and the campaign had positive results, according to James Carpenter, director of the state Office of Highway Safety."Seat belt use increased by more than 20 percent at the locations where students were reminding people to buckle up," Carpenter said in a press release.The Buckle-Up Bulldogs have also arranged a live broadcast on KJAM Radio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 22 that will take place at the F&M Co-op on W. Highway 34. During the "Backseat Broadcast," the teenagers will conduct a survey on seat belt use and compare the results to a similar survey performed last fall. They will also talk about safety projects that the student conducted throughout the school year and encourage summer seat belt use.The DPS has provided car air fresheners with a safety reminder for Madison students and other student groups to distribute to the public. The air fresheners remind motorists to "Buckle up. Every trip. Every time."DPS officials report that South Dakota motorists increased their seat belt use from 53 percent in 2000 to 73 percent in 2007. State law requires that all car occupants under age 18 and all drivers and front-seat passengers have to wear seat belts at all times. In South Dakota, 68 percent of people killed in car crashes were not wearing seat belts.