18th Annual Bucks Co. High School Seatbelt Safety Challenge Underway

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — Get ready teen drivers! The 18th Annual Bucks County High School Seatbelt Safety Challenge, organized by TMA Bucks and presented by NJM Insurance Group, has officially begun!

This year’s challenge will once again determine which high school in Bucks County leads in seatbelt usage. Plus, the Teen Driver Safety Video PSA Challenge powered by Comcast is also back, the Bucks County transportation agency said.

Baseline surveys of student driver seatbelt use have been conducted at every public and private high school in Bucks County.

Surveys were conducted safely and without the knowledge of the student body or administration to ensure the most accurate data sampling.

Each school’s result is being forwarded to them with an invitation to participate in the challenge.

“Our Bucks County High School Seatbelt Safety Challenge continues to yield impressive results, with every participating school achieving over 80 percent seatbelt compliance for the second straight year,” said TMA Bucks executive director Stephen Noll. “The combined average compliance rate also exceeded 90 percent for the seventh time in the last eight fall surveys, a testament to the dedication of our student drivers. While we’re thrilled with the progress, there’s still room for improvement, and we believe the students can push that percentage even higher by encouraging more of their peers to buckle up.”

The Bucks County High School Seatbelt Safety Challenge encourages participating high schools to raise their student driver seatbelt usage over the year as various student groups at each school work to actively promote seatbelt use within the student body using posters, t-shirts, school-wide announcements, and other creative messages.

In spring, an unannounced follow-up survey is conducted at each of the participating schools.

The school with the highest overall percentage in seatbelt use and the school with the greatest percentage increase in seatbelt use are both awarded with perpetual trophy plaques and $500 cash grants for safety-related use by the school.

Back again this year as part of the initiative is the Teen Driver Safety Video PSA Challenge powered by Comcast.

As part of the Seatbelt Challenge, all Bucks County high schools have the opportunity to produce and submit a 30-second video PSA on teen driver safety.

It can deal with any aspect including seatbelts, texting, distracted driving, speeding, or impaired driving. The school selected as the winner will get a $500 cash grant and their video will play on Comcast networking.

Videos must be uploaded to YouTube with the link emailed to dave@bctma.com by April 4, 2025, to be eligible to win.

NJM Insurance Group is the presenting sponsor this year with supporting sponsorships coming from AAA Mid-Atlantic, Automotive Training Center, Bucks County Community College, Jefferson Bucks Hospital, Bowman, Stark & Stark, and Visit Bucks County.

“Supporting the communities we are privileged to serve is one of our core values at NJM,” said Erica Rosso, NJM consumer safety partnership and program supervisor. “As presenting sponsor, we are proud to partner with TMA Bucks and their Bucks County High School Seatbelt Safety Challenge. This initiative educates young drivers about responsible habits and empowers the next generation with knowledge that will keep them safe on the road."

The TMA Bucks Community Traffic Safety Program has free programming available to all Bucks County high schools on any highway safety topic such as distracted driving, impaired driving, seatbelt safety, pedestrian safety, and bicycle safety. Please reach out to Carly Wible at carly@bctma.com for more information or to schedule programming.