(KLZA)--For the sixth year, the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, along with various safety partners, schools and businesses throughout the state, are encouraging better driving behaviors as part of Buckle Up Phone Down Day; and this year, aiming for the goal of zero traffic fatalities throughout the day.
Missouri’s 2022 Seat Belt Usage Survey showed 89% of vehicle occupants use a seat belt, matching the highest rate the state has ever recorded. But the unbuckled 11% make up a majority of the state’s roadway fatalities, which reached a 15-year high in 2021.
Cellphone use continues to be one of the most concerning behaviors for all roadway users. In 2021, over half of the distracted driving fatalities in Missouri claimed the life of someone besides the distracted driver.
Since the program began in 2017, the BUPD movement has spread steadily across Missouri. More than 20,000 Missouri individuals and businesses have accepted the BUPD challenge, and more than a dozen other states are actively sharing the messages along their highways.
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