Buckle up teen drivers! The 20th Annual Bucks County High School Seatbelt Safety Challenge, organized by TMA Bucks and sponsored by NJM Insurance Group, is officially underway! Kicking off during National Teen Driver Safety Week, this year’s challenge once again invites high schools across Bucks County to compete for the highest seatbelt usage. Plus, the popular Teen Driver Safety Video PSA Challenge, also sponsored by NJM Insurance Group, is back, giving students another chance to showcase their creativity and commitment to safe driving.
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 in order 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 demonstrate the incredible commitment of our student drivers to making safe choices behind the wheel,” said TMA Bucks executive director Stephen J. Noll. “This Fall, our participating high schools achieved a remarkable 94 percent combined seatbelt compliance rate, the highest Fall rate we’ve ever recorded! Reaching this milestone is a tremendous accomplishment and a true reflection of the leadership and responsibility demonstrated by our students. They continue to set an outstanding example for their peers and show that buckling up every time they get behind the wheel is a simple choice that can make a life-saving difference. We’re incredibly proud of their achievement and look forward to seeing them continue to raise the bar for safe driving throughout Bucks County.”
The Bucks County High School Seatbelt Safety Challenge encourages participating high schools to raise their student driver seatbelt usage over the course of 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 NJM Insurance Group. 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. Videos must be uploaded to YouTube with the link emailed to dave@bctma.com by April 2, 2027 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, Rothman Orthopedics, and Visit Bucks County.
“NJM Insurance Group is proud to support the Bucks County High School Seatbelt Safety Challenge and Teen Driver Safety Video PSA Challenge. This program empowers young drivers to make safe decisions behind the wheel,” said Erica Rosso, NJM Consumer Safety Partnership and Program Supervisor. “By choosing to buckle up every time they are in a car to using their voices and creativity to promote safe driving, students are embracing the opportunity to make a positive impact on their peers and community. We’re committed to working with TMA Bucks to promote a culture of safety and helping young drivers build safe habits that can last a lifetime.”
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.
