East Hillsborough High Schools Sweep Battle Of Belts Challenge

PLANT CITY, FL -- Students across Hillsborough County challenged other teen drivers to use their seat belts as part of the annual Battle of the Belts safety campaign. The students were recognized for their achievements during an awards ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Plant City High School.

Winners were:

Plant City High School - Best Overall Campaign

Strawberry Crest High School - Highest Seat Belt Compliance

Durant High School- Most Improved Percentage of Seat Belt Compliance.

The Battle of the Belts initiative, facilitated by high school resource officers, gets students involved by creating campaigns, PSA videos and posters to increase seat belt use among teens. The school resource officers then check for seat belt compliance on specific days as student drivers arrive and leave school campuses.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for American teenagers. In fact, teens have a higher fatality rate in motor vehicle crashes than any other age group. They also have the lowest seat belt use rate of all drivers. This rate is even lower when there are multiple teens in the vehicle.

The Battle of the Belts initiative partners the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Tampa Police Department, GEICO Auto Insurance and Hillsborough County Public Schools in an effort to change these statistics and increase seat belt use among teenage drivers and their passengers.

Photos via Hillsborough County School District

Plant City High School was the overall winner

Strawberry Crest High School had the highest seat belt compliance.

Durant High School was most improved.

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