“Buckle Up” Campaign addresses number one killer of teens
In time for the kickoff of high school football in Tennessee, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) and Nationwide Mutual Insurance have teamed up to promote smart teen driving through the Buckle-Up for a Successful Season campaign.
"We applaud Nationwide’s involvement in this very important campaign. Their support and partnership will assist us in our continued efforts to encourage teen drivers to ‘buckle-up’. There is nothing more important than Tennessee’s youth and we all must share the responsibility for their safety,” Ronnie Carter, Executive Director of the TSSAA, said.
“The best way to keep teens safe on the road is by helping them become smart drivers,” said Bill Windsor, associate vice president of safety for Nationwide. “Buckle-Up for a Successful Season reminds teens that being a smart driver starts with fastening your seatbelt.” Nationwide operates www.nationwidesmartride.com, a website dedicated to teen driving.
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for teenagers. In Tennessee, over 170 teen drivers were killed in accidents in 2006. The Buckle-Up for a Successful Season campaign has one simple yet powerful goal – to achieve a safer highway environment. The yearlong campaign commences with the start of the upcoming high school football season.
Buckle-Up for a Successful Season is a community-level traffic initiative that involves a large portion of the 378 member schools that are part of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. The objective is to promote a safer highway environment by reminding and encouraging student-athletes, coaches, cheerleaders, band members, and fans to buckle up when going to school, practices, games – everywhere, every time. Signs, program advertising and events are among the techniques used at various high schools.
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About Nationwide:
Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the world, with more than $160 billion in assets. Nationwide ranks #104 on the Fortune 500 list. The company provides a full range of insurance and financial services, including auto, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and health and productivity services. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.