NEWS RELEASE

Click it AND Ticket?
Students at Monroe, Snohomish, and Sultan High Schools will be “Ticketed” for Buckling Up!

May 7, 2009

On Tuesday, May 19th, from 7 – 8 am, students at Monroe (17001 Tester Road), Snohomish (1316 Fifth Street) and Sultan (13715 310th Ave. SE) High Schools who are spotted driving onto school grounds wearing seat belts will be given a “ticket.”

It’s called Click it And Ticket, which is an effort to increase seat belt use among teens and is supported by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) and State Farm®.

Here’s how it works: on May 19th, students in each of the High School Leadership Classes will position themselves in and around the school parking lots. Students arriving buckled up will be given a “ticket.” This “ticket” is similar to a real seat belt citation, emphasizes the lifesaving benefits of seat belt use and entitles them to rewards.

Once “ticketed,” the students will sign and turn in their “tickets” to the Leadership Class students positioned near the entrance to the school. The “tickets” will be exchanged for incentives.

During that morning’s announcements, the Principals at each school will talk to the students about the importance of wearing a seat belt, and will then draw a name from the “ticketed” students. The winner will be escorted to the Principal’s office to receive a $124 State Farm Bank debit card which is supported by a grant from State Farm®. The price of the debit card is no accident. It is the same amount these students would pay if they received a seat belt citation. Local State Farm agent Mari Wuellner will be on hand at Monroe High School that morning to assist with the ticket presentation.

This stretch of Highway 2 was selected as a corridor project based on the high number of collisions, particularly those involving young drivers. Since 1999 there have been more than 170 disabling and deadly crashes along US 2 between the trestle and the pass, and from 1999 through 2007, 16 – 20 year old drivers were involved in more of those crashes than any other age group.

Statewide, the data shows that teens need the seat belt message even more than older drivers. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens. Between 2001 and 2008, 405 drivers aged 16-20 lost their lives in traffic crashes on Washington roads (FARS). In 2007, drivers in this age group made up only 6.0% of all licensed drivers but were involved in 13.6% of fatal crashes and 15.0% of all crashes (DOL, WSDOT).

Recently conducted surveys of seat belt use patterns at the High Schools found usage rates as low as 84% compared with statewide use which is 96.4%.

Follow up surveys of each High School’s seat belt use will be conducted by the Leadership Class students two weeks after the completion of the Click it And Ticket project to see if the project improved seat belt use. The school that sees the highest increase in seat belt use will win an ice cream party.

In addition to the “ticket” events, the Leadership Class students are promoting seat belt use and traffic safety among their fellow students during the months of May and June. This includes messages during the morning school announcements, posters mounted in key locations, and educational videos shown to the students.

“We’re grateful that these High School Leadership Class students, their Advisors, and Principals understand the importance of promoting seat belt use among teens, especially along this Highway 2 corridor” said WTSC Director Lowell Porter. “As well, State Farm’s involvement in this project has been integral in helping us make good progress toward reducing teen traffic deaths.”

For additional information about the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, visit www.wtsc.wa.gov

About State Farm:
State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve more than 78 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.