York Area High Schools Earn Mini-Grants from State Farm for Sear Belt Usage Increase and Awareness
York, PA, May 30, 2012 -The winners of the inaugural York County High School Seat Belt Challenge – Spring Grove High School and York County School of Technology – were announced today at the office of local York State Farm agent, Vince Cerceo. Each winning school received a $500 mini-grant.
The competition and announcement mark the official end of a month-long campaign intended to increase seatbelt usage among the county’s high school teens. The challenge was intended to supplement Pennsylvania’s recently enhanced graduated driver licensing law, which now requires every occupant between the ages of 8 and 18 to be secured in a safety belt.
The contest was organized by the York Area Highway Safety Council and the Center for Traffic Safety. Spring Grove High School won based on a 93% seat belt usage rate, the highest among the nine participating schools. York County School of Technology achieved the largest increase in seat belt use, from 66% at the competition’s beginning to 82% at the end.
In March, agencies did an unannounced observation of how many students were buckling up at the school and sent the results to the district with an invitation to participate in the challenge. Later, another unannounced observation was conducted to measure awareness and compliance.
Seat belt usage increased in eight of the nine schools involved in the competition. Several schools nearly tied for first place.
The mini-grants are to be used for traffic safety education. The grants are provided through State Farm partnership with the Center for Traffic Safety. State Farm agent Vince Cerceo, who hosted the announcement at his Market Street office, is also chairman of the York Area Highway Safety Council’s Teen Driving Committee. “State Farm has a strong commitment to keep young drivers safe, especially when it comes to seat belts and safe driving habits, “ said Vince. “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens. State Farm is committed to helping end these tragedies”.
Teen drivers (ages 16 to 19) have fatal crashes at four times the rate of adult drivers (ages 25 to 69). State Farm has long been a proponent of education, research and legislation that helps to keep drivers, passengers and pedestrians safe. Working with The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia™ on the Young Driver Research Initiative, with partners like Mothers against Drunk Driving, the National Youth Leadership Council, Governors Highways Safety Association, the country’s leading auto insurer takes a comprehensive approach to teen safety that includes strong laws, enforcement and education.
For more information on State Farm and Safe Teen Driving resources, please visit http://teendriving. statefarm. com/
Dave Phillips, State Farm Insurance Media Relations Specialist, (610) 358-7667
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 43 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.
