Don’t Give Up Until They Buckle Up

By Mark Rosekind, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

When she was a baby, you put her in a car seat. In a few years, you’ll insist she buckle up when behind the wheel. Today, however, she’s a tween; she’s tired of hearing mom and dad nag her about wearing her seat belt. And you’re a little tired of saying it.

But this is the fight worth having. Your tween’s life is at stake.

And that’s why the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have launched our “Never Give Up Until They Buckle Up” campaign.

Traffic safety data tells us that as children get older, they’re less likely to buckle up. Over the past 5 years, 1,552 kids ages 8-14 were not wearing seat belts when they died in a crash, and one in four of those kids were age 14.

This campaign is urgently needed because—as many parents can attest—seat belt use often falls by the wayside during the hectic shuttling of kids to and from school and activities, when running short errands, or when parents are a bit worn down by the daily grind.

And of course, tweens will test limits. It’s how they learn and grow. That’s why it’s so critical that they absorb the message now: the car doesn’t move until everyone in the vehicle is buckled up. After a while, it won’t be a fight; it will be second nature, a lifesaving lesson that they’ll carry with them always.

Put this plan into action with your own tween. And please—wherever and whenever you can— share this important safety message with the people we serve: Never Give Up Until They Buckle Up.