It’s Time for the “March Madness” Van Buren High School Seatbelt Challenge!

Local Government>Road Commission>“March Madness” Van Buren High School Seat Belt Challenge

Seatbelt Convincer Demostrated at Mattawan High School [Click here to view full size picture]

March Madness Seatbelt Challenge”

We are happy to announce the second of our three seatbelt challenges is about to begin. This challenge will be referred to as the “March Madness Seatbelt Challenge”.

The Allegan Police Department has agreed to loan us a “Seatbelt Convincer” unit, which we are very grateful for their help and support with our seatbelt challenge. The seatbelt convincer unit will be traveling around to the various high schools and middle schools within Van Buren County. Demonstrations will be performed by officers from the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office, Michigan State Police and Van Buren County Road Commission. The demonstrations will be conducted during the school’s lunch period in order to achieve the widest exposure to the student population.

This second seatbelt challenge will have the same framework as the first challenge, The Seatbelt Super Bowl. As with the first challenge, there will be an “enforcement day” and citations will be issued for non-seatbelt use. Prizes will be awarded to occupants of randomly selected automobiles in which 100% seatbelt usage is demonstrated. There will be a “final count day” to determine the individual winners between the competing schools and to determine an overall county-wide winner. This overall winner will receive the highly prized and coveted seatbelt challenge trophy.

Once again, we wish to express our most sincere gratitude to the many individuals, businesses and organizations who make this challenge possible. We wish to thank the high school principles, their staff, and the students in the MADD and SADD chapters who offer their assistance with this challenge. We also with to thank the many local Chiefs of Police and their officers, along with the Sheriff Deputies and State Police officers who help with this challenge, and who protect and help these children each and every day.

Our deepest appreciation and gratitude is extended to Jane Johnson, Branch Manager of AAA of Kalamazoo. Jane was instrumental in bringing this program to our attention and has continued to be a great source of support by providing posters, plaques and money for the schools.

Sheriff’s Office to introduce the S.T.O.P.P.E.D program
Allegan Police Department loans its Seatbelt Convincer to Van Buren County
Paw Paw High Students ride the "Convincer"
Hartford students take their turn on the

Sheriff’s Office to introduce the S.T.O.P.P.E.D program

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We also hope to have the information available from the Sheriff’s Office on the S.T.O.P.P.E.D. program (Sheriff Telling Our Parents and Promoting Educated Drivers).

Parents can voluntarily registered their teenage drivers with The S.T.O.P.P.E.D. program. This program emphasizes the tremendous responsibility required when operating a motor vehicle and is designed to reinforce mature driving habits exhibited when their parents accompany young drivers. Enrollment into the S.T.O.P.P.E.D. program will provide teenagers with a constant visual reminder of their accountability as they travel on their own. It will also provide parents with notification when young drivers fall short of parental expectations. Notification will contain information such as time, location, reason they were stopped, and how many passengers were in the vehicle. The police officer will note who was operating the vehicle and whether or not a citation was issued.
Annually, over 3,000 drivers in the United States between the ages of 16 and 21 years of age die because of car accidents. Within the state of Michigan, a disproportionate number of young drivers, ages 15 to 24 are involved in car accidents. Although this age group represents only 13.72 percent of the State’s total population, these drivers are involved in 23.91 percent of the car accidents. More importantly, the drivers in this age group are involved in 23.9 percent of the fatal crashes with one-half of them being between 15 and 19 years of age. Lessons learned from our educational system tell us that we cannot affect change in this age group without the assistance of parents or guardians.

Allegan Police Department loans its Seatbelt Convincer to Van Buren County

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We have obtained the use of a seatbelt convincer device. The device is a demonstration unit used to show the importance of seatbelt use. This unit has a seat mounted on an inclined rail. When the seat is released, the unit travels down the incline and stops abruptly. This abrupt stop simulates a crash of an automobile traveling at a speed approximately 7-10 miles per hour.The Seatbelt Convincer Demonstrations will be held at:

Hartford -Thu 2/10/2005 - Demonstrated by: Van Buren County Sheriff Dept. & Van Buren County Road Commission

Decatur - Wed 2/16/2005 - Demonstrated by: Van Buren County Sheriff Dept. & Van Buren County Road Commission

Gobles Thu 2/17/2005 Demonstrated by: Van Buren County Sheriff Dept. & Van Buren County Road Commission

Bloomingdale - Fri 2/18/2005 - Demonstrated by: Van Buren County Sheriff Dept. & Van Buren County Road Commission

Lawrence -Tue 2/22/2005 - Demonstrated by: Michigan State Police & Van Buren County Road Commission

Bangor - Wed 2/23/2005 - Demonstrated by: Michigan State Police

Covert -Thu 2/24/2005 - Demonstrated by: Michigan State Police & Van Buren County Road Commission

South Haven - Fri 2/25/2005 - Demonstrated by: Michigan State Police & Van Buren County Road Commission

Mattawan Mon 2/28/2005 - Demonstrated by: Michigan State Police & Van Buren County Road Commission

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Documents/Forms:
Seat Belt Convincer Movie

Seatbelt Convincer Demostrated at Paw Paw High School [Click here to view full size picture]

Paw Paw High Students ride the "Convincer"

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Hartford students take their turn on the

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Another like saved by the belt [Click here to view full size picture]

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Another [Click here to view full size picture]

Page Last Updated: 1/25/2007