Real Life SADD: Safety Belt Policy
The Bellingham High School SADD chapter in Bellingham, Massachusetts, made seat belt use by 100 percent of its students a priority during the school year. To encourage their peers to abide by state law, the SADD chapter worked with school administrators to create a seat belt use commitment form for students to sign during the school’s parking permit application process. Students cannot receive a parking permit without signing this form and having their parents sign it. In addition to having students sign this commitment to use their seat belts, SADD students and advisors conducted random seat belt use checks. They established a reward system, with the grand-prize winner receiving a free limo ride to and from prom. Consequences for student drivers or passengers caught without seat belts ranged from watching a video about seat belt use to indefinite suspension of their parking permits. To raise funds for the prizes, SADD students created a calendar with photographs of real fires and of local firefighters posing with their firefighting equipment. SADD National congratulates Bellingham SADD for their creative and comprehensive change to a school policy. Bellingham SADD is the recipient of the 2008 SADD National Activity of the Year Award.
Click here to download a copy of Bellingham High School’s Safety Belt Policy and Parking Permit Application.