Booster Seat Education Program Held At Wilson Elemenary

For Immediate Release
April 24, 2007
Contact: Julie Brewer
931-372-3318
www.seatbeltvolunteer.org

BOOSTER SEAT EDUCATION PROGRAM HELD AT WILSON ELEMENARY

Overton —Students at Wilson Elementary recently received a visit from a very special guest. Ollie the Otter, the seat belt safety mascot for the Tennessee Road Builders Association (TRBA), visited the school to promote the use of booster seats and encourage students to wear their seat belts.

The seat belt safety program is being developed by the Tennessee Transportation Development Foundation, a non-profit group established by TRBA in an effort to promote safety on Tennessee’s roadways. Tennessee law requires children under 4-feet-9-inches to ride in a booster seat.

“Our goal is to try to educate children through Ollie the Otter about proper seat belt safety,” said Carol Coleman, chairperson of the TRBA Ladies Auxiliary.

“Hopefully, children will encourage their caregivers, or whoever is driving them around, to make better safety decisions.”

The TRBA safety program will launch a statewide educational campaign this fall to teach children about the law and other safety precautions.

The program features a costumed Ollie the Otter mascot and an orange and white construction-site barrel representing Ollie’s home. The presentation, while stressing the importance of using booster seats and seat belts, also raises awareness of highway construction areas and worker safety.

“We bring an orange and white construction-site barrel to the schools so children will know when they see one of these barrels it’s important for drivers to slow down,” said Coleman.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2005, an average of five children ages 14 and younger were killed and 640 were injured in motor vehicle crashes every single day. The use of booster seats compared to the use of adult seatbelts alone lowers the risk of injury to children in crashes by 59 percent.

Working with the Tennessee Tech University BusinessMedia Center in Cookeville, TRBA will develop educational materials, such as posters, bookmarkers and an interactive Website, to inform Tennessee children and their parents about seat belt safety. The fully-costumed Ollie the Otter character will visit schools and play an integral role in the educational program.

“The safety of our children is the most important thing,” said Coleman. “We’re really hoping to make a difference.”

To learn more, visit www.trba.org and click on “Ollie Safety Site.”