For Immediate Release
August 27, 2007
Contact: Julie Brewer
931-372-6333
www.seatbeltvolunteer.org

Tennessee's booster seat and seatbelt safety mascot Ollie Otter
measures children at the Wilson County Fair last Thursday.
State law requires the use of a booster seat until a child is
4-feet-9 inches tall or 9 years old.

BOOSTER SEAT SAFETY CAMPAIGN VISITS WILSON COUNTY FAIR

Campaign features Ollie the Otter safety mascot

WILSON COUNTY — Ollie Otter, Tennessee’s booster seat and seatbelt safety mascot, visited the Wilson County Fair last Thursday evening to promote the use of booster seats, encourage children to wear their seatbelts and advocate roadway construction site safety. Ollie’s message to Tennessee’s children is “You ‘OTTER’ buckle up!”

Tennessee state law requires the use of a booster seat until a child is 4-feet-9 inches or 9 years old. To raise awareness, hundreds of Ollie Otter bookmarks with information about the law were distributed to children and their caregivers at the fair. The fully-costumed Ollie Otter mascot greeted children and measured them against a 5-foot-tall ruler.

Capt. Chip Miller and several officers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol Department of Safety accompanied Ollie Otter to encourage children to use their booster seats and seatbelts.

THP safety education officers from across the state have joined the booster seat and seatbelt program to help raise awareness and potentially save lives.

The statewide program is sponsored by the Tennessee Transportation Development Foundation – a non-profit group established by the Tennessee Road Builders Association – and the TRBA Ladies Auxiliary.

The support of the Tennessee Highway Patrol allows the Ollie Otter program to visit county fairs, community events and elementary schools across the state to promote its message.

Also joining Ollie at the fair was Don Chambers, president of Lebanon-based LoJac Inc. and member of the TRBA, and Linda Chambers, member of the TRBA Ladies Auxiliary. LoJac Inc. displayed an orange and white construction site barrel, representing Ollie’s home, to increase roadway construction site safety.

“We’re honored to be a part of such an important safety campaign,” said Don Chambers. “From our efforts, we hope the children and parents of Wilson County and across the state will become more aware of the importance of booster seats and seatbelts.”

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 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.

The community service efforts and monetary donations made by LoJac Inc. help support the continuity of the Ollie Otter safety education campaign. The program strives to make education presentations at elementary schools in all 95 counties in Tennessee.

“Our goal is to try to educate children through the seatbelt safety mascot Ollie Otter,” said Carol Coleman, chairperson of the Tennessee Transportation Development Foundation.

“Through this program, and with the support from the Tennessee Highway Patrol and LoJac Inc., we’re really hoping to make a difference in Tennessee.”

The Ollie Otter program is implemented by a network of statewide volunteers who work through the Tennessee Tech University BusinessMedia Center in Cookeville to coordinate the presentations.

To prepare volunteers to conduct the presentations and perform as the costumed Ollie Otter, an online training course has been developed by the TTU BusinessMedia Center through the Tennessee Board of Regents Online Continuing Education program. ROCE hosts the online course and certifies the completion of the class.

The Ollie Otter program uses educational materials, such as posters, bookmarks and an interactive Web site, to inform Tennessee children and their parents about booster seat, seatbelt and roadway safety.

To sign up as a volunteer, schedule a visit from Ollie, or learn more about Tennessee’s booster seat and seatbelt safety campaign, visit www.seatbeltvolunteer.org.