RICHMOND - The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) launched its 2022 Local Heroes campaign, with an aim to decrease unrestrained traffic injuries and fatalities by encouraging drivers and passengers to wear their seat belts.
In 2021, 334 people who weren't wearing their seat belt were killed in crashes in Virginia. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), proper seat belt use reduces the chance of suffering a fatal injury in a crash by nearly half. Virginia's seat belt use rate is 81.7%, according to a 2021 survey. The national average is 89.7%.
This year's Local Heroes campaign aims to improve seat belt usage rates in the Shenandoah Valley region. The campaign features local first responders, including police officers, paramedics, firefighters and registered nurses, who share their experiences to help emphasize the lifesaving habit of wearing a seat belt. The multimedia initiative, which includes 30-second videos, bus banners and radio spots, demonstrates to the motoring public that first responders care about their communities and want them to buckle up when they get behind the wheel, regardless of how far the trip is or what speed they may be driving.
"No one is more dedicated to highway safety than local responders because they see firsthand every day the incredible lifesaving power of the seat belt," said Acting DMV Commissioner Linda Ford, the Governor's Highway Safety Representative. "Every year in America, 15,000 lives are saved with one simple click."
The Local Heroes campaign, produced by NDP in Richmond and Studio 404 in Virginia Beach, will run in the Shenandoah Valley area through August 31 with a focus on each of the five localities featured in the videos: Frederick, Shenandoah, Rockingham, Augusta and Rockbridge. Ads will run across digital and social media, radio, public transport and gas station TV.
For more highway safety information, visit dmvNOW.com/safety.