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Seat belt team members pose with a banner students sign as part of a pledge to buckle up.

Ridgevue high school in Nampa
wins national seat-belt competition

The Ridgevue Warhawks are known around the Treasure Valley for their passion for seat belts. Now their efforts have landed them in the national spotlight.

This year a team of students, with help from School Resource Officer Stu Hobson, won the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) Seat Belts Save Challenge. The team was recognized for putting together the Best Overall Campaign.

"These Ridgevue students are simply amazing," said Hobson. "Their endless energy and enthusiasm engages their fellow students and staff. Before, during and after school they sacrifice their time to continually teach the importance of Buckling Up."

Each fall, schools across the country participate in the challenge to promote seat belt safety. The competition begins with a seat belt survey at the school, next the teams put together a public service campaign then two weeks later there is a follow-up survey to see if more kids are buckling up.

The Ridgevue campaign included school announcements, a pledge to buckle up, and social media to promote seat belt safety. What really set the campaign apart was when the seat belt team wrote "Buckle Up" on orange ribbons and tied more than 800 ribbons on to students' backpacks.

Pictured at right: The Ridgevue HS team poses for a photo with Office of Highway Safety staff after a seat belt event in October.

"The great thing about this project is that the team was interacting with students face-to-face spreading the message and the ribbons were clearly visible on students’ backpacks for months after the initial interaction as a constant reminder to Buckle Up," read a statement from NOYS announcing the awards.

The team earned $1,500 in prize money for their school. Hobson says the team is already hard at work planning next year's campaign.

Pictured above: The team tied nearly 800 of these ribbons to students' backpacks.

They are the second team from Idaho to win the national competition. In 2017, Wallace Junior/Senior High School won for the Greatest Increase in Seat Belt Use.