There is a public health crisis occurring on America's roadways. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 36,500 people were killed in traffic crashes in 2018. But with most of these crashes being preventable, we know a remedy. The Buckle Up Phone Down (BUPD) movement aims to make this crisis personal, emphasizing the responsibility of each driver to protect themselves and improve the landscape of roadway safety for their loved ones.

Buckle Up: Taking a few moments to properly secure yourself and loved ones is the single greatest way to increase your likelihood of surviving a crash. Unfortunately, unbuckled occupants make up a disproportionate amount of roadway fatalities. In 2017 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives and could have saved thousands of additional lives if everyone had been wearing a seat belt.

Phone Down: In the last five years, perhaps no behavior on our roadways has become more alarming than distracted driving. This dangerous activity claimed at least 2,841 lives in 2018 alone. And with a recent AT&T study revealing nearly nine of every ten drivers admits to engaging in their smartphones while driving, roadways across the country have unnecessarily become a dangerous place to be.

The Missouri DOT made it easy for you to implement this effort. The BUPD Starter Kit is a collection of marketing tools to help you get started with BUPD messaging. The kit provides some background of the movement, goals of the initiative, successes we’ve seen to date and, of course, the tools needed to get started. It’s built to suit your needs—it can be easily customized and adapted to your state’s existing messaging, or it can be used straight out of the box as a ready-made initiative.

The CTPP (Census Transportation Planning Products) is a State DOT-funded, cooperative program that produces special tabulations of American Community Survey (ACS) data that have enhanced value for transportation planning, analysis, and strategic direction. The CTPP seeks to expand the body of research known as Commuting in America (CIA) - each RFP is for a distinct brief that would add to this knowledge. Click on each RFP brief topic for full details.