CDOT urges Denver teens to take seatbelt selfies

Colorado transportation officials don’t just want teens wearing their seatbelts; they want them to Snap about it as well.

The Colorado Department of Transportation will launch a new Snapchat contest, called Seat Belt Schooled, which aims to increase seatbelt use among teens while encouraging some friendly competition between schools. The safe driving campaign will include 30 Denver high schools.

“Don’t Snap and drive,” campaign spokesman Sam Cole said. “Do use the filter as a way to communicate about the importance to friends of always buckling up.”

Seat Belt Schooled will run Monday through Sept. 22. CDOT this week gave students scented, doublesided air fresheners that feature a unique Snapcode to join the contest on the front with contest rules and belt-focused safety messages on the back. CDOT hopes these will remind teens to buckle up when they drive.

“Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens, but if we could get more teens to buckle up, we could reduce those fatalities,” Cole said in a statement. “By combining high school spirit with social media, our hope is that Seat Belt Schooled will engage with teens through their preferred style of communication while energizing them to establish safe driving habits for life.”

On Sept. 25, the school with the most shared Snaps using their school-specific filter will be announced as the winner via a Snap from CDOT’S Snapchat and on its Facebook page. That school will also be awarded the Colorado Championship Belt, a trophy that combines a championship boxing /wrestling belt with a seatbelt, during a special presentation by Cole.

Seat Belt Schooled will be accompanied by a social media campaign that includes information such as the increased penalty teen drivers can face if they or their passengers aren’t wearing their seatbelt — $62 and two points off their license.

“Campaigns like this one have proved to be the most effective way to cut fatalities,” Cole said. “They’ve dropped 50 percent since the early 2000s.”

For more teen driving tips and resources, visit CDOT.

Interested in seeing some selfies? Add the user ‘Seatbeltcontest’ to your friend’s list on Snapchat.