The Boonslick Regional Planning Commission, based in Warrenton, is helping to spread a Missouri road safety initiative to a nationwide audience.

Boonslick is one of many agencies that partner with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) on project and program planning. As part of that partnership, Boonslick is bringing national attention to MoDOT’s “Buckle Up Phone Down” safety initiative. 

At the 2020 gathering of the National Association of Development Organizations, Boonslick secured an Excellence in Regional Transportation Award for Buckle Up Phone Down. Krishna Kunapareddy with Boonslick said the recognition will help spread the safety initiative to similar organizations in other states.

“Missouri’s Buckle Up Phone Down Program is helping to save lives at the local level by raising awareness for the dangers associated with distracted driving and not wearing a seat belt. This two-part message has been well received throughout the state and is now gaining attention at the national level as a viable, life-saving strategy,” Kunapareddy wrote in her nomination for the award.

She later told The Record that the effort of drawing attention to the safety program has been bearing fruit.

“Other states have been showing interest. I know for sure Wisconsin, Nebraska and Kentucky have actually started looking into this program, and there are other states that might show interest in implementing the program,” Kunapareddy said. 

Boonslick Director Chad Eggen added that the program’s effort to raise awareness for the safety benefits of a seat belt, and the dangers of distracted driving, have measurably decreased highway fatalities. He said Buckle Up Phone Down has accomplished this largely through a grassroots effort to make safety statistics more visible to drivers and to have  local organizations pledge to safer driving. It’s that partnership with local influencers to spread the message that Eggen said makes the program effective.

“The grassroots effort is very effective. People will listen to people they know, more than seeing an advertisement,” Eggen commented. “We wanted other transportation planners and organizations like ours to know (about Buckle Up Phone Down), so that we could help spread the word on behavior changes people could make, without spending any money on it, and they could see a direct impact to a decrease in crashes or fatalities.”

Eggen said Boonslick’s overall mission is to improve the quality of life for people living in its three-county service area. That includes economic development, but also protecting public safety and helping people make behavior changes to stay safe.

MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna said the recognition by the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) helps renew the nationwide focus on driver safety.

“We are excited to watch the (Buckle Up Phone Down) safety campaign gain national attention and momentum and are grateful to ... NADO for their recognition of this life-saving effort,” McKenna said. “We have achieved some great results with BUPD in Missouri, including heightened awareness for distracted driving and increased seat belt use.”

“The BUPD program is more important now than ever as we are starting to see traffic fatalities in Missouri rise again,” McKenna added. “We must do all we can to stem this unfortunate tide.”

For more information about how you can participate in the Buckle Up Phone Down campaign, go online to www2.modot.org/BuckleUpPhoneDown.