PR02-012

Date:

December 9, 2002

 
Sheriff’s Office Awarded Second Year Funding For “Buckle Up Georgia Students” (B.U.G.S.)
 

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has received a $36,000. grant from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for the Buckle Up Georgia Students (B.U.G.S.) program.  For the second year, the department is pleased and honored to receive state funding for the purpose of educating teen drivers on the importance of seat belt safety.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1,541 people died on Georgia roads and highways in the year 2000.  Of those killed, 351 motorists were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.

Buckle Up Georgia Students was created by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, and is designed to educate young drivers of existing laws governing seat belt usage.  The forty minute multi-media presentation is taught to high school students by uniformed deputies from the Community Relations Section.  The program focuses on state requirements regarding seat belt use, and reveals the tragic events that occur during the first split second of a fatal car crash.  The B.U.G.S. program is offered to all high schools in the Atlanta and Fulton County school systems.

Funding from this grant will be used to purchase equipment, as well as “buckle-up” incentives for students attending the program.  School and youth organizations interested in having the B.U.G.S. program taught in their communities should contact the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, Community Relations Section, at (404) 730-6772.

For further information, please contact Sergeant Clarence Huber at (404) 730-4148.  Sergeant Huber can also be reached on his digital pager at (404) 742-6798.