DMS SADD Club Sponsors “Rock the Belt” Campaign

Members of the DeKalb Middle School SADD Club (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and other students there are taking the pledge to “Rock the Belt”.
“Rock the Belt” is part of a National Teen Driver Safety campaign to help educate teens about the importance of buckling your seat belt in every vehicle, in every seat, every time.
Tennessee has had 753 crashes traffic fatalities this year. That’s already 55 more than last year and 70 of those killed were teens.
To help drive home the “Rock the Belt” message, the Tennessee Highway Patrol will bring in a roll over simulator to the school for a demonstration on Friday and that afternoon, students will be passing out Smarties and Dum-Dum candies to motorists in the pickup line urging them to take the “Rock the Belt” pledge and be a “Smartie” and not a “Dum Dum”.
Vehicular crashes are the number one killer of teens in the US today, more so than suicide and drug overdose combined. SADD is the national leader in teen traffic safety education and awareness. For the last 34 years, SADD’s programs, awareness campaigns, and advocacy efforts have been primarily focused on reducing the number of teens injured and killed behind the wheel. Traffic safety efforts are focused on four main areas: Distracted Driving, Impaired Driving, Seat Belt Usage, and Graduated Driver Licensing.
SADD’s mission is to empower young people to successfully confront the risks and pressures that challenge them throughout their daily lives. This is accomplished by creating, equipping, and sustaining a network of student-run chapters in schools and communities focused on peer-to-peer education. SADD fosters a sense of belonging and promotes resiliency, leadership, and advocacy skills so that young people make positive life decisions that will carry them throughout life.
Advisors for the DeKalb Middle School SADD Club are School Resource Officer Chris McMillen and English Teacher Jenny Elrod. A special thanks to the law offices of Jeremy Trapp and Hilton Conger for their donations to the SADD Club