ARRIVE ALIVE.

That’s the goal of stepped-up safety efforts on Missouri roadways. The Blueprint for Safer Roadways has been the driving force behind more visible striping, signing and guardrails, additional median guard cable, smoother pavement, more law enforcement efforts and a strong educational campaign that will focus on safety belts, inattention, speeding and impaired driving.

“We’ve had the help of so many federal, state, regional and local safety experts formulating plans and building partnerships,” said Leanna Depue, MoDOT’s new director of Highway Safety and chair of the Blueprint’s executive committee. “Now it’s very exciting to see strategies and actions that can help save lives being put into place.”

As part of the action, the Blueprint’s public information committee has developed a statewide education campaign that focuses on safety belts.

“We feel safety belt use is an area where we can make a lot of difference,” Depue said. Seventy percent of drivers killed last year in traffic crashes were not wearing their safety belts, and 67 percent of the passengers killed were not wearing seat belts.”

The campaign includes two billboards and several radio spots that will be placed statewide.  Other campaign pieces will be developed for use statewide, regionally and locally. The primary target audiences are pickup truck drivers and young males ages 16-34.

“These communication pieces are just a glimpse of what people will be seeing and hearing in the next several years regarding highway safety,” Depue said. “From here, we’ll continue to provide support and develop more resources for coalition efforts across the state.”

Arrive Alive website