Virginia DMV Launches Community-Developed Seat Belt Campaign in Danville, Pittsylvania and Franklin Counties

RICHMOND, Va. — The stories and messages of residents in southwest Virginia are driving a new seat belt safety campaign from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Highway Safety Office and its community partners in Danville, Pittsylvania and Franklin Counties.

The campaign puts real people behind the message to buckle up. Through videos, photography, and other content, about 25 local residents share their own reasons for wearing a seat belt. Whether it’s being there for their children, protecting their family or making sure they survive a crash, their voices and experiences helped shape the messages at the heart of the campaign.

“These are messages that came from the community,” said DMV Commissioner Saundra M. Jack, the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. “They grew out of what people in Danville, and Pittsylvania and Franklin Counties told us, the stories they hear, and the messages they believe could make people stop and think about buckling up.”

Low seat belt use and high fatality rates in the region are the major drivers behind the campaign. Recent analysis estimates average seat belt use across Pittsylvania and Franklin Counties at 72.3%, below the state average in 2025 (78.8%). In 2024, traffic crash data reported 216 unrestrained fatalities on rural roadways, with nearly 86% of Virginia’s unrestrained fatalities occurring on non-interstates. Nearly 40% of those deaths were between the ages of 21-40, and more than half (54%) were male.

The initiative was created under Community Voices for Road Safety, a program that engages residents in the creative process of developing a campaign and its message. Project organizers spent months in conversation with young people, parents, educators, law enforcement, community organizations and other residents throughout the region to understand local attitudes toward seat belt use and identify messages that could motivate more drivers and passengers to buckle up.

In those conversations, residents identified the reasons why they sometimes travel without a seat belt, including: short trips close to home, simply being out of the habit of buckling up, and stories about people who claimed they had survived crashes because they were not wearing a seat belt.

The community discussions led to several campaign concepts, which were presented to residents for an additional round of feedback through a community survey. Two key messages emerged to shape the campaign, both emphasizing the importance of surviving the initial impact of a serious crash: “Before you can walk away from a crash, you have to survive it. Buckle Up” and “Most people who survive serious crashes have one thing in common. They were wearing their seat belt. Buckle Up.”

“Traffic safety is a shared responsibility, and the Danville Police Department is grateful to be able to partner with the Virginia DMV Highway Safety Office and all of our community partners who have helped reinforce the importance of wearing a seat belt every trip, every time,” said David Whitley, Assistant Chief of Operations with the Danville Police Department. “What makes this initiative especially meaningful is that the message comes from the people who live, work and travel on our roads every day. By working together and continuing to share this message, we hope to encourage a simple decision that can save lives: buckle up.”

Expected to run through December 2026, the campaign will use a combination of traditional and digital media throughout the region. Planned outreach includes outdoor advertising, digital media, social media and video, with additional highly targeted local media placements.

Prior to Virginia, the Community Voices for Road Safety program began its work through a pilot in Brockton, Massachusetts. Implemented in partnership with state and national transportation authorities, the “Buckle Up Brockton” campaign demonstrated measurable and lasting improvement, with survey results reporting a sharp increase in seat belt use rates from 42% prior to the campaign to almost 73%.

About Community Voices for Road Safety
Community Voices is a division of Travelers Marketing, nationally recognized for its safety initiatives. Community Voices for Road Safety focuses on authentic, community-based public safety storytelling. The program operates nationwide, engaging directly with community members and creating campaigns that reflect their lived experiences and drive meaningful change.

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.