Belt award to remain at HSCHS for now

Two years ago, Thermopolis claimed a victory for vehicular safety when Hot Springs County High School won over Worland High School in the Battle of Belts competition. The “battle,” which was used to make students, staff and parents more aware of their seatbelt habits and improve them if they could, was planned to be a two-year event with Thermopolis working to defend its title in 2018.

However, it looks like the local high school will retain the sparkling award — which resembles a WWE championship belt — indefinitely. Noel Cooper, executive director of Injury Prevention Resources (IPR), the organization sponsoring the battle, explained it was taken over by Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and the name was changed to Rock the Belt, a campaign done in conjunction with National Teen Driver Safety Week.

Cooper noted the IPR works more closely with Fremont and Sweetwater counties, but would like to partner with a SADD chapter in Hot Springs County again for an event like Battle of the Belts.

The first and last rounds of 2016’s Battle of the Belts competition included seat belt observational surveys that show who buckles up the most.

The surveys were conducted by IPR, and included a sample of 100 vehicles to measure how safe drivers are at Hot Springs County High School and Worland High School. Percentages of buckled up drivers from the initial and final Thermopolis surveys are as follows:

Total Drivers: Initial Survey — 67 percent; Final Survey — 91 percent

Adults: Initial — 50 percent; Final — 85 percent

Students: Initial — 72 percent; Final — 96 percent

Worland showed improvement as well, but not enough to beat the Bocats, with results of:

Total Drivers: Initial — 54 percent; Final — 78 percent

Adults: Initial — 65 percent; Final — 89 percent

Students: Initial — 51 percent; Final — 69 percent

In addition to conducting the competition, Cooper and Tom Cunningham for WYDOT District 5 held assemblies to teach students the importance of buckling up and used a rollover simulator to show what can happen to a person in a severe accident.