JEFFERSON CITY – The 7th annual Buckle Up Phone Down Day was held Oct. 25, and MoDOT hosted a news conference in Jefferson City to celebrate BUPD becoming law.
In August, the Siddens-Bening Hands-Free Law took effect in Missouri, prohibiting all drivers from using a handheld electronic communication device while driving.
The law aims to address distracted driving, which contributed to crashes that claimed the lives of more than 800 people across the state from 2012-2021.
Paired with the requirement to wear a seat belt, the enactment of the hands-free legislation means BUPD is officially law in Missouri.
One of the key speakers at the event was Adrienne Siddens, the widow of Randall Siddens, one of the individuals the law is named after. He was killed by a distracted driver in 2019 while working on the road. Adrienne shared her late husband’s love of his work and the circumstances that led to him losing his life in a preventable distracted driving crash.
Many local businesses and schools also shared the BUPD message across social media, highlighted by a new public service announcement from Mitch Holthus, the voice of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The campaign has continued to spread across the nation, with nearly half of all U.S. State Transportation Departments posting their own messages about “National Buckle Up Phone Down Day,” from Alaska to Puerto Rico.
The campaign was also promoted in middle schools across Missouri through a billboard contest where students could share designs encouraging people to buckle their seat belts and put their phones down.
To date, more than 39,000 people have accepted the BUPD challenge in Missouri.
Individuals and businesses can take the pledge by visiting the Buckle Up Phone Down website, which also includes various materials to help the movement.
The livestream of the news conference is available here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?mibextid=zDhOQc&ref=watch_permalink&v=325460960069582
and a photo album of the event here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/modot/sets/72177720312196295/