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Millville
– A new, interactive educational website
for students in grades K-3, featuring “Buck,
the Buckle-up Dog” and his traffic
safety adventures, was unveiled today before
Governor Jon S. Corzine and a group of first
grade students at the Rieck Avenue Elementary
School. The event marks the first time the
Cumberland County-based program has been
expanded to reach educators, parents and
young children throughout New Jersey.
Funded by the Division of Highway Traffic
Safety (DHTS), the website and educational
program uses Buck, a real-life 115-pound
Doberman pinscher, to engage young students
in activities that emphasize the importance
of proper car, booster seat and seat belt
use, as well as bicycle and pedestrian safety.
Buck,
who is owned and handled by Bill Garrison,
a traffic safety coordinator with the Cumberland
County Sherriff’s Office, is known
locally for his visits to schools and community
events. Collateral educational materials
are used by schools throughout the year
and include coloring books, trading cards,
and story books.
“Programs
like this help children learn the life-saving
value of seat belt use,” Governor
Corzine said. "Through the use of the
Internet, and this interactive educational
program, we can bring this important traffic
safety message to children throughout New
Jersey, and ultimately encourage safe driving
behavior for all New Jerseyans."
According
to Pam Fischer, the director of the Division
of Highway Traffic Safety, programs such
as Buck help reinforce, at an early age,
appropriate driving behaviors.
“It’s
important to begin educating children as
young as possible about the rules of the
road and good safety habits,” Fischer
said. “Through Buck’s visits
to elementary schools and community events,
young people meet Buck, hear his safety
message, and carry what they learn home,
where it can be reinforced though a visit
to his website. Youngsters today are web-savvy,
and they need interactive programs like
this one that are not only fun, but educational,
too.”
The
new website, www.buckthebuckleupdog.org,
includes all program materials, as well
as games and contests for children, which
can be downloaded. A special section for
parents offers a variety of traffic safety
resources, including programs and materials
designed to help families learn more about
staying safe on New Jersey roadways.
Developed by the Cumberland County Traffic
Safety Committee, the program has reached
thousands of elementary school-age children
since its inception three years ago. With
the addition of the website, the program
now has the potential to reach an unlimited
number of young children throughout New
Jersey.
According to Garrison, illustrating the
traffic safety message with a real dog has
become an effective way to reach younger
children.
“It’s
important for children to know that if they
don’t wear their bike helmets, or
cross an intersection properly when walking
to school, or buckle-up, every ride, their
safety may be compromised,” Garrison
said. “We believe that this new website
will encourage not only teachers, but parents
and their children to heighten awareness
about traffic safety issues that impact
everyone, no matter what their age.”
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