‘Buckle Up’ holiday campaign returns after hiatus

Each Christmas and New Year’s holiday week, Grieves Chiropractic Clinic — in association with the Shawano Police Department, Shawano County Sheriff’s Department, WTCH Radio and the Shawano Leader — presents the “Shawano Buckle Up for Bucks and Lives” campaign.

At select Shawano locations, volunteers will give away cash and T-shirts to drivers using their seat belts. This successful program is back after taking a break at the start of the pandemic. The goals of the campaign are to save the lives of residents who would otherwise have been lost in traffic accidents, and lower the health care costs associated with deaths and injuries due to traffic accidents.

There was a spike in traffic fatalities last year that shocked the experts — 38,680 deaths on U.S. roadways, the most since 2007 even though pandemic precautions had dramatically reduced driving. The latest evidence suggests that after decades of safety gains, the pandemic has made U.S. drivers more reckless — more likely to speed, drink or use drugs and leave their seat belts unbuckled.

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