Montana Department of Transportation to Announce New Initiative at the University of Montana to Show Seatbelts Save Lives

The Montana Department of Transportation will be holding an event on the University of Montana campus on Wednesday, where MDT Director Mike Tooley will announce a new initiative to try to save the lives of more Montana drivers.

At the event, MDT will introduce a new educational exhibit called "The Twisted Metal Sculpture Garden." The sculptures are made of wrecked car parts and include audio stories of real Montana crashes like the one Amber Killoy experienced two years ago:

"In July of 2012, I was traveling home with my girls from a family camp trip," Killoy said. "I hit some bad crosswinds and ended up rolling. I, having my seatbelt on, walked away from a wreck that would have probably been deadly had I not had my seatbelt on. My girls, in their carseats, survived without a scratch."

The new initiative is targeted at young people ages 18 to 25, which have the highest fatality crash rate in the state. Killoy said the message is obvious to her and her daughters.

"A big thing is they just really hope Montanans will get the message that seatbelts save lives," Killoy said. "Seatbelts saved my life, carseats saved my girls' lives, you know, hopefully people can realize that it can save a lot of lives in Montana."

More information about the initiative will be disclosed on the University of Montana Oval in front of Main Hall at noon on Wednesday.