Third in a series of stories following PennDOT District 3 officials' annual meeting with The News-Item.
SHAMOKIN - The smiling face of former PennDOT employee Bonnie Brown jumps out from the poster - and so does the picture of the severely damaged car behind her.
"Seat belts save lives ... I'm living proof!" the poster reads.
Brown, who recently retired from the state agency and is now living in Toronto, Canada, was more than happy to share the story of her accident with her employers in the hope it could save lives.
Brown and her husband, Rodney, were driving home early one morning from Princeton, N.J., on Interstate 80 in Montour County when "all of a sudden, their vehicle went into a spin, rolled over several times, and landed on its roof," said Rick Mason, PennDOT District 3-0 public information officer.
The Browns would learn later from other motorists that a deer had run into the rear quarter panel of their car, causing the spin.
The Browns were wearing their seat belts and walked away with minor injuries.
Through the poster and strong words from Mason and his colleagues, District 3 hopes to reinforce the notion that seat belts do save lives.
In 2012, 77 other people who crashed in the district's nine-county territory were not as lucky as the Browns. They were killed in accidents.
Of the 60 people killed in crashes involving passenger vehicles, 42 of them, approximately 70 percent, were not wearing their seat belts.
"Like we continue to say, seat belts save lives, and Bonnie's living proof of that," Mason said.
Personal responsibility
In 2013, the district will spend approximately $3.8 million this year in federal and state monies on safety initiatives, such as guiderail placement, adding center line or roadside rumble strips, cutting back embankments to provide a better sight line at intersections or installing center line concrete barriers, such as on a section of Route 15 in Lycoming County.
The biggest safety precaution, Mason said, has nothing to do with construction or money spent, but with the driver's personal responsibility.
"Driving the speed limit, using seat belts and not getting behind the wheel when impaired - those are all choices up to the driver," Mason said. "Preventative measures can save lives."