June 2025 – Drive Like They Matter

It’s one of the most dangerous things you do every day—and you probably don’t even think about it.

Motor vehicle incidents are among the top three causes of preventable death and injury in the U.S., right alongside poisoning and falls. They’re also the leading cause of occupational death in both Nebraska and nationwide. Pedestrian and cyclist fatalities are climbing, and we just closed out the deadliest year on Nebraska roads in nearly two decades.

This summer, the National Safety Council – Nebraska Chapter is launching a new campaign: Drive Like They Matter

Why? Because even with all the data—40,000 deaths a year nationally, daily red-light running, speeding, distractions—it’s not statistics that change behavior. It’s people.

You don’t slow down in a work zone because of a percentage—you do it because someone’s dad is holding the sign. You wear your seatbelt because your kids are watching. You pause an extra second at a green light because you’ve seen what happens when someone doesn’t.

They matter. Your family. Your friends. The people in the car next to you. The stranger crossing the street.

Yes, we need infrastructure changes, policy improvements, and better laws—like a primary hands-free or seatbelt law, both of which fell short in Nebraska this year. But culture change starts at the wheel.

Drive like they matter. Because they do.