Saturday, April 16, 2016 9:19 am

Participants whiz around a car to see who can get buckled up the fastest. ()Rochester Police photo)

ROCHESTER - The Rochester Police Department in conjunction with Spaulding High School conducted a local Seat Belt Challenge on Friday with the Baseball Upstarts team winning the chance to compete in the state finals.

Each year Buckle Up NH through the NH Office of Highway Safety and the Injury Prevention Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock sponsors the statewide competition, which involves high schools from throughout the state.

The 2016 challenge will have teams from 28 different schools in the state and will take place on May 17 at the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Academy located in Concord.

The local challenge was organized by Spaulding High School Resource Officer Andrew Jackson and Spaulding Athletic Director Kevin Hebert. Local automotive dealer Poulin Automotive provided a new Dodge Charger that was used for the challenge.

Four local companies (New England Pizza, Liu's Garden, New England Pie Company, and Wild Willey's Burgers) donated various gift cards for the top four teams.

In all eight teams of four students competed with "The Baseball Upstarts" made up of Spaulding baseball players Keagan, Ricky, Drew, and Ben clocking the fastest time.

This competition is a great reminder to all teen and adult drivers and passengers to properly buckle their seat belts when in a motor vehicle. Each year seat belts save over 13,000 lives during traffic collisions.