St. Peter Chanel has become the first Catholic church community to work with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, assisting them with their new faith-based initiatives program.

The first project involved seat belt usage, and the SPC Men’s Club conducted a survey, checking all cars driving into all Masses at the church. The average for seat belt usage in Georgia is 87 percent. Three of the Masses at SPC beat that average with the highest usage at the Sunday 9 a.m. Mass, where attendees had 93 percent usage.

Three Masses fell short of the 87 percent average, and parishioners are being asked to identify ways to increase seat belt usage.

St. Peter Chanel will be cooperating with the Governor’s Office on future programs designed to keep parishioners safe.