School Resource Officer

Sending Teens a Life-Saving Message

The New York State Police has developed a teen-focused safety effort to address high fatality rates and low seatbelt use rates among teenagers.  This effort is founded on the fact that motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of teenagers AND that 55 percent of teenagers who die in motor vehicle crashes were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.  The focus of this initiative is to educate teens on the facts of seatbelts and to encourage seatbelt use for all vehicle occupants, every trip, every time.

All too often teens continue to ignore the warnings and the potential consequences that can result from not wearing their seatbelts.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, teenage drivers and passengers, especially males, are among those least likely to wear their seatbelts.

In 2007 (the last year that data was available), over 4500 teens lost their life in a motor vehicle crash and another 252,000 were injured.  The “it will never happen to me” attitude and “I’m just going down the street” mentality is unacceptable when the outcome is preventable.  Our community suffers every time a teenage dies. Not only do we lose a family member or friend, we lose all that person would have contributed to society.  It costs nothing to wear a seatbelt.  The needless death of a teenager is incalculable.

Convincing teens to buckle up every time they get into a vehicle, whether as a driver or a passenger is a big job.  It is going to take parents, teachers, friends and teens themselves, working together to learn a new behavior and ensure the health and safety of all our teens.

For ideas worth discussing, please visit www.underyourinfluence.org.

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