As a teen I was known for driving around my "bumper car." This was not due to its stylistic lines or inflatables; it was because I liked to bump it into things to see their actual location. I thankfully know better now as I have a much nicer car, thanks to Checkered Flag, but those days are still in my past and scare me for driving around teens in my present.
I, like the writer of a recent article I found, had one thing going for me; I always wore a seat belt. It truly scares me that the trend of late is to not wear that crucial life-saving device. I would have hated to see what I would look like right now, or to know if I would even still be around, if I had not worn mine.
Teens don't do this one simple thing that could save their lives
By Brandon Turkus
Hindsight being what it is, I now realize that I was a certifiable moron as a teenager. I thought I was far smarter and slicker than I actually was, and I took part in a spectacular array of things that, when viewed through the wiser eyes of someone pushing 30, were the height of stupidity. I'm sure most average Joes and Janes have a similar view of their adolescence. Throughout my teen years, though, I did do one thing correctly ? I always wore my seatbelt.
Weirdly, that's a topic that today's teenagers have issue with. And no, this isn't just some rant about youth; there's empirical evidence to back up this troubling trend. A new report by the Governors' Highway Safety Association has revealed that of the teen drivers killed on the roads in 2012, over half (51.2 percent, to be precise) weren't wearing their seatbelts. We aren't sure what's worse, that that figure has jumped 6 percent in the past three years, or that teen passengers are 20 percent less likely to wear seatbelts than teen drivers.
"Crashes are already the leading cause of death for teens, and it is particularly disturbing to see the percentage of unbelted teen drivers and passengers in fatalities continue to rise," said the GHSA's executive director, Jonathan Adkins.
Considering this information, the GHSA's report doesn't just inform, it aims to help local municipalities counteract this trend. The report details some of the most successful programs in the country when it comes to encouraging teen seatbelt use and outlines common elements that make them successful so that new programs can be setup around the country.
"Developing innovative, engaging approaches to teen safe driving reduces injuries and ultimately helps save lives," said Steve Sorenson, executive vice president at Allstate, which co-authored the GHSA report. "We hope that highlighting effective programs already underway in states and cities across the country will help expand their reach and encourage everyone in the car to buckle up on every trip."
Source: [Autoblog]
This article scares me to death as I have children that are getting closer and closer to driving age. I hope that many Checkered Flag fans out there are teaching their children the importance of buckling up. It really will save your life.
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