Seat Belts Saved Their Lives
COLLEGE STATION - Buddies Ethan Mitchell, 17, and Trey Mohler, 14, left home at 6 a.m. one day last February headed to the Bell County Youth Fair and Livestock Show.
Hours later, they were checking on their animals at the show barn - but only after a three-hour stint in the hospital for sprained ankles and wrists, CT scans, stapled lacerations across the head and a shoulder injury.
Because of seat belts and air bags, the two escaped the crumbled remains of their wrecked pickup with minor injuries. Their families are grateful that they insisted their children use seat belts from an early age.
"Let the kids complain -- it's hot, I can't move -- when you make them buckle up," said Ethan's mother, Biddy Mitchell. "I'm so thankful that the Lord made us such 'mean' parents that buckling the seat belt became a habit."
Unlike Mitchell and Mohler, many young drivers and their passengers do not buckle up in vehicles.
"Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year olds in America, and that's due in large part to low seat belt use," said Bev Kellner, Texas AgriLife Extension Service passenger safety specialist. "More than half of the young drivers killed in 2007 weren't wearing seat belts at the time of the crash."
Teens also should know:
- More than 4,800 teens were killed in traffic accidents last year. That would be like having every student at a couple of large high schools suddenly die.
- Almost 60 percent of the teen drivers were not wearing a seat belt when the wreck happened.
- About half of the teen drivers who were killed were not wearing a seat belt during daytime wrecks; almost 65 percent of them were not wearing a seat belt during nighttime wrecks.
So serious is the situation that this year's national "Click It or Ticket" campaign will focus on young drivers and passengers. From May 18-31, extra law enforcement officers will be looking statewide for drivers and occupants not wearing seat belts.
"Anyone violating the seat belt laws will receive a ticket and a fine," Kellner noted. Rather than spending money on a ticket, experts suggest, motorists can save money and possibly their lives by wearing a seat belt.
This year, teens who visit http://www.clickitorticketmusic.com/ to watch a short video about how seat belts can save lives can download one of 13 popular music files from the site.
"The goal is to get more young drivers and their passengers to always buckle up, every trip, every time," Kellner said. "A seat belt is the best defense against motor vehicle injuries and deaths."
More information about Click It or Ticket can be found at http://www.nhtsa.gov.
Editor’s note: This information was provided by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Garden City.