The leading cause of death for American Teens can be reduced!
Many teen deaths and life threatening injuries from car crashes are preventable. There are proven strategies that can improve the safety of teen drivers behind the wheel, but if they are not buckling up… the fatality statistics will continue to be high.
To many of us, wearing your seatbelt is common sense… but the fact is, teens are underestimating the danger of not wearing their seat belts. To make matters worse, teen peers are dramatically influencing this risky behavior. Is your teen wearing his/her seat belt even if it’s considered uncool?
DriveSafeRideSafe is encouraging teen driving education that combines parental involvement and peer strategies in the learning process to increase teen seat belt use and the overall safety of young drivers.
Here are the Sad Seat Belt Facts for Teens
- Two-thirds of teens killed in crashes were not wearing seat belts.
- Teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use in comparison to mature drivers.
- In 2005, 10% of high school students reported they rarely or never wear seat belts when riding with someone else.
- Male high school students (12.5%) were more likely than female students (7.8%) to rarely or never wear seat belts.
Photo credit to Butch Lysholm at oaire.com
Fact References:
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
