Sharing the Seat Belt Message in the Press
Below are several articles or letters to the editor written, not by coalition members, but by the public. These surely indicate that our messages are resonating in the public.
Rexburg Standard Journal
Author: Andrew Secrest
8/4/2007 Opinion: Teens should slow down, buckle your seat belts and save lives
REXBURG - I am writing from the 5C Detention Center. Judge Kennedy sentenced me to detention because of this accident.
I was in a horrible car accident. The car lost control, veered off the road, came back onto the road and then I overcorrected.
There were three of us in the car me and two good friends. I and one of my other friends were seriously injured and had to be life flighted to the Idaho Falls hospital, and my other friend died on impact.
Since this accident, I have researched teenage driving and come to the conclusion that we are probably the most deadly drivers on the road.
There were three causes leading to the seriousness of our accident: There were three of us in the car; we lost control of the vehicle, possibly from speeding; and none of us had on our seat belts. If we had al had seat belts on, the accident specialist said we would most likely have not been injured as seriously.
We all need to slow down! Especially less-experienced and less-mature teen drivers. We are the highest risk on the road, so why not lower the risk to ourselves, our friends, and the other drivers as much as we can. There is no hurry all the time, if you need to leave earlier, get up a little earlier and just calm down.
You can get through anything. Even if you get in trouble for being late, I would still rather get in trouble than not being able to enjoy what I love doing the most (whatever that might be).
So just take some time and slow down.
So, to all the teenagers, parents and anybody else that has contact with teens, please talk to them about my experience, and have them read this.
Just take the five seconds to buckle a seat belt, and do it!
Trust me, you would rather say, I?m glad I had my seat belt on, than to see the outcome if you hadn?t taken the time to put it on.
So take the time and just buckle up! If you see the BU or SD Euro oval stickers around, or on the back of the car in front of you, please check, and buckle up, and/or slow down.
Idaho Statesman (Boise)
Author: Steven K. Leavitt
8/12/2007 Letter to editor: Lawmakers can save lives with stricter laws
BOISE - It happened again. Another person died, and a second is in serious condition because they weren't wearing helmets.
Several others died because they were ejected when they weren't wearing seat belts. When are you people gonna get a clue? You may think having to wear helmets and seat belts is infringing on your rights. Think again, because your rights stop when you die or are seriously injured, and I have to pay more on my medical insurance to cover bills you can't pay. The hospitals have to pass the costs on to someone, and that someone is you and me.
It's time the Legislature stopped pandering to a minority and started thinking about how it can help the rest of us lower insurance bills. The Legislature is more worried about a measly 1 cent extra on our sales tax than it is about saving lives.
Where are their priorities? Give law enforcement the right to ticket anyone not wearing a seat belt, and make all people on motorcycles wear a helmet. You may think that infringes on your rights, but driving a car and riding a bike are privileges.
Steven K. Leavitt,
Nampa
Idaho Statesman (Boise)
Author: Burt L. Peterson, Meridian
Letters to the editor - Politics:
Seat belts...-observations
Just a few observations. To those of you who feel seat belt laws are oppressive; accidents rarely stop with the original impact. While you may not care if you die in an accident, the woman with a stroller on the corner might appreciate you staying behind the wheel and in control. And if you are ever in a minor accident and find yourself suddenly charged with vehicular manslaughter, you may wish the other driver was buckled up.