The Daily Toreador - Student Newspaper of Texas Tech

Issue date: 8/5/08 Section: La Vida

Media Credit: Coleman Morefield

As the fall semester approaches and thousands of students prepare to jump in their cars and flock to Lubbock from across the state, they may find it in their best interest to consider the lessons learned from younger drivers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 4,842 teenage passengers between the ages of 16 and 20 years old were killed in motor vehicle accidents during 2006. Of those, 58 percent of victims were not wearing seat belts.

Cpl. John Gonzalez, a Lubbock safety educator with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said high school and college students have a lot more in common when it comes to poor driving habits than many might realize.

He said everyday choices - such as wearing one's seat belt and going the speed limit - can greatly impact the safety of drivers.

Young drivers are the least likely to buckle up and wear seat belts correctly, Gonzalez said.

Teenagers complain about the discomfort and annoyances from wearing seat belts, Gonzalez said, but when it saves their life they will be thankful.

Seat belts are designed to go across the chest and hips, which are some of the strongest areas on the human body, he said. Seat belts hold the body in place during an accident and protect internal organs from injury.

If worn incorrectly - for example, under one's arm or only around the waist - seat belts could seriously harm motorists, Gonzalez said, and are capable of severing a limb or paralyzing them from the waist down.

In terms of fatalities from car accidents involving high school students, he said, Lubbock experienced the "deadliest time" between October 2006 and February 2007.

During that time, car accidents claimed the lives of about 10 students in the Lubbock area, Gonzalez said. The majority of these victims were ejected from the car because they were not wearing seat belts.

Driving over the speed limit is another factor involved in fatal car crashes among younger drivers, according to a NHTSA report.

Inexperienced drivers tend to ignore the speed limit more than any other age group, Gonzalez said.

Media portrayals, he said, including car racing movies and video games, have contributed to reckless driving behaviors among young adults.

Gonzalez said it gives a "false ideology" about responsible driving and what a person's car is capable of doing.

Continued...

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