Group raises seatbelt saftey awareness

Health 458 students host speaker

Carolyn Walser / staff photographer Jessica Bland head of Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety, discusses seatbelt safety.

Traffic crashes are the No. 1 killer of adolescents aged 16 to 20, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles National Security Council.

In 2002, 178 teens were killed on Virginia highways alone and the DMV also reported 50 percent of those victims were not wearing seatbelts.

Students in a Health 458, Health Program Planning and Evaluation, class organized and presented “Let’s Hook Up Harrisonburg” last Wednesday, which worked raise awareness about seatbelt safety. The health promotions class requires students to split into groups, each focusing on a specific topic of concern which the students choose.

“We decided on the Seatbelt Safety Committee because there are a bunch of people in our group who [participate in] rescue squad and a lot who know people who were injured or killed in traffic accidents,” senior Kristen Stoneburner said. “It’s definitely a big issue.”

The committee invited Jessica Bland, who heads the Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety program, to speak at the event. YOVASO primarily works in high schools, and this was Bland’s first time speaking with college students, Bland said. Through peer empowerment tactics, her program strives to reach teens who are at high risk for traffic accidents and fatalities, she added.

“Peer-to-peer empowerment is much more influential than adult-to-teen interaction,” Bland said, encouraging students to take responsibility for their own actions.

Bland accompanied her speech with a slide show presentation, which included graphic pictures of various car accidents. The visuals served as a reminder of the horrific consequences of not wearing a seatbelt.

Bland strongly emphasized that a seatbelt is the best protection against injury or death and encouraged students not to rely on airbags as a primary defense.

Doug Stader, who works at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Harrisonburg, acknowledged how important seatbelt safety is. In a survey done in the Harrisonburg area by the DMV, only 55 percent admitted to wearing a seatbelt on a regular basis. Stader said he is interested in determining what the rate is within the JMU community.

Freshman Luke McGhee said, “The people who did the event really cared about saving lives. Something that only takes two seconds to do can save your life.”