Teens lag on seat-belt use

Saturday, May 24, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

The use of seat belts is on the rise nationally and Nevadans are among the leaders. Last month the state received a $5.5 million federal grant because the rate of seat-belt use here rose above 85 percent for two consecutive years, 2006 and 2007.

Nationally for those years, the rates of seat-belt use were 81 percent and 82 percent, respectively. The grant was awarded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

But not all is well on the seat-belt front.

Many teenagers are still not buckling up, leading to tragedies all over the country.

“Teens have higher fatality and injury rates in motor vehicle crashes than any other age group,” the Nevada Traffic Safety Office says.

Citing the latest annual statistics, the office says 62 percent of all teens killed nationally in car crashes were not using their seat belts.

The percentage it cites for Nevada is lower, 59 percent, but still tragically high — it equates to about 21 teenagers a year, many of whom likely could have lived if they had just been buckled in.

The NHTSA came out with statistics this week showing that the most dangerous time for teen drivers is at night. Sixty-eight percent of drivers and passengers ages 16 to 20 who were killed in nighttime crashes were not buckled in, the agency reported.

Reporting on the statistics, the Associated Press interviewed a high school girl in Washington, D.C., who gave a reason for teen reluctance to buckle up. “They don’t want to seem like a nerd around their friends,” she said.

“Inexperience and fearlessness” were reasons cited by NHTSA Administrator Nicole Nason. “It is a deadly combination,” she told the AP.

Such reasons, typical for teenagers, are why the Nevada Traffic Safety Office advises parents of young drivers to have serious talks with them before they take the wheel. “Talk to your teen about wearing their seat belts at all times, no exceptions, no excuses,” the office advises.

That’s more than good advice. It’s lifesaving advice.