You set the example. Adults who don’t buckle up are sending children a deadly message that it is all right not to wear a seat belt. Children model adult behavior.
Research shows that if a driver is unbuckled, 70 percent of the time children riding in that vehicle won’t be buckled either.
Data suggests that education alone is not doing the job with young people, especially males ages 16 to 25 – the age group least likely to buckle up. They simply do not believe they will be injured or killed. Yet they are the nation’s highest-risk drivers, with more drunk driving, more speeding, and more crashes. Neither education nor fear of injury or death is strong enough to motivate this tough-to-reach group. Rather, it takes stronger seat belt laws and high visibility enforcement campaigns to get them to buckle up.