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.
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Research shows that if a driver is unbuckled, 70 percent of the time children riding in that vehicle won’t be buckled either.
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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.
