Although a fractional increase in seat belt use by teenagers is not a giant step, it is a step in the right direction.
Results of this year's Missouri Teen Safety Belt Survey, released Tuesday, show safety belt usage for all teen drivers and front seat passengers combined was 70.4 percent, a 1.4 percent increase in comparison to last year's 69 percent.
Although the numbers may not be satisfying - preventable deaths claim too many teens in traffic crashes - the trend is encouraging.
"We're very excited to see these numbers go up," said Kacey Buschjost, youth program coordinator for the Missouri Department of Transportation. "Teenagers are our most inexperienced and vulnerable drivers, so it's vital that they, and all drivers, be buckled up every trip, every time."
The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety attributes the upswing to safety programs designed to educate young drivers.
First Impact is a traffic safety program that educates parents about Missouri's Graduated Driver License (GDL) law and provides the tools they need to monitor, coach and support new teen drivers. Missouri's GDL law is a three-step licensing system. Research shows GDL laws have been instrumental in reducing teen crashes by 20 to 40 percent.
Team Spirit is a statewide youth traffic safety leadership training program to empower young people to promote safe driving habits. After initial training, Team Spirit youth create and implement action plans for their school and community in an effort to reduce deaths and serious injuries resulting from traffic crashes.
It Only Takes One is a competition that rewards participating Missouri high schools that demonstrate a commitment to traffic safety. The contest, highlighted in this forum on Aug. 13, includes two surprise safety belt checks to gauge student seat belt use, as well as creative educational campaigns to promote safe driving throughout the school year.
A range of factors - inexperience, impairment, distractions - contribute to accidents. But when a crash occurs, seat belts are the best defense against suffering severe injuries or death.
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for Missourians ages 15-20, accounting for nearly 11.8 percent of traffic fatalities in the last three years.
The simple act of buckling up helps reduce those deadly statistics.
We encourage teens not only to continue this life-saving trend, but to pick up the pace.