The number one killer of adolescents is motor vehicle crashes. According to the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office, between the years 2008 and 2013 66 percent of teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 were not wearing seatbelts when they were in fatal car accidents. The McPherson High School Youth Advisory Council (YAC) has began a program, SAFE (Seatbelts Are For Everyone), to bring awareness to safe driving.

“We feel that by encouraging students to wear their seatbelts, it will encourage their parents to wear theirs also,” junior Claire Wiens said, speaking on behalf of the entire group. “We noticed during our data collection that many parents did not wear their seatbelts, but the students were. When we asked students to sign pledge cards, it created positive peer pressure with their friends to get everyone wearing their seatbelts. We have even heard that some students are not allowing friends into their cars who refuse to wear their seatbelt.”

SAFE was founded in Kansas in 2008 in Crawford County. Sheriff Sandy Horton and local law enforcement came up with the program after spending two weeks educating Crawford County students about seatbelts, as the county had one of the lowest teen compliance rates in Kansas for wearing seatbelts at the time

“SAFE is important because seatbelts are lifesavers,” senior YAC member Janae McKinney said. “I hear about car wrecks all the time with teens who didn’t wear their seatbelts and either were hurt badly, or even worse, died. I wish everyone would wear seatbelts whenever they got in any vehicle.”

The program’s goal is to improve the number of teens that wear seatbelts and drive without distractions. The McPherson YAC conducted a seatbelt and distraction check on February 23 and 24 to get an idea of where the school’s seatbelt compliance was. Although the first check was just getting numbers, the upcoming second check will require student’s names to be written down who are not wearing seatbelts or are using a distraction, such as a cell phone or messing with the radio.

“I think the seatbelt checks we do will definitely raise more awareness,” senior Leigh Hughes said. “For now, that’s our biggest goal. If more students begin to use their seatbelts then that’s just an added plus.”

Every month, students sign pledge cards, pledging to wear their seatbelts while in a car. Every month a drawing is done for prizes like Amazon gift cards. However, if students are caught not wearing their seatbelts or are given a ticket for it, their names will be pulled from the drawings. At the end of the year every card that has been put in will be put into a larger drawing with bigger prizes.

One of the steps of the program is an enforcement period by the local police department, but the group stresses that this is not the central idea of SAFE. They want to positively encourage teens to wear their seatbelts.

“There is no set enforcement period,” Wiens said. “This is a program that is centered around encouraging people to wear their seatbelts every day, no matter where they are in the car, and to not be distracted while driving. We will offer education about SAFE driving every month.”

Last year 127 Kansas schools participated in SAFE. Since the program’s beginning, the seatbelt use for Kansas teenagers has increased 23.5 percent.