Buckled Up, Sober and Safe

The first big road-trip holiday of 2000 lasts from 6 p.m. today through Monday, the time window that the California Highway Patrol uses to tally Memorial Day weekend traffic deaths and injuries. Whatever the total, it will be greatly increased by failures to properly use seat belts, shoulder restraints and child safety seats. Buckle up.

Even after years of public safety campaigns, current federal statistics show that about 56% of passenger vehicle deaths nationwide involve adults not buckled up or children not properly restrained. In more safety-conscious California last year, about 39% of traffic fatality victims were not buckled up.

Drunk driving adds to the problem. For every person who dies in an alcohol-related traffic accident, 19 more are hospitalized and 300 receive injuries that are serious enough to require medical care.

Through the holiday weekend, the national Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign, the CHP and other law enforcement agencies are putting special emphasis on adults who fail to buckle up their children. California traffic statistics show a higher percentage of children up to age 4 not buckled up (44%) than passengers overall (39%).

State and federal hotline programs are encouraging pedestrians and motorists to report the license plate numbers of drivers whose children are not buckled up or tucked into child safety seats. Obviously, however, motorists shouldn’t try to write down plate numbers or call the hotlines while they are driving.

The CHP hotline number is (800) TELL CHP. Nationally, it’s (800) 764-5755. The National Safety Council and the CHP will mail notices to the negligent drivers warning them of the dangers faced by children in vehicles.

This holiday should be a time to honor and remember those men and women of the armed forces who have served their country in times of conflict, not a mourning period stemming from bad driving habits.