Page 29 - AAA Every Day – AAA Hudson Valley – November/December 2019

Buckle Up.
Every Ride.
Every Time.
Traffic safety has always been important to AAA. number than any other safety technology or initiative. The
We want our members and the motoring public to have safe, reliable mobility. Our mobility doesn’t come without risk. To reduce that
risk, proper occupant protection
is vital. Seat belts and child
safety seats reduce injuries and
save thousands of lives. It is no
coincidence that death and injury
rates from car crashes (1985-
2010) have dropped as seat belt
use has increased. This past
September, AAA Hudson Valley and AAA Northway held an Occupant Safety Summit at the Hearst Media Center in Colonie. Our summit focused on a forgotten piece of the puzzle: rear seat belt use.
Many people do not realize that the reason to buckle up in the back is the same as the front seat. There are still more than 34,000 deaths per year on U.S. roadways. Increased seat belt use will do more to lower that
objective of this summit was to teach young drivers the importance of buckling up in every car, no matter where
they are sitting, how long the trip or how fast they are driving.
We brought together a sample group of students from various Capital District high schools. The students heard keynote presentations and participated in panel discussions and hands-on demonstrations. Demonstrations included the Seatbelt Convincer
and the Battle of the Belts (pictured
(pictured above)
below right). We challenged the students to take what they learned back to their schools. Our goal was to plant a seed and offer our support for their school traffic safety programs in the future.
For more pictures and videos from the Occupant Safety Summit, visit AAA.com/BuckleUp.
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SAFETY ZONE