By MICHAEL STRAND

Salina Journal

Madison Diederich knows most people her age don't wear their seatbelts much of the time, "and it drives me crazy."

"I literally put it on before I close the door," the South High junior said, as she stood along Magnolia Road earlier this week as school let out, clipboard in hand.

Diederich was one of several pairs of students, members of the school's SADD organization, who were tallying seat belt usage as students left school Tuesday and Wednesday.

It's the beginning of a project designed to increase seat belt usage, and the students plan to take similar tallies at least two more times this school year, to see if their efforts are making a difference.

The project at South is modeled after one in Crawford County during the 2008-09 school year, said SADD sponsor Katy Vinson.

That project involved all six of the county's public and private high schools. It included a variety of programs to encourage seat belt usage, along with periodic surveys of usage.

The initial surveys in Crawford County showed seat belt usage varied from a low of 55 percent at Girard to 82 percent at Southeast High School in Cherokee.

By the end of the school year, use had risen to between 78 percent and 94 percent, with an overall average increase of more than 16 percent.

Southeast Kansas has the lowest belt usage rates in the state, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation -- but teenagers in high school have the lowest rate of any age group.

Statewide numbers show that 61 percent of people ages 15 to 17 wear their belts, while 67 percent of those ages 10 to 14 buckle up. Kids ages 5 to 9 are buckled up 73 percent of the time, while 96 percent of preschoolers use seat belts.

Even adults buckle up more than high school students, with a use rate of 77 percent.

"A lot of them don't think it's cool," said Kristina Walker, a sophomore who was working with Diederich.

As the carloads of students and parents left the school, Diederich and Walker worked through a routine, time and time again.

"The maroon one coming up is number 49," Diederich said, alerting Walker to which car they'd be counting next, and confirming which line number on the form the results would be entered.

Diederich then called out whether she saw the driver wearing a seatbelt -- in this case, "yes," -- and Walker called out her observation.

A few students driving by asked what was going on.

"Drive, drive," Diederich told one, waving her on. "Keep your eyes on the road," she told another.

Keeping the project under wraps was an important part of getting valid initial numbers.

Reliable stats

And that's important, because in order to really know whether the work SADD will do over the next few months has done any good, it's important to know where they started.

So before the students headed out with their clipboards on Tuesday and Wednesday, they spent time Monday with Daniel Schulte, director of research and evaluation services with Lawrence-based DCCCA (formerly Douglas County Citizens Committee on Alcoholism), to talk about how to get statistically valid results.

Schulte has helped start similar programs in Montgomery, Wyandotte and Neosho counties.

Schulte walked the South students through the counting process, explaining that one person in each pair would be a "primary observer," and the other a "reliability observer," and that their results should match at the end of the day's counting.

Keeping that initial count a secret was also important, Schulte said.

"If word gets out, the numbers will go way out, and you'll kill your baseline," he said.

Overall, after counting some 2,326 drivers and front-seat passengers over two days, the students found 75 percent were belted as they left school.

What's ahead

Over the next few months, SADD will have a number of programs to encourage students to buckle up. Today, "The Convincer," which allows students to feel an impact at five to 10 miles per hour, will be available during lunch and the ELO period at the end of the school day.

On Friday, during halftime at South's football game with Emporia, SADD will host a "seatbelt fire drill," in which students race to unbuckle, run from one seat around the car to another, and re-buckle.

For the 2010-11 school year, Vinson hopes similar programs can be set up at all of the Saline County high schools, with the schools competing against each other, and with business sponsorships to provide a series of prizes as incentives.

n Reporter Mike Strand can be reached at 822-1418 or by e-mail at mstrand@salina.com.

Join the Discussion:

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says....
SADD stands for Students Against Destructive Decisions.
10/29/2009

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Salina South SADD member says....
While SADD was founded in 1981 as Students Against Driving Drunk, in 1997 it was changed to Students Against Destructive Decisions as a product of high school students' petitions. Our action plan now encompasses whatever issue catches the most attention.
10/29/2009

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Salina Teen says....
T Jefferson, its because there are people who drink and drive, do not pay attention while driving because they are texting and talking on the phone or for whatever reason, that other drivers should wear their seat belts to protect themselves. It doesn't take much force for you to be thrown out your windshield.
10/29/2009

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T Jefferson says....
What ever happened to free choice? I know the risk's and do not need a nanny to take care of me cradle to grave. Stick to your intended purpose; drunk drivers.
10/29/2009

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