Seatbelt Survey Program
Safe Kids of Wayne County is an organization that works to motivate and educate parents, teens and children to create a safer community free from accidental injury.
At a Wayne County Safe Kids meeting in early 2006 coalition members were discussing seatbelt usage among school children. Then Lt. Luther Hires, knowing that Jade Irvin did volunteer work, asked if she would be interested in doing a survey of fellow WCHS students that drive to school. The first survey showed that only 47% of students buckled up. Jade enlisted the help of two friends, Hali Kent and Faith Lewis. The survey results were distributed to law enforcement and school officials. Jade then met with the local newspaper - The Press Sentinel and they agreed to print the results on a monthly basis.
Wayne County Safe Kids met and discussed ways that might help bring the seatbelt usage rate up from an all time low of 38%. Safe Kids decided that raising awareness through incentives was an area that the group could have the greatest impact as disincentives would be handled by law enforcement and the school.
Over the next few years Safe Kids worked with Hands on Wayne organization, Rayonier and local businesses to provide rewards or “prizes” to randomly selected students caught wearing their seatbelts. Safe Kids has promoted several media campaigns, participated in Safety Day Events and had other opportunities to provide information to students. We believe educational material provided to us by State and Federal agencies will help increase awareness and educate the students on making good safety choices. Wayne County Safe Kids and the Hands on Wayne organization enlisted the support of local churches to distribute educational material and received help from Altamaha Technical College to do additional surveys.
Wayne County Safe Kids continued their efforts with individual students and Skills USA to perform monthly seatbelt surveys at WCHS. According to statistics seat belt use among WCHS students driving to school has reached the record all-time high of 80%. Further effort is needed to maintain this level.
Katie Burkett from the Division of Public Heath Injury Prevention has also teamed up with us in recent years and our teen driver safety activities have become the “Drive Alive Pilot Program”. It is now operating in nine other high schools in surrounding counties.
We have been successful mainly due to the support of Mr. Pulos, former Principal at Wayne County High School and hope to continue with the new principal Mr. Brinson.