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Fonvielle Lewis Foote & Messer
Awards $2,000
May 2009 - It’s the most effective way to prevent serious injury or even death in a vehicular crash. And all it takes is a simple click. It’s the decision to wear a seat belt. Despite the efforts of a number of organizations, we at Fonvielle Lewis Foote & Messer (FLF&M) continue to witness all too often the tragic results of not buckling up. Deadly automobile crashes continue to be a dark reality in our community because drivers and occupants don’t wear seat belts.
TPD officers conducted random seat belt surveys of vehicles entering and leaving these school campuses. The officers conducted the pre-survey before announcing the competition. They returned to the campuses unannounced to survey seat belt usage and determine increased usage.
Across the country, motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of teenagers ages 15 to 20. In Florida, it is against the law to not buckle up. Still, one in 5 Florida drivers do not wear their seatbelts. Failure to buckle up contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety related behavior. Wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of fatal injury by almost 50%. In 2007, Florida had a total of 256,206 vehicle crashes with 212,149 injuries. Tragically Florida lost 3,221 lives in these crashes. In 2007, Florida had 36,009 crashes involving teen’s ages 15-19 with 18,617 seriously injured, and 134 killed. Also in 2007, Leon County had 22 deaths as a result of vehicle crashes. Traffic fatalities of drivers and passengers not using safety belts, in equipped vehicles, did decrease to 1,201 in 2007 from 1,301 in 2006. However, alcohol related fatalities increased to 1,244 in 2007 from 1,099 in 2006. As a direct result of people not taking the few seconds to fasten their seatbelts, lives are being lost on our roadways. Being involved in a traffic crash unbelted does not just affect the injured person. The careless behavior causes higher insurance premiums, exorbitant short-term and long-term hospital care and precious lives lost. “As professionals and parents, this is a very personal issue for our firm,” said firm partner John Foote. “Our hope is that this campaign will alter the behavior of not only students but also parents and faculty, to wear their seat belts each and every time they get into their vehicle and not just for this competition.” While "Battle of the Belts" is an annual program among high schools, we all need to remember and remind each other to buckle up every single day. No matter your age, we all play a role in preventing these senseless tragedies caused by not wearing seat belts. © 2009 Fonvielle Lewis Foote & Messer |
Maclay School was awarded $1,000 by FLF&M for having the
highest seat belt usage rate in the 2009 "Battle of the Belts" competition.
Pictured here with firm partner Jim Foote is Leon County Superintendent
Jackie Pons and representatives from TPD and Maclay School.