Westchester County Youth Bureau

The Web sites below offer additional information relating to the topic of teen driving safety.

Did you know...

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group. In 2008, nine teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries. Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.
  
  
• In 2007 young drivers (between 16 and 20 years old) accounted for 5 percent of total licensed drivers and yet 10 percent of all drivers involved in fatal and personal injury crashes were between the ages of 16 and 20.
  
  
• In Westchester County, 251 drivers between the ages of 16 and 21 were killed in speed-related motor vehicle crashes in 2007.
  
  
• Many high school students fail to use their seat belts even when riding with adults who are buckled up.
  
  
• Male high school students are less likely to use seat belts compared to female high school students.
  
  
• When you don't wear your seat belt, you increase your chances of being ejected from the vehicle.  Unbelted occupants are four times more likely to die if they are thrown from the car than if they remained inside.
  
  
• Law enforcement officers know that teens are at a higher risk in car crashes; therefore, they are always on special alert for anyone not wearing their seat belt or speeding.
  
  
• In Westchester County, 22,582 seat belt tickets and 52,080 speeding tickets were issued in 2007. (Tally of all police agencies)

These statistics were taken from the databases of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research, and Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The "Save Your Face, Click It or Ticket" campaign urges teens to prevent permanent facial and bodily injuries by simply taking a few seconds to put on a seat belt.  The High School program consists of several components, listed below.

Dramatic Presentation
The program begins with a dramatic presentation, simulating a rollover crash which demonstrates the severe consequences that occur when both the driver and passengers of a vehicle are not wearing their seat belt.  Visually, this demonstration speaks for itself and although dummies are used in the simulation, teens easily make the connection that this could become a real life situation. 

PA Announcements
Teen inspired PA announcements are read by students during the school hours and carry a humorous message that reinforces seat belt safety. 

Educational Materials
Traffic safety materials are given to the students to raise awareness about seat belt facts and posters are hung in school hallways. An informative teen seat belt brochure is distributed to new teen drivers at three DMV offices in Yonkers, White Plains and Peekskill.

Ticket Contest
SADD students (Students Against Destructive Decisions) issue mock tickets to those who are caught without their seat belt and are reminded that the ticket they receive could have been a real one.  Those caught wearing their seat belt receive a key chain and a chance to win bigger prizes such as an MTV studio tour, lunch at ESPN Zone or tickets to Playland's Ice Casino. 

Teen Commercial
The County's communications office has available a teen seat belt commercial. The commercial aired for thirteen weeks on MTV, Nick, TNT, CNN, News 12, BET, Cartoon Network, Family, USA, WTBS and ESPN.  High school students from the Lakeland School District participated in the making of the television commercial.

Westchester County Traffic Safety office, under the Department of Public Works, provides traffic safety programs to the public through the Community Traffic Safety Program. This program is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with a Grant from the NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.

The goal of the Community Traffic Safety Program is to educate the public and promote safe driving behaviors in order to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities.

Traffic safety topics:

• Driver Safety (including the prevention of distracted, aggressive and drowsy driving)
• Occupant restraints
• Child safety seats
• Bicycle safety
• Pedestrian safety
• School bus safety

Traffic safety events and campaigns: 

• The County offers educational traffic safety programs for schools, camps, libraries, corporations, community groups and senior citizen organizations.
• Traffic Safety has teamed up with the County Executive's office and NYSP Troop K Headquarters to create the "Save Your Face, Click it or Ticket Westchester" teen seat belt program.
• This office works with SADD students to coordinate teen seat belt surveys and ticket contest.
• The County's Bicycle Advocates Committee sponsors an annual Bicycle Safety Poster contest each May. The winners are awarded prizes at a ceremony, which kicks off Bicycle Sundays on the Bronx River Parkway.
• Traffic Safety donates traffic safety materials to community safety events and health fairs.
• Traffic Safety displays are set up at health fairs such as the WHUD Kids Fair and the Salute to Seniors fair.
• The office works with local agencies including police departments and schools to promote traffic safety programs and to address traffic safety issues.
• Traffic Safety promotes safety campaigns such as, Buckle Up America, Child Passenger Safety, Back to School Week, Drowsy Driving Awareness Week and Aggressive Driving Prevention Week.
• Through the cooperation of the Westchester County Traffic Safety Board, a group of volunteers with an interest in promoting traffic safety programs, task forces are developed to devote time to specific issues.
• The office assists with the distribution of child safety seats and provides information on child safety seat inspections.
• The office works with local police departments on many projects and funds selective traffic safety enforcement campaigns.
• The office works with the legislative branch to promote traffic safety legislation.