Alliance Alert November 18, 2008

 

Alliance Alert is published by the Meharry-State Farm Alliance, which was formed in 2002 to increase seat belt usage by African Americans and other minorities. State Farm is a leading provider of insurance and financial services, and Meharry Medical College, founded in 1876, is one of the nation’s foremost Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Meharry-State Farm Alliance is the presenting organization of the Seat Belt Champion Award, given to legislators who sponsor seat belt safety laws in their states.

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Good-bye, Paul Newman. Here’s a young man’s tribute to the man he credits with saving his life.

 

NSC supports comprehensive GDL laws. Last month the National Safety Council issued a statement calling for federal incentives to states to pass comprehensive graduated driver licensing laws and encouraged parents to adopt GDL practices regardless of the laws in their states. These practices include “extended learning phases for new drivers, provisional driver licenses that include night-time curfews and passenger restrictions, zero tolerance for alcohol use, primary safety belt use, and bans on cell phone use and text messaging.” You can read the position statement here.

 

“Unheard of a few years ago,” this report says, referring to the discounts insurance companies have started offering young drivers. The report is fairly comprehensive; it says the changes are due to graduated driver licensing laws, parental involvement, use of in-car cameras and other technology, and good old-fashioned competition.

Another “why didn’t I think of that” idea… Scented, floral seat belt covers. If you didn’t like the Teddy bear covers, you might like these; they’re designed for both comfort and fun. 

So who’s right about booster seats? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety examined 41 booster seats and concluded that 13 models performed too poorly to be recommended to the public (read more here). However, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, and others, have disputed the findings (more here). Meharry’s own child passenger safety instructor would like to reassure families that their car seats are safe. “All the seats tested meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213, which regulates child safety restraints. If a child has been properly fitted in a booster seat by a child passenger safety technician, he or she is safe riding with the family,” said Angela Brown, manager of the Middle Tennessee Child Passenger Safety Center at Meharry Medical College.

This issue’s shock ad. From where else? Australia.

If you drive an ‘09 Jag… the Alliance Alert wants to ask you for a donation to seat belt safety…but you should also know that some XFs are being recalled for faulty seat belts.

Before you plug in your hybrid… Consider these hidden dangers.

In honor of Shannon Nicole Adkins. A teen who studied why her locale led the state in auto-related teen deaths has herself been killed.

Nice website, Wisconsin. It’s a portal for both teens and parents needing resources for driving laws and licensing. Dig around and you’ll come upon this alarming fact: “Historically, for two out of three 16- to 19-year-old drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes [in Wisconsin], it was their first and last crash.”

Do you know the next Seat Belt Champion? President-Elect Barack Obama received a Seat Belt Champion Award from the Meharry-State Farm Alliance in 2004 for helping citizens drive more safely in Illinois. He is one of 14 legislators who have been recognized since the award's inception in 2003. The Alliance hopes to present its next award in the coming months as states close in on their decisions to upgrade seat belt laws from secondary to primary enforcement. Perhaps you know the designee. Perhaps you are the next person designated a Seat Belt Champion by Meharry and State Farm®.

 

Send your roadway safety news to lsparks@mmc.edu. And thanks for telling others about the Alliance Alert.