Posted Dec 02, 2011 @ 02:52 PM
All BHS students were able to watch a presentation today, given by Sergeant Brent Bernhardt, from the Missouri Highway Patrol. Sergeant Benrhardt gave an inspirational and gut-wrenching presentation about the importance of wearing seatbelts and avoiding inattentive driving.
Sergeant Bernhardt shared many personal stories about working crashes and then having to tell parents that their child had died. He shared an instance where he missed an opportunity to tell his best friend that he was making poor decisions and told of how much he regretted his inaction that night.
He made it very simple for the students to understand, telling them that the decisions that they make every single day are decisions so easy that a kindergarten child would know the right choice, and yet they continue to make poor choices.
He followed his speech with a short video that made the scenarios real. “Permanent” showed graphic crash photos of fatality wrecks in the state of Missouri. Pictures of the crash victims’ lives and videos of family members’ testimonies were interspersed with the images of mangled cars and almost unrecognizable bodies. I truly hope that these images will stick with our students as they pull out of our parking lot this afternoon and again tonight when they make a choice to get in a vehicle and go out on the road.
Earlier this year, we surveyed our students and found that a shockingly low 33% of our student body wears a seatbelt each time they enter a vehicle. As an adult in our community, I am appalled by that number. A simple, easy act could save so many lives and our students feel so invincible that they are willing to risk death rather than use a seatbelt.
My own father made sure that seatbelts were a habit for me. I was not allowed to start the engine of my car without wearing a seatbelt and I was not allowed to drive if even a single passenger in my car was unbuckled. I knew that if my dad saw me without a seatbelt that I would not have driving privileges. Even more than that, however, I knew that my dad cared enough to require responsibility from me.
If you are a parent or grandparent of a teen driver, please make seatbelts a requirement for your driver. Talk to them about the assembly they sat through today and let them know you care enough to want them to wear their seatbelt 100% of the time. Set the right example by using your seatbelt each time you drive or ride in a car and then ask our teenagers to step up to the plate.
The tragic and untimely death of any individual in a car accident is something that each of us would prefer to avoid. Simply click your seatbelt and save your life!
If you would like additional information about Missouri’s seatbelt statistics, visit:
www.savemolives.org
To get additional information about having Sergeant Bernhardt present at your school, you can find his contact information at:
http://www.mshp.dps.mo.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/PIED/index.html
