"Wearing your safety belt costs you nothing. Not wearing it could cost you
everything."
That's the message of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety's
hair-raising 2006 Buckle Up television advertisement, which officially kicks off
today and ends June 4.
Standing against the backdrop of a pickup truck rolling over and over down a
rain-slicked road, the Department of Public Safety's "Seatbelt Guy" directs a
message not only at the public in general, but at pickup truck drivers in
particular.
"We're focusing on everybody, but our emphasis is on male drivers of pickup
trucks," said state Highway Patrol spokesman Lance Cpl. Paul Brouthers. "They
represent the largest number of single car drivers killed on South Carolina
roads."
About 60 fewer fatalities have occurred on South Carolina highways compared
with the same time last year. But since the state's mandatory seat belt law went
into effect in December, statistics show that roughly the same number of South
Carolinians are buckling up. For some reason, pickup truck drivers, particularly
those 34 and younger, have been the most resistant.
In the state's urban areas, 76 percent of drivers in cars wore seat belts
versus 58 percent of pickup truck drivers. In rural areas, 68 percent of car
drivers wore seat belts versus 54 percent for pickups. Nationwide, roughly 82
percent of motorists wear their seat belts, but in South Carolina the number is
closer to 70 percent. Nearly 43,000 South Carolina drivers have received $25
tickets since the buckle-up law went into effect.
Brouthers said the Highway Patrol is serious about enforcing the law. He went
on to point out that drivers should consider the larger family ramifications of
failing to buckle up. "Many of these male drivers represent the breadwinners of
their families," he said. "If they're injured or killed, the family not only
suffers that loss but a serious financial loss as well. It's like the ad says,
'Don't just do it for yourself, do it for the ones you love.'"
View the
S.C. Department of Public Safety advertisement
Reach Chris Dixon at 745-5855 or cdixon@postandcourier.com.
