Cross My Heart

A well-meaning, but ultimately misguided attempt to get young adults buckled-up in cars is happening here in Florida. Well-meaning because people behind it lost a loved one in a devastating car accident and want to spare other families their grief. Misguided because more effective ways exist to do that.

Katie Marchetti, 16 year-old high school student, died when she was thrown from a car last month during an I-75 accident. Katie wasn't wearing a seat belt. Yesterday, Katie's parents, friends, and other concerned residents visited Tallahassee to pressure lawmakers into passing a tougher seat belt law.

Breaks down this way: Right now, cops can't ticket a driver just because he/she isn't wearing a seat belt unless he/she is under eighteen years of age. Unfortunately, not everyone is easily "age-identified" so supporters of new legislation say if police could cite anyone, including those over eighteen, more lives will be saved.

I'm not convinced. I know H and C are going to mess up their Duke-issued spandex over my non-left-like stance, but this law won't make a bit of difference with teenagers and young adults, presumably the intended targets of such legislation.

Let me explain.

If the ultimate goal is to convince kids seat belts save lives, try this approach. Visit high schools and conduct small workshops or assemblies. (Yes, more kids pay attention in a small setting than a rowdy auditorium.) Bring along pictures from accidents and loved ones affected by tragedy. Testimonials and visual aids impact kids far more than a law crafted by legislators and lawyers.

This law also seems to address drivers, not passengers. Katie was a passenger the day she died and would not have been affected by a tougher law anyway.

House Speaker Bense, as always, gets it wrong when he shouts about personal freedom that such enforcement would undercut. Somebody please tell him to shut up. That's not the issue here - the law already makes seat belts mandatory. We now want to compel young people to abide by such a law.

I did my own informal poll among students and discovered they don't buckle up when parents aren't around because seat belts are "uncomfortable", "too tight when we hit the breaks" or "wrinkle clothes". If necessary, most kids would "click it" around cop cars or certain intersections, then "unclick" after driving away. Talking to kids one-on-one is the only way to turn that tide. We have to get them to want to buckle up.

I understand and applaud people turning tragedy into activism. However, we'd do better to change minds, not laws. That's the way to save lives. Not Tallahassee. Not this time.