Lynchburg, VA - One school system is taking to the airwaves to promote driver safety.
Lynchburg City Schools is going to release a video on their public access channel about ways to stay safe behind the wheel, and they are using some young voices to get that message out.
The video is all about getting teen drivers to buckle up. School system officials say teens are the best champions of this cause.
Getting the keys and revving up the engine is the first taste of freedom for a lot of teens. Students say getting teens to protect that freedom and their lives by buckling up can be a hard sell.
"They don't give excuses, they just say I don't want to wear a seatbelt," said Kayla Creasy, a member of YOVASO.
It's a decision that sealed the fate of two Bedford County teens after they both died in a car accident and were not wearing seatbelts.
It's a tragedy Lynchburg City Schools and members of Youth of Virginia Speak Out are trying to prevent.
"If you can at least change one person's mind on how they look at texting and driving, drinking and driving, wearing a seatbelt it might change their entire life," said Justice Layne, a member of YOVASO.
In a world where a lot of teens feel invincible, the school system is hoping to open their eyes with the video of crash scenes, polices officers giving statistics and students like Justice Layne speaking up about dangers behind the wheel.
"One little accident can hurt them and everyone around them," said Layne.
"It's much more powerful coming from another student that they may respect," said Officer S.R. Witt, a school resource officer.
The group YOVASO also organizes campaigns like "Save Your Tailgate" and getting students to vow they will be safer behind the wheel.
"We got each student to sign the pledge saying they would not text and drive and they would buckle up when they were in the car driving with someone else," said Creasy.
Because so much of what we do behind the wheel takes our attention, the video also addresses texting and driving and distracted driving. The video will be on school access Channel 17.
