The billboard reminding students to buckle their seat belts has
not lost its magic, results from a recent contest revealed.
Gilroy – The billboard reminding students to buckle their seat belts has not lost its magic, results from a recent contest revealed.
Gilroy High School placed fourth among 11 high schools in Santa Clara County for the highest percentage of students wearing seat belts. In two unannounced and one announced check of 100 cars, monitors found more than 95.4 percent of students wore their seat belt. This fell short of Milpitas High School, which had a 98.3 percent compliance rate, but compared favorably to the 89.4 percent compliance countywide.
“It was pretty impressive that without having to do a whole lot of work, we were at a pretty high compliance,” said Julie Berggren, director of student activities.
Members of the high-school student government first surveyed fellow students March 1 and found 90 percent of drivers and passengers wearing seat belts.
The student government spent the next month distributing information about the advantages of wearing seat belts and holding events to call attention to the cause, such as a race where students switch seats and buckle up as quickly as possible. The effort paid off, as 99 percent of students wore seat belts during an announced survey at the end of March.
The lesson also stuck, as a later unannounced survey showed 97 percent of students were wearing their seat belt. Berggren said she believes the 7-percent increase came about because of the student government’s work and because of the cautionary tale of Erin Kinkel, a high school junior who died nearly three years ago when she was thrown from the bed of a pickup truck. A billboard with her portrait and a message urging students to buckle up faces drivers leaving the high school.
“Leaving the parking lot and seeing her picture with a reminder to wear your seat belt – it’s a huge part of why the students and the community wear their seat belt,” said Berggren, who worked at the school when Kinkel was a student.
The school might not have won any awards for its performance or improvement, but this was a contest where everybody wins, she said.
“If we got one more person to wear their seat belt, it’s worth it.”
