Kristyn Merbeth
Iron Quill

Ironwood Ridge High School is one of four high schools in the Tucson area that is part of a pilot seatbelt project.

The project is funded by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). Ironwood Ridge and Cienega High School are two of the four schools receiving education on seatbelt usage. Posters are all over the school featuring students’ pictures with slogans like “Click It Or Ticket” written on them.

The project began in September when 800 students from Ironwood Ridge took a survey during their PE class regarding seatbelt use. The results showed that over 92 percent of students wear their seatbelts. Lee Ann Hamilton, the project coordinator, and the other project organizers hope that the education on seatbelts will improve rates even more, so that eventually all Ironwood Ridge students will wear their seatbelts when in a car.

In fact, the statistics for seatbelt usage are high in all of Pima County. Seatbelts are worn a whopping 89 percent of the time, which is 8 percent higher than the national rate, and 11 percent higher than overall seatbelt use in Arizona.

It may not seem that seatbelt usage is an important issue, but national research has shown that approximately 45 percent of car fatalities could have been prevented if the passengers had been wearing their seatbelts. During 2005, it is estimated that 229 deaths in Arizona could have been prevented if passengers had worn their seatbelts.

“Seatbelts save lives,” said Lee Ann Hamilton. She also said that they want students to use seatbelts on “short trips, long trips, just all the time.”

The interactive website, www.ironwoodridgeseatbelt.com, has more information on seatbelt use. The site also has many different contests where students have the chance to win iPods, gift cards, and other prizes. The main purpose of the site is to get feedback from students. Frequent visits to the website not only increase a person’s chance of winning but it also tells students how to claim their prizes.