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Students get serious about safe driving at Platte Valley
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Austin Whipple, left, and Ty Burman see if a driver entering Platte Valley High School is wearing a seat belt. The teens, who are members of the school’s Family, Career and Community Leaders of America chapter, were manning the checkpoint in March as part of the group’s “Buckle-Up Broncos” campaign.
For the Tribune
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Chris Casey, (Bio) ccasey@greeleytrib.com
May 11, 2008
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FCCLA members are, from left, Jared Cass, Alfredo Haro, Austin Whipple, Levi Cheney, Ty Burman and Levi Greenly.
For the Tribune
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KERSEY -- A group of seniors at Platte Valley High School decided they'd seen enough. It was time to do something that might put the brakes on more tragic vehicle crashes.
The six seniors, members of the school's Family, Career and Community Leaders of America chapter, brainstormed and came up with the "Buckle-Up Broncos" campaign.
The effort launched in March with a traffic checkpoint as cars streamed into school, where the seniors checked to see if drivers were wearing seatbelts.
They found driving statistics -- such as severe injury is three times more likely for those not wearing seatbelts -- that were read over the loudspeaker as part of daily announcements.
Also, they made "pledge cards," which included reminders about safe-driving habits (always buckle up, don't speed, don't drink and drive, don't use a cell phone, look twice at intersections and obey traffic laws).
On the back of the card they put a picture of Seth Walters, a Platte Valley student who died in an accident in Kersey last July. His car collided with a truck at the intersection of U.S. 34 and Weld County 53, site of three fatal car wrecks involving teenagers since 1999.
A traffic signal was installed at the intersection last fall.
"We thought it would be a really good impact on the community," said Austin Whipple, an FCCLA member. "The death of Seth Walters hit home for a lot of us."
At the March 4 seatbelt checkpoint -- a four-way stop that everyone entering the school passes through -- the students surveyed 302 drivers and passengers. They found that 80 percent of students were wearing seatbelts, 84 percent of passengers, 100 percent of the teachers, and 50 percent of other adults.
Dum-Dum suckers were handed to drivers and passengers not buckled up. The majority of non-buckled people were males.
On Friday, the FCCLA group will wrap up the campaign by handing out Lifesavers to all students with this message on each piece of candy: "Tell a friend to buckle up."
The campaign, which placed second out of 20 teams at the FCCLA state competition and narrowly missed qualifying for nationals, has been a success, Whipple said.
"I definitely think it was a big eye-opener to a lot of students, especially the cards that had Seth's picture on the back," he said. "It's just a good reminder for kids to always be safe and buckle up."
About 100 students signed the pledge cards to carry in their wallets.
The FCCLA students plan to do another checkpoint before school lets out to see if driver habits changed in the last two months.
The Lifesavers candy hand-out comes at a good time, just as students begin summer break, said Janet Niederkorn, teacher-sponsor of FCCLA.
"I think as summer comes, they drive more and are out later and that kind of stuff," Niederkorn said.
She said the students -- Whipple, Jared Cass, Alfredo Haro, Levi Cheney, Ty Burman and Levi Greenly -- got a $400 grant from Drive Safe Weld County to fund the campaign. Some money remains, Niederkorn, and "it's something somebody else might pick up next year."
Niederkorn said the new traffic signal has been a big improvement, as parents used to take longer routes to school simply to avoid the dangerous intersection.
"I've lost three students personally -- two of them were at that intersection and then another was about a mile away," she said. "We're glad to have the light."
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