Seatbelt Safety for McLean High School Drivers

McLEAN, VA -- Fairfax County Police officers from the McLean District, along with McLean High School principal, Ellen Reilly, and Scott Davis, School Resource Officer, partnered with McDonald's last week to raise awareness on the importance of wearing seatbelts.

The officers and Principal Reilly stopped students as they were leaving school and handed out McDonald's sandwich coupons to every student who was buckled up, according to FCPD. A total of 150 coupons were issued. Only seven students were not wearing their seatbelts.

"We were pleased to see so many students employing safe practices and the teens were excited they were getting a free sandwich just for doing the right thing!" FCPD noted in a post on its Facebook page about the event.

In 2013, 2,163 teens in the United States ages 16–19 were killed and 243,243 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16-19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash, the CDC warns.

Among teen drivers, those at especially high risk for motor vehicle crashes are, according to the CDC:

• Males: In 2013, the motor vehicle death rate for male drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 was almost two times that of their female counterparts.
• Teens driving with teen passengers: The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases with the number of teen passengers.
• Newly licensed teens: Crash risk is particularly high during the first months of licensure.

PHOTOS from seatbelt safety event courtesy of Fairfax County Police