Seat Belts and Service-Learning

How teens are using service-learning to change classmates' seat belt habits...

(Source: Teen Service-Learning Project, Meharry-State Farm Alliance)

...in Detroit, Mich.

Detroit City High School–Teens in a science class researched seat belt designs, held a slogan contest, and ran a campaign promoting seat belt use for peers and parents. YEAR TWO: students studied the physics of auto impacts and then developed designs for “user-friendly” seat belts that would prevent more injuries.

Redford High School–Students held a “Pre-Prom Program” to stress seat belt safety for peers and conducted a child safety check at a local women’s health center.

Worthington Kilbourne High School (YEARS ONE-TWO)–Students researched seat belt use, developed public service announcements, and conducted a letter writing campaign to local legislators in support of passage of a primary seat belt law in Ohio.

...in Ripley, Ohio

Ripley High School (YEARS ONE-THREE)–Students researched the benefits of seat belt use, collaborated with local law enforcement agencies to spread the message of the importance of seat belt to all drivers in the community, and conducted a letter writing campaign to local legislators in support of passage of a primary seat belt law in Ohio.

...in Worthington, Ohio

Thomas Worthington High School

YEAR ONE–Students researched the importance of seat belts, developed public service announcements, and conducted a letter writing campaign to local legislators in support of passage of a primary seat belt law in Ohio.

YEAR TWO–Students wrote weekly public service announcements stressing the importance of regular seat belt use, sponsored a mock crash during “Prom Promise” week with help from the Ohio Highway Patrol and State Farm insurance, and distributed brochures on seat belt use at Prom Week activities.

Kingsbury Career Technology Center (Marketing Class)

YEAR ONE-THREE–Students competed in a T-shirt design contest promoting seat belt use at Hamilton High School and Kingsbury CTC. They also studied seat belt use in their community and reported their findings in a marketing and advertising campaign through radio, TV, and news releases from Memphis City Schools. They also conducted a billboard design contest.

YEAR FOUR–Students utilized Tennessee’s auto safety mascot, “Ollie Otter” (with students playing Ollie), to emphasize the importance of regular seat belt use and to create excitement among Memphis elementary and high school students and also students across Tennessee. Students conducted research on seat belt statistics and created fliers and posters, which were posted prior to holidays. They also prepared presentations for the citywide Career Expo, where they were able to reach almost all seniors in Memphis City Schools. They also prepared news releases and a commercial for a local TV station.

Glencliff High School (YEAR FOUR)–Students researched seat belt statistics and then prepared fliers in multiple languages (English, Spanish, and Arabic) for distribution to their peers and also in the community. They also organized and held an assembly on seat belt use at their school.

Westwood High School (YEARS TWO-THREE)–Students developed educational materials and presented programs on seat belt use to peers, parents, and middle and elementary school children.

Raines High School (YEAR ONE)–Students made fliers that contained information about Florida’s seat belt laws and consequences for violating them.

Central High School (YEARS TWO-THREE)–Students formed “Buckle Up Kids” and wrote and staged a play on seat belt safety they performed at nearby elementary and middle schools.

Little Rock Central High School (YEARS FOUR-FIVE)–Student members of the “Central High School Seatbelt Safety Team” created buckle-up signs for student parking lots, made posters and fliers for school hallways, gave out food coupons for students who were buckled up, and participated in a statewide conference about the state’s new texting-while-driving law.

Fayetteville High School (YEARS FOUR-FIVE)–Students planned and held driver safety checks in the fall and spring and passed out food coupons to students who were buckled up. They prepared a presentation on seat belt use and the proper use of child safety restraint seats for a local elementary school, and they partnered with another high school to help its students explore how to get involved in the seat belt safety project. They researched statistics on seat belt use and other risky driving behaviors (texting, DUI, and driving with too many passengers) and then prepared flyers and posters (materials were also translated into Spanish). Spanish speaking students also prepared and made announcements on seat belt use on the local Spanish language radio station.

Blythewood High School (YEARS THREE-FIVE)–Members of the JROTC Cadet Corps were involved in observation of seat belt use by students entering and leaving school parking lots and organizing and sponsoring a schoolwide seat belt safety poster contest. They researched seat belt statistics and used the data they gathered to prepare a brochure which was distributed school-wide. They also prepared a video and PSAs for the school’s closed-circuit TV system and wrote articles for the school newspaper. Members of the team also participated in South Carolina’s “Alive at 25” program.

Sam Houston High School (YEAR FIVE)–Students researched seat belt use and laws throughout the country and in Texas. Then they designed a seat belt safety campaign, which included posters, T-shirts and PSAs, based on their findings to promote regular seat belt use by students and staff.

John F. Kennedy High School (YEARS THREE-FIVE)–Students in a graphics design class researched seat belt statistics and then designed flowers and posters which were displayed throughout the school and in the windows of local businesses. Fliers were also distributed at the citywide service-learning fair.

Roosevelt High School (YEARS THREE-FIVE)–Students researched seat belt use and laws in Spanish, then prepared and gave presentations on the importance of regular seat belt use at a bilingual parents’ meeting at the school and out in the community. Their research and preparation reinforced what they were learning in their Spanish class.

The TEACH project, now under way in Chicago, is measuring the effectiveness of service-learning in combination with enforcement of seat belt laws at school parking lots. The Alliance thanks the following schools, which are participating in the 2010 phase of the project.

Kelvyn Park High School:

Students have conducted research on the importance of seat belts and designed T-shirts and wrist bands, which they are selling to raise additional funds for the project. They have also sponsored a school-wide “ghost-out” activity to highlight the morbidity rate among teen drivers.

Morgan Park High School:

Students have constructed their own surveys to find out peer attitudes about seat belt use; results have been analyzed and compared with actual observations. Students are also researching seat belt statistics and using the information to design fliers and posters distributed throughout the school. They have announced PSAs on the school’s PA system and written essays on the importance of seat belt use for the school newspaper.

William Taft High School:

Special Ed students have brainstormed different safe-driving topics and selected three to research and prepare reports for sharing with peers: impaired driving, distracted driving, and seat belt use. Some students have made presentations to other classes throughout the school and encouraged students with driver’s licenses to sign a pledge not to engage in activities related to these three behaviors while driving.

The Jackson Teen Study, now under way in Jackson, Miss., has been measuring the effectiveness of service-learning in urban schools. The Alliance thanks the following participants from the Jackson public schools system.

Bailey Magnet High School

Members of the “Bailey Believers in Buckling Up” team conducted random observations of drivers at a busy intersection near their school and identified a range of unsafe auto safety behaviors–driving with a baby in lap, loud music, texting, cell phone use, and non-use of seat belts. Based on their observations they wrote poetry, poems, and rap songs focused on seat belt safety and also investigated the passage of laws that would designate school zones as “quiet zones” (no music or turned low). They also completed Power Points and a video on their findings and presented these to peers at a city-wide student conference on seat belt use.

Callaway High School

Students researched and analyzed seat belt statistics and organized a school-wide poster contest on seat belt safety and shared findings with peers in other classes. They also conducted a school-wide petition drive to require the Jackson Public School District to offer Driver’s Ed in every high school (81% students signed it).

Murrah High School

Students in a Persuasive Speaking class applied what they were learning to present persuasive speeches on the regular use of seat belts. They also wrote songs, raps, and poems on the subject. Students also worked with their Student Council to write a school policy regarding the use of seat belts on school grounds (they are hoping to take this policy to the Jackson School Board for city-wide adoption).

Wingfield High School

Students in the JROTC Cadet Corps created the “Seatbelt Safety Initiative” to raise school and community awareness of the importance of regular seat belt use. They participated in National Teen Driver Safety Week and the “Teens on the Move” program, sponsored by the Mississippi Office of Highway Safety. They conducted a school-wide poster contest (in collaboration with the Art Department) and held a student “Seatbelt Safety Summit” for students from other Jackson high schools. They also publicized Oprah Winfrey’s “No Phone Zone Pledge” and encouraged peers to “take the pledge.”