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PR - 09/06/2006: Health Dept Receives Grant to Improve Teens Use of Seat Belts

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 6, 2006 San Mateo County Health Department Contact: Beverly Thames, (650) 573-3935 SAN MATEO COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT RECEIVES GRANT TO IMPROVE TEENS USE OF SEAT BELTS San Mateo, Calif. - The San Mateo County Health Department has received a two-year $76,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, to implement a program aimed at increasing seat belt use by high school students. The program entitled The High School Seat Belt Challenge is a peer-driven program that charges students to develop awareness campaigns aimed at increasing seat belt use by their fellow students. The Challenge also provides the students with an opportunity to engage in friendly competition with other participating schools, as they practice a potentially life saving and simple behavior...buckling up. Cash prizes will be awarded to the schools with the three highest seat belt rates. Teenagers have the highest fatality rates in motor vehicle crashes than any other age group. Over 5,000 teens lose their lives each year in car accidents, and of those who sustain fatal injuries, two-thirds are not wearing seat belts. Research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has shown that lap/shoulder belts when used properly can reduce the likelihood of fatal or serious injuries in an automobile crash by 50 percent. From October through June 2006, sixty-three teenagers (ages 13-18 years) were involved in auto collisions in San Mateo County that required ambulance transport to a hospital or trauma center according to San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services. Ninety percent of those teens were noted to be wearing seat belts, and fortunately there were no fatalities. "The use of seat belts is a simple and effective method for reducing automobile crash fatalities," states Dr. Anand Chabra, San Mateo County's Director of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health. "We are excited to lead this effort to reduce serious injuries and fatalities among teens in San Mateo County." All schools in the San Mateo and Sequoia Union High School Districts were invited to participate in the Project. Five San Mateo County High schools will be competing this September in the 2006 Challenge - Aragon High, Burlingame High, Half Moon Bay High, Mills High, and Sequoia High. Assisting the Health Department's Injury Prevention Program with the Project are the California Highway Patrol - Redwood City Division, Half Moon Bay Police Department, Millbrae Police Department, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Redwood City Police Department, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, Seton Medical Center Coastside, Sequoia Hospital Health & Wellness Center, and Stanford University Medical Center's Trauma Program. For more information on The High School Seat Belt Challenge, contact Patrice Christensen, San Mateo County EMS, at (650) 573-3728. ###