Expert stresses safety tips amid 100 deadliest days of summer
MISSOULA, Mont. — From Memorial Day through Labor Day, AAA calls this the 100 deadliest days of summer.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, more than 1,500 people die in traffic accidents during this time of year.
Drive Safe Missoula coordinator Steve Schmidt says his job is about saving lives. He adds there are several factors that can help lower this number.
"Wear a seat belt. No. 1, everybody is wearing their seat belt, fully buckled up. That means all passengers in the vehicle, kids are in the properly fitted car seat that has been checked by a car seat technician and that type of thing,” said Schmidt.
In Montana, 50% of crash fatalities happen during these summer months. During the winter months, those crashes are cut in half.
"When we get very complacent, when skies are clear we're able to push down on that pedal a little more, we focus on that song playlist. And when it's snowing and coming down hard and the roads are icy, we don't have time to check our phones, we have both hands on the wheel, observant of traffic, we're giving more space to the vehicles in front of us,” Schmidt said. “We're paying attention to our driving at a much higher level than we are nowadays, and it only takes a moment at 80 mph and things go really bad and no time to recover at those speeds.”
Teen drivers make up 15% of the fatality crashes in the Treasure State. However, that is down from the previous year, something Schmidt says should be commended.
“It's about recognizing the people in our community that are choosing to drive safe, that are wearing their seat belt and driving 100% sober and distraction free,” Schmidt said.
To put things into perspective, the average human head weighs 11 pounds, and traveling in a car without a seat belt, crashing at 30 mph is the same force as taking a punch from former heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson.
Schmidt says it’s parents who need to set an example at an early age.
"I’ve always said more stuff is caught than taught. So someday you can say when you’re teaching the young ones in the back their driving skills but you don't see me using my phone, you need to set that example, because they’re watching what we're doing in the front seat. It’s important to set examples so they can grow up to see what it means to always be in control behind the wheel,” said Schmidt.
Seat belts save lives, and in Missoula 93% of drivers wear a seat belt, but Schmidt says he hopes that number will get to 100%.
