Every year, over 34,000 fatal crashes occur within the US.

Friedman Middle School is participating in the “Belt It Out” contest. It is a statewide competition that educates and raises awareness about driver and passenger safety. This week you may notice at the school entrance the safety banner and our Freddie, the Falcon reminding all of our students and drivers that seat belts save lives.  Here are some facts to let you know how important seatbelts are in your family’s lives.

It’s the LAW[1]:

• Your child should always be belted into their seat. 
• A car seat should be rear facing until at least 1 year of age.
• A child should be in a forward facing seat until they reach the weight limit of the car seat, then move to a booster seat.
• A booster seat should be used until the child is 7 years old, 4’ 9” tall and can sit in the seat without slouching.
• You should be wearing your seatbelt whether passenger or driver.  As a driver, you could be fined $25 for each passenger that is not wearing their seat belts.

It PROTECTS:

• Every year, over 34,000 fatal crashes occur within the US.
• It’s estimated that for 2009 the state of Massachusetts could have saved $5.7 million for injury prevention if everyone wore their seatbelt
• Between private payers and government funding, $69.3 million is the estimated cost for 2009 injuries that could have been prevented with seatbelt