Shock leads to safety

Megan Dirkes is writing her obituary this week. Friday, it will be read as a shroud is placed over her body.

Along with 12 other students at Northwestern High School, the freshman will become a statistic — a teen killed in a car accident — during Grim Reaper Day.

“It’s just supposed to shock other students when they see everyone lying down with a white cloth over their head,” said junior Jacob Grigsky, vice president of Students Against Destructive Decisions.

“We hope it makes an impact,” said Marsha Scherz, co-advisor for SADD.

Traffic crashes are the No. 1 cause of death for teenagers in Wisconsin and the nation, according to the state Department of Transportation. On average, a teenage motorist is killed or injured in a traffic crash every hour in Wisconsin. The SADD group is sponsoring a series of events aimed at keeping their classmates safe on the road. It started with an assembly. A week later, law enforcement officers descended on the student parking lot to point out some real life consequences. Students who were buckled up got their names entered in a drawing for gas cards. The unbuckled teens were handed toe tags similar to those placed on a dead body.

“I think it reminds the kids that people are watching them,” said Superior Police Capt. Matt Markon, who took part in the event Friday with Sgt. Paul Voigt of the Wisconsin State Patrol.

Casey Van Til is among the 100 students with parking permits at NHS. She wears her seat belt every day.

“I’ve always worn my seat belt,” said the junior. “It’s just kind of a habit thing.”

Junior Derek Tuura’s car forces him to buckle up.

“It’s a two-piece seat belt so it’s annoying if you don’t have it on,” he said.

Senior Justine Smith knows how important seat belt use is.

“My friend just got in a bad car accident,” she said. “But having his seat belt on saved his life.”

All of them were entered into the gas card drawing.

Only a handful of toe tags were handed out, including two to a pair of passengers who said they didn’t buckle up because they were running late.

“This is hopefully a good reminder to them put the seat belt on, regardless of the excuse,” Markon said. “‘I forgot,’ ‘I’m running late,’ whatever it is, there actually are true consequences to not wearing them.”

Young people between the ages of 16 and their early 20s are the least likely to buckle up in a car according to Sgt. Brett Heino of the Wisconsin State Patrol Spooner, especially males with pickup trucks.

“A lot of teens feel that they’re invincible,” he said.

While putting on a seat belt won’t prevent a crash, it can save your life.

“In rollover crashes you’re basically a ping pong ball in that vehicle,” Heino said. “I see a lot of injuries and fatalities that could have been prevented.”

Factors that lead to teen accidents include speed, alcohol use and distractions such as texting while driving. The SADD group chose to target texting while driving this year. Their slogan is “Thumbs up! Thumbs are for Driving, not Texting.”

While handing out toe tags, SADD members did see people texting and driving.

“I don’t think we killed anyone for it,” said freshman Hannah Bell.

But texting while driving can quickly lead to an accident. Answering a text takes you about 10 seconds, Heino said. During that time, a vehicle going 65 mph will travel 950 feet; a vehicle going 85 mph will travel an eighth of a mile, with the driver not seeing the road.

Teens are more likely to be driving distracted, Heino said, because they have cell phones. As Jacob put it, teens get their driver’s license about the time you get your first phone.

“They don’t see driving as responsibility,” said SADD President Nicolette Lindberg. “They see it as ‘Oh, I get to drive now. Let’s go text.’ They’re not taking it seriously.”

Until it happens to them, Jacob said. One SADD student spoke at the assembly, telling about the accident she got into with her sister. Her sister, who was driving, reached for her cell phone and ended up rolling the car. Neither was badly hurt, but it was a wake-up call.

“Sometimes you get caught off guard. And you’re caught texting yourself,” Jacob said. “After that, like, if you have a close call you usually don’t do it anymore.”

The SADD students will cap the series of events next week with a mock crash, complete with medical helicopter, jaws of life and a body bag.

“We’re hoping this will count as a close call,” Jacob said.

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