Bereaved mother asks teens to buckle up, turn off phone

Ruby Hall said her teenage daughter usually wore a seat belt when driving, but one night last December, 17-year-old Cynthia Marie Owen did not buckle up.

She was killed in a head-on collision.

Police determined Owen was also talking on her cell phone at the time of the crash. Hall said she believes her daughter might still be alive if she had worn a seat belt and had not answered her phone.

But Hall is hopeful other teens will listen to that message. The mother has joined a state-led effort to cut the number of teen drivers who die, or are injured, in motor vehicle accidents by promoting safety and increased driver education.

"It doesn't take that much to turn the phone off while driving," said Hall, who was one of dozens gathered at Cottonwood High School on Thursday to talk about driver safety.

Automobile crashes were the top cause of death for Utahns ages 15 to 19 during the years from 2001 to 2005, according to the Utah Department of Health. Suicide was the second cause of death.

Kevin Condra, media and education coordinator for the health department, said groups across the state will likely push this year to increase graduated driver's license requirements for teen drivers, and also to increase enforcement of seat belt laws.

In addition, high schools are being encouraged to review parking policies, and perhaps to make parking contingent on seat belt use, or enrollment in a safe driving course. Parents are also being asked to be more involved in monitoring how safely their children drive and whether a child needs more drivers education.

"Once a teen gets a learner's permit, or driver's license, it's not a time when a parent should be walking away," Condra said.

Groups involved in promoting safe teen driving include the state health department, Utah Department of Public Safety, and local health departments across the state. The Utah Department of Transportation is also running a campaign to promote "zero fatalities" on Utah highways, and teen drivers are the focus of the campaign.

For more information, log on to the following Web sites: www.health.utah.gov/vipp, highwaysafety.utah.gov, zerofatalities.com, dont-drive-stupid.com.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com