You"ve heard the statistics from the government safety groups: "Wearing three-point seat belts reduces the likelihood of dying from crash injuries by 45 percent in passenger car crashes and 60 percent in light truck crashes."

A majority of people wear safety belts while driving, including you, but it was just a trip down to the gas station, you thought. Perhaps you have watched too many prime-time TV shows - at least, if a couple of researchers" observations hold truth.

A recent article on LiveScience.com says a new study found America"s prime-time TV shows do not accurately reflect safety habits of motorists, motorcyclists and bicyclists when it comes to use of seat belts and helmets.

According to the researchers, the inaccurate portrayal could have a negative effect on the behavior and safety of millions of Americans who spend an average of more than one-sixth of each day watching actors and actresses drive a vehicle without buckling up, or ride a motorcycle or bike without a helmet.

"We know what the actual use of seat belts and helmets and other safety devices is in the U.S.," Gerald McGwin, assistant professor in the department of surgery at the University of Alabama and study lead author, told LiveScience. "And while there"s some artistic license at stake in terms of making a TV story line work, it is a fact as well that TV influences people."

Researchers spent four weeks in the summer of 2005 watching the 20 most popular TV programs and their commercials on ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS, between 7-11 p.m. According to LiveScience, the study concluded while 80 percent of Americans wear seat belts, car scenes on the programs included people wearing seat belts only 62 percent of the time. The shows also under-represented helmet use.

"Dukes of Hazzard!"" said Ronald Jones finally exclaimed after several minutes of pondering.

"Those guys, they are the only TV characters that come to mind immediately who I don"t ever remember wearing safety restraints," said Jones. "And I"d say they"re the ones who needed them most."
Jones, otherwise, can"t recall ever even thinking about whether or not a particular TV character buckled up for the journey across town or for the bike ride across a campus.

"Who pays attention to that kind of stuff?" he asked. "Maybe kids, but I don"t really know if that"s the case."

Researchers say the opposite is very likely, however, and one local emergency service worker believes it could be true as well.

"I would imagine that seeing TV characters use a seat belt consistently would have a dramatic effect on adolescent viewers, even if the effect were almost subliminal," said Tahlequah City Hospital Emergency Medical Services Director Kyle Kuhns. "Seeing the character use a seat belt or helmet would give the viewer permission to use the same safety devices."

But Kuhns also believes most adults realize everything happening on a TV screen is choreographed to allow the action to flow, and is not meant to represent reality in any way.

In Cherokee County, Kuhns believes that reality is that while seat belt usage is improving, it"s still not at standards emergency service workers would like to see.

"The use of child safety restraints - car seats - and helmet use are extremely poor in Cherokee County," he said. "We respond to more MVCs (motor vehicle collisions) in which the child is unrestrained than we do with children in car seats - properly used or not."

Kuhns said it is not unusual to have an adult wearing a seat belt while a child travels in the same vehicle unrestrained; and furthermore, motorcycle collision victims aren"t wearing a helmet.

"The use of all vehicle safety devices is below the national average," said Kuhns.

Kuhns whole-heartedly believes seat belts and helmets save lives - he"s seen the devastating consequences of not being properly belted in or padded.

"More to the point, they both save quantity as well as quality of life," he said. "Unfortunately for those people that do not routinely use safety devices, there is little that I can say that will change their actions. In my experience, it takes a devastating, life-altering experience to change attitudes and develop the habit of using seat belts and/or helmets."

And when it comes to children being restrained, Kuhns takes a strong personal stance.

"I am personally a huge proponent of law enforcement action against adults driving with unrestrained children in a vehicle," he said. "I wish that the tickets were issued every time, and that the fines increased exponentially."

Watching a TV show, no matter how dramatic or graphic, cannot compare to facing the things a paramedic will deal with in real life.
"Taking care of broken and dying children is by far one of the most difficult things any paramedic has to do," said Kuhns. "It accounts for a significant percentage of the decisions to switch career fields."

The TV shows studied by researchers were watched by approximately 15 million Americans, with the three highest-rated programs viewed by nearly 30 million men, women and children. Seventy-nine programs and 21,670 commercials (including repeats) were studied.

McGwin and his colleagues found while seat belt use was under-represented by about 20 percentage points, helmet use as part of a story line was significantly under as well - 13 percent for motorcyclists and 31 percent for bicyclists.

"I think there"s a certain need to be sure that behaviors like seat belt use and bicycle helmet use - particularly the latter since it so often involves kids - are depicted to at least the same degree as Americans are doing them," McGwin told LiveScience.

She may have been dismayed, but Stephanie Tombrello, executive director of the child safety non-profit advocate organization SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. told LiveScience she was not shocked.
"From my standpoint, the mass media can be a very potent tool for good, but it can also inadvertently be very destructive," Tombrello said. "... And these sorts of mistakes get syndicated and go around the world, and are seen by millions all over."

If one prominent TV character"s actions could have the opposite effect, and positively influence someone"s decision to buckle up or wear a safety helmet, Kuhns would be thrilled.

"I cannot advocate enough for anything that improves the safety of even a single child," he said.

Learn more
To learn more about seat belt use in the U.S., visit the National Safety Belt Coalition Web site www.nsc.org/traf/sbc.htm.