When I first started driver’s ed, the instructor would scream “SEATBELT!!!!” at the top of his lungs if we failed to put on our seatbelts on before starting the engine. While frightening, it did work – every time I get into my car the first thing I do is strap myself in. I don’t want Mr. Driver’s Ed Teacher jumping up from the back seat of the car yelling “SEATBELT!!!!” in my ear.

Not everyone in my family has this happy(?) memory to refer back to, though.

My mother is notorious for not putting her seatbelt on as soon as she gets in the car. And few things annoy my mom more than the seatbelt alert beeping at her (unless it’s me telling her to put her seatbelt on along with the beeping noise). The best is when I’m driving and she doesn’t put her seatbelt on right away, and I have to say something like, “I’m not going to start this car until you buckle up!”

So empowering, you should try it some time.

By the way, hi mom! Thanks for reading the blog!

While it’s always fun to push my mom’s buttons, it’s also a little frightening that we’ve become so lax about wearing seatbelts that car manufactures have installed an annoying, yet lifesaving, alarm system to remind us to buckle up.

A 2010 Allstate Foundation found that “92 percent of teens report wearing their seatbelt and only 88 percent report that their parents wear seatbelts.”

Really, parents?

Teens get most of their driving behaviors from their parents. This means that we’re watching you when you’re behind the wheel. If you’re not careful to show us the ways of proper driver safety, we will emulate all your bad habits.

Maybe instead of annoying beeping noises car manufacturers should recruit my old driver’s ed teacher to record himself yelling “SEATBELT!!!!” Maybe everyone would then take a second and strap themselves in.