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Dana Gill - Student at Cypress Creek High School
My name is Dana Gill and my mom is a LMS
(Life Management Skills) teacher at Cypress Creek High School. Seatbelt
safety is a big priority in our family. When I started driving, on May
23rd, the last thing I thought about was taking time away from
my freedom on the road to buckle my seatbelt. My mom insisted that I
watch the speaker on seatbelt safety, so I agreed that I would. After
watching the presentation you would imagine that everyone was saying that
it could never happen to them, when in fact, it was the complete
opposite. The pictures shown in the presentation and the visual
backboard everyone in the class looked at each other and said “What if
that was me”.
On March
13, 2003, I was having a great morning because mom said that I didn’t
have to go to first period and that I could come later to second. I took
my time getting ready knowing that I had nothing to rush for and I got in
my car and put down the top of my convertible. Before I had left the
driveway I had buckled my safety belt and placed my school papers in the
seat. I was driving on 429 and going about 80 mph. You can imagine that
going 80, the papers in the backseat were ready to fly away. I turned
quickly to push them under the seat and when I turned around, I was
driving in the grass. As a young and inexperienced driver, I panicked
and turned the wheel fast, which caused the car to spin. Again, I
panicked and turned the wheel too fast. I drove right into the grass and
my car flipped 1 ½ times. I was under the car for about 15 minutes and
couldn’t move because my head was between the car and the ground. When
the paramedics arrived, they lifted the car off of me; I unbuckled my
seatbelt and walked over to them. Of course I was shook up, but the
witnesses say that I wouldn’t have survived without my seatbelt. This
program not only educated new drivers, but it saved my life.
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