Eight students and an instructor from Utah State University were killed Monday. Their 15-passenger van rolled while traveling back from a school trip. It is a sad reminder to everyone that youth is not synonymous with safety and that seat belts do save lives.

The tragedy put a somber mood over Ag Week in Logan, which commemorates the school’s agricultural heritage. Instead of celebrating, many are mourning. And though it is a terrible time for USU and all the friends and family of those who died, much can be learned from the accident.

BYU isn’t much different. It also uses 15-passenger vans to transport students. Like Utah State, those who drive the vans must go through a training course because of the size of the vehicles and their sensitive handling. There are also regulations pertaining to the time of day when groups can travel in the vans and how many people can be transported. These are appropriate procedures that lessen the risk of traveling in the vehicles, but they won’t make much difference if something unexpected, like a blown tire, occurs.

What will make a difference and could have helped in the USU accident is the use of seat belts. Unfortunately, no one in the van that rolled was buckled up.

According to the National Highway Safety Administration, more than 75 percent of those who died in van accidents from 1994-2001 were not properly restrained. That compares to 92 percent of accident survivors who were wearing seat belts. People shouldn’t need any proof that the benefits of seatbelts far outweigh a little inconvenience.

Often, young college students believe nothing bad will happen to them. They have a full life ahead of them, and now is the time to live carefree. While those killed on Monday may or may not have had this attitude, it is sad that it takes such an accident to remind everyone that a young life is just as fragile as an old one.



Copyright Brigham Young University 29 Sep 2005