|
WOOD-TV (
Some without seat belts in 10-person crash
By Dee Morrison
ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Mich.
- The 10-person crash Tuesday night that left one woman in critical
condition was made worse by the fact some people weren't wearing
seatbelts.
One of the vans involved was from Florida, with migrant workers here to
work the fields.
At nearby Reenders Blueberry Farm, field boss Humberto Tovar said
getting migrant workers to wear seatbelts is a challenge. Many come from
Mexico, Texas or Florida where seatbelt laws don't exist or aren't
enforced. Usually a ticket here spreads the word.
"Usually when somebody gets stopped, the rest of them think, ‘I don't
want to pay that,' so they start buckling up," Tovar said.
Police too have found, wearing seatbelts is not an automatic thing among
migrant workers who often come from a culture which does not stress its
importance
"A lot of them come in for seasonal employment and may not be aware of
Michigan's laws," said Ottawa County Sheriff's Lt. Steve Kempker. "Our
goal is to educate, get the information to them."
Increasing seatbelt use in seasonal workers is a challenge the sheriff's
department has taken on, using pamphlets printed in Spanish, visiting
migrant schools, farms and factories, teaching about drunk driving,
child safety seats and seatbelt use.
"It's proven to save lives, no matter what culture you're from," Kempker
said.
Tovar agrees the message is slowly getting out, and crews are changing
from how they used to do things.
"Jump four in a truck," he said. "Pile in and just go, but not three
belts, three people."
|