Hoping to influence students to always wear their seatbelts, Highway Patrolman Roger White came to DeKalb Middle School Friday afternoon with his specially-designed roll over vehicle to show what happens when a truck rolls over and the people inside are not buckled up.

“I encourage you folks who don’t wear your seatbelt to buckle up,” the trooper said. “It’s extremely important to wear your seatbelt. Why? The first reason is that it can save your life. The second reason is that it’s the law. If you don’t do it we will write your folks a ticket. If mom and dad get ticket for something stupid you did then it’s not going to sound good when you get home.”

The trooper rotated the vehicle the first time with the crash dummies restrained. Aside from the unrestrained dog flying out the window, the dummies stayed inside the cab. When he repeated the process, the unrestrained driver came flying out of the window. The rollover, he pointed out, was at a slow speed.

“Can you imagine going 70 down the road, hitting something and flipping like that?” Trooper White asked the middle schoolers after showing what happens when a person is not restrained during a rollover crash.

Picking up the remains of the crash dummy that was hurled from the rolling vehicle, the trooper gave student food for thought.

“I want you to think about this too,” he said, still holding the crash dummy in his hands and pointing to a baby, which was restrained, that was still in the vehicle. “Think about after the crash. The truck stops rolling, the baby wakes up and looks around for mom or dad but they won’t be able to help.”

He noted that even if a person survived such a catastrophic wreck, there will be a price to pay. “Beyond the crash, if by the grace of God he survives being thrown out he is going to have a hefty medical bill. If he doesn’t survive, they’ll be funeral costs. He is going to be out of the picture. Who is going to raise the baby now?”