Seat belt use is down for young drivers and passengers ages 14 to 17 years old according to a recent survey by Erie Insurance.
Even though the United States Department of Transportation reports belts having saved 14,668 lives in 2016, Gen Z isn't completely sold.
Teen driver Romele Cannedy says he knows plenty of people who don't wear their seat belts but he's not one to follow the crowd.
"I have to make my own decision and be safe, because a lot of kids out here are dying because of that," said Cannedy.
He's not far off. Wisconsin Department of Transportation says 88 percent of car occupants wear their safety belts, but it's still below the national average of 89 percent. A 2013 study by WisDOT found 136 drivers were killed and 1,602 were injured because they weren't buckled up.
Erie Insurance 2018 survey on seat belt use for more than 2,000 people in generations: Babyboomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Each generation shrank in percentage use: Bay Boomers 94 percent, Gen Xers 87 percent, Millennials 81 percent, and only 77 percent of Gen Zs reported wearing their belts.
