There’s a little patch of road on Route 81 outside of Binghamton, N.Y., that I consider to be cursed. I know of three students (myself included) who have had accidents on that stretch of road, just before the little town of Chenango. I got a flat tire there on my first trip to Cornell University as a freshman; my friend crashed into the barrier while driving southbound; and another friend’s car was struck by lightning. Yes, struck by lightning! A few years ago, driving a 1991 Subaru Legacy that he called Gypsy, my friend found himself suddenly in a torrential downpour. “It was a hair-raising storm which went from ‘dry’ to ‘undersea’ in no time flat,” he said. “I heard a crack, slammed on the brakes and skidded. My car stalled, and I must have momentarily blacked out. I was, of course, wearing a seat belt.” Because lightning striking a car travels only over the outermost surface, my friend was not electrocuted. However, the only reason he remained otherwise unscathed was because of his seat belt. It might have been an extreme case, perhaps, but nevertheless it instilled in me the importance of always buckling up.

Being a teenager in the iPhone-toting, Facebook-addicted generation involves many difficulties and concerns. Teenage minds buzz at 100 miles per hour, seeking information and diversion. What results is a deadly equation—couple that tendency for distractibility along with inexperience, add a set of wheels and unpredictable hazards inevitably ensue. Exams and friends weigh on our minds, but that’s not what is killing us, traffic accidents are! The National Transportation Safety Board reports that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers. In fact, from 1997 to 2006, more than 63,000 drivers aged 15 to 20 died in crashes—that’s 122 teenagers each week.

Moreover, compared with other age groups, teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In 2005, 10 percent of high school students reported that they rarely or never wear seat belts when riding with someone else.

These statistics alone beg recognition of the fact that so many of teen traffic fatalities could be prevented if teens just took a few extra seconds to use their seat belts.

My friend’s story serves as a continual reminder to me about how essential wearing a seat belt is, especially for teenagers. Phone calls, text messages, friends or even apocalyptic weather conditions might pose a distraction for new drivers. “I was terrified for my life. I only limped back to Ithaca,” my friend told me. “The entire experience was kind of dream-like. Later, it turned out that my battery would only hold a surface charge; it was dead as a doornail.”

I can thank his good sense in using a seat belt in that the only casualty was his battery.

Jennifer Wholey is a communications major at Cornell University.