By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — By the time the afternoon was over, Occupant Protection Educator Rick Tarr with Mid-Coast EMS had seen over 100 students of the Loring Job Corps Center through the crash simulator, nicknamed “The Convincer,” on Oct. 6.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
This was the first time that Occupant Protection Educator Rick Tarr had seen someone brace so thoroughly for impact during their five mile-an-hour trip down the Seat Belt Convincer, but students of the Loring Job Corps Center Clarence Rouzeau of New York City was ready for the simulated crash.
One-by-one he’d buckle the students into a standard car seat and send them down a short track for a few-second ride ending with an abrupt five-mile an hour crash.
But even at such a low-speed, the crash jolted their bodies forward and helped them appreciate the necessity of wearing your seatbelt.
Orainne Sinclair was one of the students who took a ride on the simulator during that chilly fall afternoon. With his friends watching as they stood in line, it took less than a minute for Sinclair to get bucked in and promptly crash.
Picking up his backpack and getting ready to head off to class, Sinclair was asked “how was it?”
After a thoughtful look and a quick smile, “it was pretty convincing,” he said.
That’s exactly the reaction Tarr is looking for, and he’ll take “The Convincer” all over the state to make sure that message hits home.
“A five-mile-an-hour crash creates more force than most people think,” Tarr said.
The low-speed crash is intended to serve as point of reference for vehicular passengers; if a five-mile per hour crash sends them jolting forward, imagine how they’d fair in a 55-mile per hour crash without their seatbelt.
According to Tarr, the state of Maine’s doing a better job of buckling-up than they were 20 years ago.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Though he’d only traveled a short distance at five miles-an-hour, Orainne Sinclair of Bridgeport, Conn. was jolted forward during a simulated crash on the Seat Belt Convincer. When asked what he thought of the ride, Sinclair replied “it was convincing.” The Seat Belt Convincer was brought to the school by Occupant Protection Educator Rick Tarr in part through Atlantic Partners EMS through a grant with the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, which allows the machine to travel the state and convince individuals the importance of wearing a seatbelt.
In the late ‘80s to early ‘90s, he approximated that about 24 percent of Mainers were wearing their seatbelts. Now, about 84 percent of vehicle occupants are clicking into their safety restraints before hitting the road.
That increased seatbelt usage has been noticed by first responders throughout the state.
As Tarr described, more and more people are walking away from crashes that would have clamed their lives had they not been wearing their seatbelt.
Based out of Winslow and funded by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, Tarr and the crash simulator will travel to events of all sizes from April to mid-November.
Those interested in obtaining additional information regarding the crash simulator can call 785-5000.
