Are You Willing to Put a Price on Your Life?
By Rhonda Peterman
In addition to the incalculable
grief and pain that would be prevented
through safety-belt use, the economic
loss to society, nationwide, is conser
vatively estimated at $69.5 billion per
year.
According to the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), this figure was calculated in
terms of:
$27.5 billion in property
damage
$15.2 billion in lost produc
tivity
$ 3.8 billion in medical costs
$23.0 billion in other costs,
such as emergency services,
legal and court costs
Compare these yearly figures
with the over $161,202 million that was
spent on the entire Vietnam Conflict
that spanned two decades, according to
the 1987 Statistical Abstract of the
United States.
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Ca 1 tiallime s
Editor-in-Chief Jan Travers Managing Editor Michele Hart
News Editor Vicki Koon Photography Editor... Kyle Weaver
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•••••• • • • • • •
Staff: , Kimberly Anastas, Cindi Greertawalt,Deann Hess, Luke Hess, C.W. Heiser.
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Dina W.llc- r •n • il . d
Advisor: Joanne Smith
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NHTSA estimates that if 70%
of automobile occupants regularly wore
their safety belts, 9,000 lives would be
saved annually. Taxpayers would save
billions of dollars!
Not wearing safety belts is an
emotional and economic tragedy. The
economic tragedy is the monetary burden
placed on surviving families and society.
Roadway facilities and injuries drive up
insurance rates, Catastrophic Loss Trust
(CAT) Fund fees, and medical costs.
Many emotional and economic tragedies
will be prevented by Pennsylvania's
mandatory safety-belt law.
"The facts are clear," said Scot
J. Chadwick, (R) Bradford County. "The
people of the Commonwealth will
benefit by reducing the medical and
rehabilitative costs and the terrible hu
man tragedies associated with catas
trophic injuries."
Chadwick, a CAT Fund board
member, agrees that a mandatory safety
belt law would lower the financial
burden of the taxpayer. The CAT Fund
Photo by Kyle Weaver
board has raised the annual CAT Fund
fee from $5 to $B. The 60% increase was
needed to cover the rising catastrophic
injury claims.
The annual $8 fee, paid into the
CAT Fund by every licensed motorist in
the state, pays medical and rehabilitative
costs for severely injured automobile
accident victims once their medical bills
reach $lOO,OOO. The Fund will pay up
to $1 million over a person's lifetime.
According to CAT Fund board
member Bernard J. Giangiulio, the an
nual $8 fee "is not sufficient." The fee
will continue to rise unless costs can be
brought under control.
Why are the costs and injuries
increasing? Partly because 84% of the
CAT Fund claimants, who were in
automobiles, were not wearing their
safety belts. Safety belts prevent occu
pants from plunging through the wind
shield, from being thrown out of the car
and hurled through the air, and from
being crushed by the car. In almost any
collision, the occupant is better off
being held inside the car by safety belts.
Is Cheating a Realistic
Alternative? --Is it Worth It?
By Kimberly Anastas
As the semester winds down and deadlines for term papers are fast
approaching and the time to cram for final exams is upon us, is there a greater
tendency to cheat, lie, and plagiarize?
Some students at The Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg
feel that cheating is a dangerously risky alternative to good grades. Here are
some of their comments:
Rose Marie Merlioo:
Shawn Haswell:
Joan Winsheimer:
Anonymous
(for obvious reasons):
Wanda Ellis:
Cheating and plagiarizing are not new concepts of passing a course or
a grade. There are many ways to cheat on an exam and we are all aware of
these methods of cheating, whether we have practiced them or not. Teachers
are also aware of the many ways to cheat, which does intensify the risks of
being caught.
It is each person's prerogative to cheat and/or plagiarize but it should
be known that the wrong decision could be an expensive one.
Cheating and/or plagiarizing could result in a failure for a course, bad
recommendations, and possibly expulsion.
"I don't think that cheating or plagiarizing is worth
losing the opportunity to further my education."
"I've been tempted to cheat but I never have in
college. I decided not to do it because it's not fair to
everyone else. Neither is it fair for people to take
tests on days other than exam days."
"I'm not even aware of other people cheating
because I'm too busy keeping up with what's in
my own head."
"I've cheated on exams; I didn't feel like
memorizing equations. I admit that laziness was
my problem. I've never plagiarized though; I just
paid some girl I know who is a journalism major
to write my papers for me."
"Cheating doesn't accomplish anything in terms of
mobility in education or any aspect of life. In the
short run, you may pass a test but in the long run
you don't gain anything in your work productivity.
In my hopeful endeavors I would like to be a
success through my own achievements by knowing
material and feeling confident that I am able to
prove to my employer that I did learn something
and didn't take the easy way out by cheating."
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According to George Culbreth
of Pennsylvania Insurance Management
Co., which administers CAT Fund
claims, of those 836 motorists or their
passengers who have received benefits
from the Fund during the past three
years, only 110 were wearing their seat
belts when they were injured. "Not one"
of those 110 belted claimants suffered a
head injury, Culbreth said. Head injuries
normally result in significantly higher
claims.
Unfortunately, accident fatali
ties are not a disease that can be cured,
but we can reduce the tragic effects of
most automobile accidents by wearing
safety belts.
CAT Fund member Sen. Ed
ward P. Zemprelli, (D), Allegheny,
Washington, and Westmoreland coun
ties, said, "Every statistic from our sister
states shows that safety-belt-use laws
save lives and dollars and reduce injuries.
The statistics are dramatic."
Pennsylvania's safety-belt law
is a law we can live with. Buckle Up for
Life!