While the media tends to focus on the number of people killed on our roads,the state is trying to shift the attention a bit with the release of a “lifetoll.” The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau reports thousands of Iowans havesurvived auto accidents thanks to their use of proper seat restraints.Jan Goldsmith, the Bureau’s Occupant Protection Coordinator, says the lifetoll is an optimistic viewpoint in an area that’s usually focused oninjuries and death.Goldsmith says there are many examples of people surviving crashes becauseof seat belts. A Clear Lake woman was at the wheel of her Jeep in whichher mother and two daughters were riding last month. Goldsmith says thevehicle collided with a truck in a work zone along Interstate 35 near Ames.Robin Younge (yung), her one- and three-year-old daughters, and her motherCarol Costello, were all hanging upside down after the wreck, but all fourwere belted in or in car seats and only had minor injuries. Younge willbe recognized by Governor Vilsack in a ceremony today at the State Fair asbeing the four-thousandth person added to the life toll.
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