A 2016 Texas Department of Transportation study shows that more than 2,000 teens were involved in severe car accidents. 269 were killed because they weren't wearing a seat belt.
The study suggests that car accidents are the leading cause of death among individuals 15-20 years old, so TxDOT started a campaign named "Love It, Click It." The campaign especially promotes the importance of wearing a seat belt while targeting new drivers like high schoolers.
"It's very scary to see people lose their lives because of these incidents that they were in because they weren't wearing their seatbelts," Kelly Ramirez said.
Ramirez, a senior at Taft High School, is the president of Teens in the Driver Seat, a group that encourages safe driving practices and has recently adopted "Love It, Click It."
"We promote safe driving not only in our school but in our community, because we see a lot of this around town and in other states as well," the senior explained.
Ramirez's peer, Marc Vasquez, said this campaign hits close to home. His dad almost died in a car accident because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt.
"He was coming home from a party when he was in high school and he didn't have a seatbelt on, and a drunk driver hit him and he almost died he told me if he had a seatbelt on he would've been safe," Vasquez said.
Vasquez signed the pledge during lunch and added he does his part by taking responsibility for the passengers in his car.
"I always tell them when they get in the car to put on their seatbelt, especially when I'm driving, because I feel like it's my responsibility to make sure you're safe because I'm driving," Vasquez said.
Also a part of the group is Jon Valdez. When he's not performing on the theatre stage, he's making sure others drive safe. Earlier this week, he said they stood at the exits of the school's parking lot to do a seat belt check. As they asked people to roll down their windows, Valdez was surprised to find some teachers not buckled up.
Although Valdez and Ramirez will graduate this year, they hope the group will continue to grow as more students learn to drive in order to make a lasting impact in the area.