A NASCAR driver made a stop at a Rochester school this week.
Stock car driver Ross Chastain took some time Wednesday morning to meet with students from Franklin Upper School on Norton St. to talk about being safe in a car, particularly to make sure they are properly buckled up whether they’re a driver or a passenger.
Chastain races nearly every weekend, but he said he makes stops like this to remind young drivers how important safety is, on or off the race track.
”It’s an easy thing, it’s a few days out of my life that I can put towards this,” said Chastain. “And you know, if one kid heads home today, while they're driving or in the backseat and they buckle their seatbelt, it could save that life and it's all worth it then.”
Chastain said he wanted to remind the teens at Franklin about the need to protect themselves as well as other people who are on the roads.
“Whether it's Mom, Dad, anybody in the family I don't want anybody driving impaired because selfishly, I'm on the road too and their families are (as well). My family is on the road every day. So to make it safer for all of us, we don't we don't need distracted driving or impaired driving for sure.”
Stacey Signorino teachers the health class these students attend, and she thinks having a NASCAR driver meet with them does have an impact.
“To have somebody like Ross come here, and seatbelts help save him when he races and hopefully they'll look up to these people, and the message will hit home with them,” said Signorino.
The Franklin students also tried out a seat belt competition to see how fast they could get belted into a vehicle. And State Police brought over a piece of equipment that shows the dangers of not wearing your seat belt.
Also at the event was Owen McShane, a Deputy Commissioner with the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
He said that having Chastain at Franklin, “adds credibility,” and helps the students realize about the need to stay focused when they are driving to “make sure you stay safe, the passengers in your car Stay safe, and the people around you stay safe.”
Ross Chastain will be at Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES in Spencerport on Thursday with the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee to raise awareness of the annual “Buckle Up New York, Click It or Ticket” campaign.
