Excited children clambered through the windows of a race car and chatted with a professional driver Friday morning at a Vallejo event highlighting the importance of traffic safety.
NASCAR driver Ross Chastain, whose watermelon-themed car reminds people to "protect your melon," said that while his goal on the racetrack is to go as fast as possible, he always takes safety seriously.
"I know it seems crazy that I'd be a safety driving champion, but truly, like, I am," Chastain said at the event, hosted by the California Office of Traffic Safety and California Department of Transportation. "I want people to get home safe. I want to get home safe. I don't want to win the race and then be in an accident going home because, you know, something goes wrong on the freeway."
Tim Weisburg, the public information officer for the Office of Traffic Safety, said he hopes visitors came away from Friday's event at California Highway Patrol's Golden Gate Office with a renewed respect for common-sense safety measures.
With 12 people dying on the road every day in California, Weisburg said he believes the state is dealing with a "crisis" that people can combat through simple habits like buckling seat belts and waiting until they park to check their phones.
"We really need people's help. The numbers are going in the wrong direction," Weisburg said.
Weisburg encouraged people who are drinking or using other drugs to come up with plans that don't involve impaired driving. He also wants people to "leave the speeding to the professionals."
"The faster you go, the more damage you're going to cause," Weisburg said. "I really want people to be like, 'It's not worth an extra two or three minutes to shave off your travel time, driving faster.'"
Attractions at Friday's event included a maze of traffic cones that children had to navigate using "impairment goggles," the giant traffic cone mascot Safety Sam and a virtual reality headset simulating the experience of being a construction worker on a highway.
Attendee Robinson Abueg, who checked out agencies' booths with his daughter Alexa, said he has become more cautious in his driving in recent years. He worries about a lack of traffic enforcement and said he now usually hesitates a moment after a stoplight turns green to make sure he doesn't get T-boned.
"It certainly is getting a lot more dangerous out there, driving on the roads," Abueg said.
Back at the race car, Chastain, who will be racing Sunday at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 Race at the Sonoma Raceway, showed children how he has to fasten himself in with nine different buckles before starting a race. He said it's helpful to remind people to buckle up and avoid distractions.
Whether on the racetrack or the highway, Chastain said safety comes down to focus and control.
"When we're out of control, that's when we see the wrecks," he said.
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