LETTERS: BRAIN-INJURY AWARENESS

To the editor:

October if Brain Injury Awareness Month. Every 15 seconds, someone receives a brain injury in America. A conservative estimate is 2 million brain injuries per year.

As many as 100,000 people die each year from brain injuries. It's the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults.

One way to prevent brain injuries is by buckling up in your vehicle. It's estimated that increasing seat belt usage in America could cut health-care costs by $684 million, and another $328 million in public assistance could be saved.

I'm aware that everyone knows someone who was saved from death or a brain injury because he was unrestrained. There is an exception to every rule -- just as people die every day with their seat belts buckled.

Statistically, you stand a much greater chance of dying or receiving a brain injury if you are unrestrained. Please buckle up, America.

JEFFERY K. HARMS

Cape Girardeau

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jeffery Harms is a brain-injury survivor who was in an accident and not wearing a seat belt.