Teen star Miley Cyrus, 15, and her father Billy Ray apologized for not buckling up their seat belts during filming for their new "Hannah Montana" movie.
"We got caught up in the moment of filming, and we made a mistake and forgot to buckle our seat belts," Billy Ray Cyrus told People. "Seat belt safety is extremely important."
Consumer Reports Magazine noted the Disney father-daughter duo failed to buckle up when they rode in the back of a Range Rover during their hit 3-D "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert."
"The reality is that movies and television shows do influence how kids, and adults, act in everyday life," a blog post by Consumer Reports mentioned. "It seems to us that Miley, her father, and Disney had a perfect opportunity to help influence teens and counteract – rather than encourage – this trend. Then again, as Hannah herself sings, 'Everybody makes mistakes.'"
"We applaud the Cyrus family for recognizing that wearing seat belts in rear seats is essential," Don Mays, the director of product safety at Consumers Union, which publishes Yonkers-based Consumer Reports, said Wednesday.
According to the magazine, 65 percent of 13-to-15-year-olds involved in fatal car accidents in 2006 were not wearing seat belts.
