Miley
Cyrus Backed by Travel Safety Expert
2/24/08
A travel safety expert is furious Miley Cyrus has faced such heavy
criticism for failing to wear a seatbelt in new concert movie Hannah
Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, insisting it's
common for filmmakers to avoid such details.
The scene features the 15-year-old singer/actress and her country
singer dad Billy Ray Cyrus in the back of a Range Rover - with neither of
them wearing their seatbelts.
And the pair was heavily criticized by U.S. watchdog Consumer Reports
for setting a bad example to Cyrus' young fans as a result of their lack
of car safety.
But lead investigator of a road accident study, Heather Jacobsen,
insists the whole affair has been blown out of proportion.
She says, "It is the norm for characters in movies to not wear a
seatbelt."
Family films typically give seatbelts more attention. However, a 1997
study by Michigan State University named Dead Man Walking - starring Sean
Penn as a rapist facing execution - as one of the most seatbelt-friendly
movies, depicting buckled-up drivers in five of the film's six driving
scenes.