Do Seat Belts really Save Lives
50% to 70%of vehicle fatalities could be prevented just by using your safety belt. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NTHSA) estimates that 12,713 people were saved by seat belts in 2009 (the most recent statistics) and more than 72,000 were saved during the period of 2005 to 2009. 3,688 more lives could have been saved in 2009 if everyone older than age four had used their belts.
Of every 100 children who die, at least80%would have survived if they were properly secured in their safety seats or seat belts. Motorists that are 18 years old have 400% more accidents than 40 year olds. Vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people ages 5-34 in the United States (approximately 35,000 each year). More than 2.3 million drivers and passengers were treated in the Emergency Room in 2009 because of vehicle crashes.
Research on a lap and shoulder belt combination has shown a 45% reduction of fatal injury to people in front seats. There is a 60% reduction for people riding in pick-up trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles (SUV).
Why don’t people use seat belts regularly when faced with the numbers? Some may not know the statistics, many just forget to put it on, and some wrongly believe that seat belts will do more harm than good. What if the van is on fire, what if the car is in the water, how are they supposed to get out? Others think they are invincible and it won’t happen to them. Men are 10% less likely to use them than women and people aged 18-35 are less likely to wear them than people over 35. The differences continue to show in rural areas (adults are 10% less likely to wear them) compared to urban or suburban areas(78%use in rural areas versus 87% use in urban areas). There are also those people that have heard that one miracle story of someone narrowly escaping certain death by jumping out. Consider this though, you are 25% more likely to be killed or seriously injured when you are “thrown-clear” of the vehicle than remaining inside.
Another amazing statistic is most accident fatalities (75%) occur within 25 miles of a person’s home and at speeds less than 40 miles per hour. This is the type of driving most people do on a regular basis, so it makes sense to buckle up every time you are in a car.
If all these numbers aren’t enough to scare you into always wearing your seat belt, consider the “Click It or Ticket” laws in many states. These laws allow a police officer to pull a driver over for not using a safety belt, meaning it is a Primary Offense. Maybe the thought of losing hard earned money would encourage more use. It has been shown that Primary Laws have a greater effect than Secondary Laws (for example if they pull you over for speeding and you don’t have a belt on you get two tickets). Switching from Secondary Laws to Primary Laws reduces passenger death by 7%. If all states would have switched to Primary seat belt laws in 2009, 284 lives could have been saved that year.
The next time you hop in the car, be sure to put your seat belt on; the life you save just might be your own.
