Seatbelt Safety

Wearing a seat belt, it is such an easy task. However, every day people choose not to wear it. When you think about it, it is absolutely amazing that a piece of fabric can be the difference between life and death. In the Oklahoma State University safety training website, research states that 40, 000 people die each year in car accidents. Yet, only 60% of people who drive actually wear there seat belt. It is estimated that safety belts save 13,000 lives in the United States each year. Car accidents continue to be the leading cause of death for people under the age of 35.

According to research report from Car accidents.com, the article "seat belts save lives" says that every American pays about $580 toward the cost of crashes each year. If everyone buckled up, this figure would drop significantly. Data suggests that education alone is not doing the job with young people, especially males ages 16-25, which is the age group least likely to buckle up. It is known that when you get into a crash, whatever you crash into stops the car, but what stops you from continuing to go the speed that the car was going? Seat belts can keep you from plunging through the windshield, being thrown out the door, hurled through the air, being scraped along the ground, or even being crushed from your own car. Depending on where or how the force is applied you could be killed instantly or suffer life long debilitating problems.

Some common excuses for not wearing your seat belt are: 1) " Oh, I'm really not going that far." Actually, this is the best time to wear your seat belt since statistically 80% of traffic fatalities occur within 25 miles of home and under 40 mph. The Police Notebook's website on "Common fairy tales every driver has", says that fatalities involving people not wearing there seat belts have been recorded driving at a speed as low as 12 mph. Which is about the speed of someone driving in a parking lot. The second common excuse is "I won't get in an accident, I'm a good driver." Your good driving record will certainly help you; however it may be the bad drivers out there that you should really think about. Another common misconception is that, "I'm afraid the belt will trap me in the car." The fact is, the best place to be during an accident is your car. If you are thrown out of the car, you are 25 times more likely to die. The forces in a collision can be great enough to fling you as much as 150ft. which is about 15 car lengths. And if you need