Are seat belts really as important to safety as the government would have you believe?
Absolutely! While there still are some voices of dissent out there who point to potential dangers—including a false sense of security that leads to recklessness on the road and injuries to the abdomen—the evidence that seat belts save lives is overwhelming.
According to informationfrom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC),53 percent of drivers killed in a 2009 study(thelatest available through that agency), weren’t wearing their seat belts.
Seat belts both save lives and reduce the severity of injuries people face in a car accident. People in the front of a car, including drivers, are 45 percent less likely to die in an accident if they’re wearing their seat belt. Their chances of serious injuries are also reduced by 50 percent. Those same people stand a far greater chance—about 30 times greater—of being ejected from the car if they’re not wearing their seat belts.
People in the back of cars should also wear their seat belts. Not wearing one puts them at risk of being thrown into the front of the vehicle, ejected through a door that’s forced open, or thrown around the vehicle if it rolls. The possibility of fractures, spinal injuries and other serious wounds is immense.
What should people know about seat belt use?
- A seat belt isn’t going to protect you from everything. It’s still important to drive carefully.
- Everyone in the car should wear a seat belt—not just drivers and front seat passengers.
- If you’re uncomfortable wearing just a waist belt, there are adaptive devices that can turn backseat waist belts into combination waist/shoulder harnesses.
- If your seat belt is uncomfortable because of your size, there are also adaptive devices that can enlarge the belt to make it easier to use.
Essentially, seat belts in cars are too important to your safety to ignore—so, buckle up! If you’re in a car accident, you’re far safer wearing a seat belt than not.
