Reasons to Wear Seat Belts

Wearing a seat belt can save your life. Buckling up can be the difference between a major injury or death and coming out of an accident in a functional condition.

Function

Use both the lap belt and shoulder harness if your car is equipped with both. The shoulder strap keeps you from hitting the steering wheel during a collision and the lap belt helps to keep your body in the seat.

Expert Insight

According to car-accidents.com, 63 percent of automobile fatalities are people who were not wearing a seat belt. Seat belt use is estimated to save 9,500 lives each year.

Enforcement

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that their seat belt enforcement program Click it or Ticket, otherwise known as CIOT, has a national rate of seat belt usage of 83 percent.

Prevention/Solution

Oklahoma University Safety Training says that the number one cause of death from automobile accidents is being thrown from a car, which can be prevented by wearing a seat belt.

Considerations

Toddlers and young children should be in appropriate seats designed with their smaller frames in mind in order to prevent further injuries caused by incorrect use of seat belts. These seats are made to accommodate the regular seat belts and hold the child safely in the vehicle.