2. SEAT BELTS…WHY USE THEM?
• Simply said, seat belts save lives.
• Adult seat belt use is the most effective way to
save lives and reduce injuries in car crashes, yet
millions of adults every year do not wear their seat
belts on every trip.
3. NUMBERS DON’T LIE
Seat belts reduce serious crash-related
injuries and deaths by approximately 50%.
In the year 2013, 64% of passengers ages 13 to 15
and 21 to 34 killed in traffic crashes were not
using restraints.
When seat belts are used, the risk of fatal
injury to front-seat passenger car occupants is
reduced by 45% and the risk of moderate-to-
critical injury by 50%.
6. POSSIBLE RAMIFICATIONS
Don’t feel like buckling up? Below are just a few consequences
that can come as a result of neglecting to wear a seat belt:
- Jail Time: It has been enforced by law in the U.S. that seat belts be
worn by both the driver and each passenger ever since the year 1983.
Don’t cross paths with the law: buckle up every trip.
- Injuries/Death to Driver and/or Passenger(s): It has been
proven that wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of death by 45% and the
risk of serious injury by 50%. Value your life and make sure to buckle up
before taking off to go anywhere in your vehicle.
- The Younger Generation: When we as adults neglect to put on our
seat belts every time we step foot inside a vehicle, we are setting a very
negative example for young adolescents who have yet to acquire their
license. Show these individuals the importance of safety and that it
comes first by buckling up before traveling anywhere on four wheels.
7. BELTED VS. UNBELTED
The chart below helps put things in perspective.
Numbers don’t lie: getting familiar with one’s seat
belt and getting in the habit of using one is
essential.
8. THE FACT OF THE MATTER
As drivers, we must all be responsible for not only
ourselves when we get behind the wheel, but
everyone else both in our vehicle and on the road
as well. Given motor vehicle crashes are the
leading cause of death among those ages 5 to 34 in
the United States, we as responsible adults must
get in the habit of buckling up as soon as we enter
our automobile in order to help prevent ourselves
from becoming a part of these statistics.
