Buckle Up: It’s the Only Way to Go

Seat belt use is at an all-time high in the United States, and there is a good reason for it. Seat belts save lives and can prevent serious injuries. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), seat belt use by occupants of motor vehicles has achieved a rate of 90 percent. However, in real numbers, this means that 27 million Americans still fail to buckle up. The goal of the NHTSA is for seat belt use to reach 100%. As the NHTSA points out, it is up to each and every one of us to take this very simple action, which can prevent needless deaths and the tragedy associated with violent motor vehicle collisions. Buckling your seat belt needs to be the very first thing you do when you get into a car.

According to NHTSA figures, a front-seat passenger in a car or truck cuts in half their chances of suffering fatal injuries in a motor vehicle accident simply by wearing a seat belt. It could not be quicker or easier to do. The NHTSA reports that in 2016, 15,000 lives were saved by seat belt use, but, sadly, the NHTSA also reported that in that same year nearly 2,500 more lives could have been saved if vehicle occupants had just buckled up.

It is important to keep in mind that seat belt use works hand-in-hand with other safety components of your car, such as air bags. For example, air bags alone work less effectively when seat belts are not worn, but when combined with seat belt usage, air bags can provide the optimum protection they were designed to deliver. In fact, air bag deployment when a person is not wearing a seat belt could actually be fatal under certain circumstances. Belts and bags are meant to work together to protect vehicle occupants.

It is also very important to remind tweens to wear their seat belts. According to the NHTSA, data shows that as children get older, they are less likely to want to wear their seat belt, especially children ages 8 to 12. Just as with adults, the use of a seat belt by a child significantly increases the chances of surviving a crash.

Also, don’t forget that it is the law to wear your seat belt. According to the NHTSA, seat belts are the single most effective safety technology in the history of the auto industry. Between 1960 and 2012, seat belts saved more lives than all other vehicle technologies combined.

People still die in car accidents simply because they were not wearing a seat belt. As a driver of a car or truck, before starting the engine, you should make it a habit to check and make sure every occupant of your vehicle is buckled up.

The lawyers at Liever, Hyman & Potter have represented the victims of motor vehicle accidents for decades. The firm is all too familiar with the consequences resulting from the failure of car and truck drivers and passengers to buckle up.

The attorneys at Liever, Hyman & Potter are concerned for the safety of the motoring public traveling on the streets and highways in Berks County and Schuylkill County, and serve auto, truck, bus, and motorcycle accident victims and their families in Reading, PA, Pottsville, PA, and throughout Eastern and Central Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia.