Seat Belts Do Save Lives

As the new school year begins, student activities tend to increase and often involve driving to sporting and social events.  Teen drivers need to be aware of consequences of unsafe driving and nonuse of seatbelts.  Every year more than 5,000 teens are killed in motor vehicle crashes.  Many of these fatal crashes could have been prevented if the teens involved had been wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.  More than half of these fatalities involved teens unrestrained in the vehicle.  Low seat belt use is a major reason teen motor vehicle crash fatalities remain high.  Unfortunately, too many teens choose to ignore the warnings and consequences that may result from not wearing seat belts.

In 2008, observational studies conducted at two local high schools indicated that 8% of teen drivers, 25% of teen front passengers and 44% of rear passengers were unrestrained.  According to an article in Safe Ride News Jan/Feb 2009, this behavior mirrors nationally, that teen drivers wear seat belts less than other drivers and teen passengers are even less likely to buckle up.  Teen motor vehicle crash fatalities may occur when unbelted and ejected from the vehicle or when any unbelted person becomes a human projectile causing injury or death to others riding in the vehicle.

The most common reasons teens offer for not wearing seatbelts were that they forgot or were driving a short distance.  The fact is most crashes occur close to home and secondly, teens have been wearing restraints from the moment they leave the hospital as a newborn and it clearly should be a habit by their teen years. Remember, whether driving across town or just around the corner, wearing seatbelts is the absolute best way to protect yourself and your passengers from severe or fatal injuries from a motor vehicle crash.

Wearing your seatbelt costs you nothing, but not wearing it could cost you your life. Wear your seat belt and make sure all passengers buckle up so that everyone will arrive safely at the next sporting or social event.  For more information contact Butte County Public Health Department's Traveling Safely Through Life Program at 530-891-2732. Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.