Please help us keep our children, families and friends safe. Failure to wear safety belts is a greater contributing factor in deaths than any other safety related behavior in our lives.
In North Carolina it is now the law that all passengers, both front and back seat, must wear seat belts. As part of our Safe Sober Prom Night program, we constantly remind our young people that the most dangerous thing they do is ride in a car, regardless of drinking, so for goodness sake please buckle up. This year we have a success story that saved two lives!
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly one in five Americans do not regularly wear seatbelts. Even fewer drivers are wearing seatbelts at night. A study by the NHTSA shows that 64 percent of passengers killed in nighttime accidents were not wearing seatbelts.
Those are the statistics, but how does the use of safety belts really affect us?? Safety belts when used properly reduce the number of serious traffic injuries by 50 percent and fatalities by 60-70 percent. A common cause of death and injury to children in motor vehicles is being crushed by adults who are not wearing safety belts. One out of four serious injuries to passengers is caused by occupants being thrown into each other. Of every 100 children who die in motor vehicle crashes at least 80 would have survived if they had been properly secured in an approved child safety seat or safety belts.
Seat belt use is one of the best defenses we have when in a motor vehicle. Interestingly, other folks in our cars are more likely to wear their safety belts if we do. Moreover, children are at the highest risk but are also the most likely to follow our lead. So, please set a good example and help keep our young people safe.
Our North Carolina personal injury attorneys see too many victims of traffic accidents. Don’t become a statistic. Buckle up, and make sure everyone in the car has a seatbelt on, too. Remember, it’s not only the law, but also the most lifesaving thing we can do.