It’s a simple task that can save your life, yet not everyone does it. We’re talking about buckling up when you get into a vehicle.
With the holiday season approaching and many people likely to be hitting the roads, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind you to fasten your seat belt, whether you’re driving or just a passenger.
In 2023, 91.9% of Americans buckled up and according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 14,955 lives were saved in 2017 by wearing a seat belt. However, of the 25,420 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2022, about 50% were not wearing seat belts.
The consequences of not wearing, or improperly wearing, a seat belt are clear:
1. Buckling up helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle, whereas, not buckling up can result in being totally ejected from the vehicle in a crash, which is almost always deadly.
2. Airbags are not enough to protect you; in fact, the force of an airbag can seriously injure or even kill you if you’re not buckled up.
3. Improperly wearing a seat belt, such as putting the strap below your arm, puts you and your children at risk in a crash.
The benefits of buckling up are equally clear. If you buckle up in the front seat of a passenger car, you can reduce your risk of:
• Fatal injury by 45% (Kahane, 2015)
• Moderate to critical injury by 50%
If you buckle up in a light truck, you can reduce your risk of:
• Fatal injury by 60% (Kahane, 2015)
• Moderate to critical injury 65% (NHTSA, 1984)
We would be remiss if we didn’t also point out that this week is Crash Responder Safety Week, an opportunity to recognize all those who are part of the traffic incident management response community, including law enforcement, medical personnel, and tow truck drivers. These emergency responders work to help save lives at the scene of traffic crashes but are put in harm’s way by oncoming vehicles. Traffic-related incidents are the leading cause of death for on-duty law enforcement officers, fire, EMS, maintenance workers and tow/recovery professionals.
Drivers are reminded that Colorado’s Move Over Law requires drivers to move over a lane and/or slow down when approaching stopped emergency or maintenance vehicles. The law stipulates that if a driver is unable to move at least one lane away from the stationary emergency vehicle, the driver must slow down to at least 25 miles per hour on roadways with a speed limit below 45 miles per hour. On roadways with speed limits of 45 miles per hour or more, motorists must slow down to 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit. Drivers who fail to slow down or move over commit the crime of careless driving, a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense that can result in a fine of $150 and a three-point license violation.
During the holiday travel season, and every season, be sure to buckle up, don’t drink and drive and remember to move over for first responders so that you and others can spend time celebrating instead of mourning.
This post was originally published on here
