Buckle Up For Safety
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As many of us hit the road to visit family and friends over the holiday period, it is encouraging to know that more Americans are getting to their destinations safely because they are wearing safety belts.
But the acknowledgment falls short of a congratulations because some 18 percent of Americans are still forgetting – or refusing – to buckle up every time on every trip.
The national safety belt use rate has reached an all-time high of 82 percent. And 34 states last year had higher belt use rates than the year before. But the truth is that until we get everyone to buckle up, there will be thousands of avoidable deaths and severe injuries.
Take Oklahoma as an example – 600 were people killed on its highways last year; 329 of those were not wearing safety belts.
The hard work of government agencies, law enforcement and private-sector organizations helped safety belt use exceed 90 percent in seven states and Puerto Rico in 2004. If every state was at 90 percent, thousands of lives would be spared annually, according to the American College of Surgeons, whose members treat injured unbelted motorists every day.
Michigan, home of GM's global headquarters, is one of the seven states where the combination of a stronger safety belt law and high-visibility enforcement has led to belt use above 90 percent. Michigan is at 93.5 percent. Unfortunately, there are states with belt use rates 35 percentage points lower.
While common sense should be enough, it is this high-visibility enforcement that is responsible for increased safety belt use. The national and state Click It or Ticket mobilizations, supported by advertising to call attention to the enforcement, have helped raise belt use by 21 percentage points in the past eight years.
The other important factor is primary use safety belt laws, which allow police to enforce belt use in the same manner as other traffic laws. Twenty-two states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have primary enforcement.
You cannot escape the law of physics in a vehicle crash. If your safety belt is not properly fastened, you keep moving when the vehicle stops. Safety belts, when used properly, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passengers by 45 percent and the risk of moderate to severe injury by 50 percent. Safety belts also help mitigate the leading cause of death in a rollover crash – being ejected from the vehicle.
This holiday season, if you are still among the shrinking percentage of Americans who refuses to buckle up, I urge you, as a safety engineer and as a husband and a father, to give your family and friends the greatest gift of all: your continued presence at holiday gatherings. Commit to buckle up every time, on every trip. Remind those visiting you to do the same. And remember - children 12 and under should always be properly restrained in a rear seat.
