All about car seatbelts and why you should wear them

Seatbelts are nothing new as they’ve been around for decades, but they are still unsurpassed in their effectiveness, simplicity and ease of use. The humble seat belt is by far the most effective solution we currently have to save lives and reduce injuries caused by traffic accidents, yet many people do not take the time to wear them.  In a recent report by the National Institute for Highway Safety it was noted that as many as 50% of the drivers on the road are not even regularly using them.

You may take your seatbelt for granted, but stop and think next time you buckle up that such a device saves in excess of 10,000 lives every year – 27 lives each and every day, and that’s just in America! Just think how many lives are saved world wide thanks to this fantastic device that is routinely disregarded and not worn.  Or sit back and watch an episode or two of either COPS or Worlds Scariest Police Chases.  People really do get seriously hurt and die just because they didn’t wear their seat belt.

No matter how effective the seatbelt is it cannot stop an accident from occurring and according to studies, 1 out of 8 people will be involved in an accident this year – 1 out of 3 in their lifetime. Tens of thousands of people are involved in traffic accidents every year. When you’re travelling in your car both you and the car are moving at the same speed. If the car suddenly comes to a stop then you will carry on moving.

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You’ve probably noticed this if you were a passenger and the driver had to brake hard, you’ll move forward.  In a crash this is much worse, perhaps you’re travelling at 30mph and you’ve hit a concrete wall or another car this means your car will instantly stop. There is no gentle slowing down period, this rapid deceleration is the most dangerous part of the crash.

The safety belt or seat belt is designed to hold you firmly into your seat and keep you from being thrown forward or sideways. All modern cars come fitted with inertia reel seatbelts which will lock and hold you much firmer. If you were not held in place perhaps you would hit the dash, or the steering wheel.  The seat belt is designed to distribute the forces to your bones. Your organs and soft tissue are not strong, in fact if you wore the seatbelt across your stomach you could cause yourself serious injuries.  Which actually happened before the shoulder belt was introduced and made standard on all cars.  Seatbelts prevent you from being impaled on the steering wheel or smashing through the windscreen and ending up on the road where your chances of survival are slim to none.