Despite Statistics, Some Passengers Still Don’t Wear Seat Belts
As a Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer, it baffles me that even though overwhelming evidence proves that wearing a seat belt greatly increases your chances of surviving a car accident, there are some who are still not wearing them.
Sadly, two people died in Washington county when they were thrown from an SUV Sunday night. The Chevy Blazer they were riding in crossed the highway’s center line, hit a guardrail and landed in a small creek after it rolled several times. Neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing their seat belt. Though it’s impossible to know whether or not the two would have survived if they had been, it is likely that they would still be alive if they were wearing their seat belts.
For those of you who insist on not wearing your seat belts, here are some statistics from the National Safety Council that I hope might change your mind.
- Seat belts saved more than 75,000 lives from 2004 to 2008
- Forty-two percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2007 were not wearing their seat belts
- Lap/shoulder safety belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal personal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical personal injury by 50 percent.
It’s estimated that in 2009, 88% of car occupants across the country use their seat belts, up from 83% in 2008. While it’s encouraging that seat belt use appears to be increasing, I would still love to see that small percentage of non-seat belt wearers get in the habit of wearing one every time they get in a car.
If you or a loved one has suffered a personal injury in a car accident, make sure you call a Pennsylvania car accident attorney with extensive experience representing the victims of car accidents, as well as the finest accident reconstruction experts, and relationships with dozens of doctors, specialists, and other health care professionals to assist its clients.
Tags: Attorney, Automobile, car accident, Law, National Safety Council, PA, Pennsylvania, personal injury, safety, Seat belt, Seat Belts, Traffic collision, traffic safety, United States
