BUCKLE UP

How many of you have heard the slogans “Click It Or Ticket” or “Seat belts Save Lives”? These common warnings are often ignored as we go about our busy lives. Sometimes, it takes a personal experience to highlight the importance of seat belt use.
Recently, I received the phone call that every parent dreads. My 16 year old daughter had been involved in a car crash. I remember my pulse pounding as she told me what had happened. I also remember the first thing she said on the call: “Dad, I’m OK, I was wearing my seat-belt like you always tell me.” Fortunately, she was not injured in the collision. I am convinced that seat-belt use kept her safe.
 Seat belts can help to save lives. They are important safety features that, like air bags, help to protect a driver or passenger in a collision and minimize injuries. Those who do not wear their seat belts while in a vehicle put themselves at greater risk of severe injury or even death. In addition to this higher injury risk, not wearing a seat-belt could also hurt your insurance claim should you be involved in an accident.


FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SEAT BELTS.

• drivers and passengers killed in crashes are unrestrained. 53% of drivers and passengers killed in car crashes were not wearing restraints.
• Seat belts dramatically reduce risk of death and serious injury. Among drivers and front-seat passengers, seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45%, and cut the risk of serious injury by 50%.
• Seat belts prevent drivers and passengers from being ejected during a crash. People not wearing a seat belt are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash. More than 3 out of 4 people who are ejected during a fatal crash die from their injuries.
• Seat belts save thousands of lives each year, and increasing use would save thousands more.  If all drivers and passengers had worn seat belts that year, almost 4,000 more people would be alive today.

These facts show that increasing seat belt use is critical to reduce injury and saving lives.

Seat belts can aid the following:

• Preventing you from hitting the windshield
• Preventing you from being thrown from the vehicle
• Preventing you from banging around the vehicle and hitting the steering wheel, door, etc.
• Women who are pregnant are more protected when they’re wearing a seat belt.Airbags are much more effective when the driver and passengers are wearing their seat-belts. If you’re not wearing your belt, your body will most likely not remain in the position in which the airbag can protect you.                       
  The best defence
  Seat belts offer the best defence against:
  
• Road hazards
• Aggressive drivers
• Distracted drivers
• Impaired drivers

It’s important to remember your actions don’t just affect you, but others, too.  Therefore, any time you’re on the road, make safe decision.
OTHER SAFETY TIPS.

• The safest place for any child ages 12 and younger is the back seat
• Infants and children under the age of two should ride in rear-facing car seats
• Children should be securely fastened in a forward-facing child safety seat once they have outgrown their rear-facing seat or after age two
• Children should stay in a belt positioning booster seat until the seat belt fits them correctly, which is about 4’9” tall
• Seventy-five percent of child car seats and booster seats are used incorrectly. Be sure to read your car seat and vehicle owner’s manual and follow all instructions to be sure your child passengers are safe.

Tell the people you love to buckle up

If you’re a passenger in a vehicle and someone else isn’t buckled up, it puts your life in danger too.