Reasons to Wear a Seatbelt

“August 2000, our family of six was on the way to a wedding. It was a rainy day, and Gregg was not familiar with the area. The car hit standing water in the high-way, and started hydro-planing. Greg lost control of the car. Then, the car went backwards down into a ditch and started sliding on its wheels sideways. After sliding for 100 feet or so, the car flipped, at least once. After flipping, the car came to rest on its wheels, and the passenger window broke out.

“In the front seat was Gregg, driving, Sarah, in the middle, and Robyn, on the passenger side. In the rear seat was Jeff, behind the driver, Haley, in the middle, and Rachel, on the passenger side. EVERYONE was wearing their SEAT BELTS, as is our family habit. EVERYONE walked away from this accident with only bruises. The only blood was Robyn had small nicks from glass in a couple of places on her right arm and right leg.

“After being examined at the ER, we continued on to the wedding reception. Where, less than 3 hour after this accident, Rachel, Jeff, Sarah, and Haley were able to dance and have a great time! If they had not been wearing their seat belts, they could have been dead. So Please Buckle Up your Seat Belts every time you get in the car!” (www.geocities.com/gargn6/seatbelts.html?200522).

This woman’s story may not be one that will ever happen to many people, but if it did a seatbelt is one of the only defenses one has against it. A seatbelt is not a new development and seatbelt laws are not new either and refusing to wear a seatbelt is disregard for the law and one’s own safety. Everyone has to wear a seatbelt, no one is picked, and people from celebrities down to a common sixteen-year-old driver have to wear one. No one is exempt from the law and no one should be aloud to break it. It’s not hard to do and shouldn’t be hard to remember because all it takes is a click and even though some have come up with many reasons not to wear them the benefits of wearing a seatbelt outweigh the disadvantages by far.

Many people may choose not to wear a seatbelt because they don’t understand how and why they work. To begin with seatbelts are the first line of defense one has against an injury in a crash. With a seatbelt the body’s movement is limited especially when the vehicle makes a sudden change of direction or speed. While wearing a seatbelt one will stay positioned in their seat, resulting in that one doesn’t bounce about or become ejected from the automobile. The way in which the seatbelt positions one helps to increase the effectiveness of the airbag as well (www.lemurzone.com/airbags/belts.htm).

Today’s seatbelts require the use of a three point anchorage system to accomplish aiding the effectiveness of the airbag. The three point anchorage system is nothing new; it was developed by a VOLVO engineer in 1958. Before he invented this three point system there were severe head, neck and chest