Annually, November 14th is recognized at National Seat Belt Day.
The event was originated in 2019 by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), rideshare service Uber, and Volvo to celebrate the invention of the three-point seat belt in 1959 and promote the importance of using one every time they get in a vehicle.
Seatbelts can be the difference between minor injuries and severe life threatening injuries.
We worked with Glasgow Police Department, Glasgow Fire Department and grabbed some information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website regarding using your seatbelts.
Police Chief Guy Howie stated “Law enforcement officers across the country witness devastating accidents every day, many of which could have ended differently if a seatbelt had been worn. A simple choice can prevent serious injury or even save a life. Wearing a seatbelt is the simplest way to protect yourself on the road—it could be the difference between life and death in an instant.”
NHTSA is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. “If you buckle up in the front seat of a passenger car, you can reduce your risk of fatal injury by 45%, and moderate to critical injury by 50%”
*(NHTSA)
The Top 5 Things You Should Know About Buckling Up
1. Buckling up is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a crash
Being buckled up during a crash helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle; being
completely ejected from a vehicle is almost always deadly.
2. Air bags are designed to work with seat belts, not replace them
3. Guidelines to buckle up safely
a. The lap belt and shoulder belt are secured across the pelvis and rib cage, which are better able to
withstand crash forces than other parts of your body.
b. The lap belt rests across your hips, not your stomach.
c. Place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck.
4. Fit matters
a. If you need a roomier belt, contact your vehicle manufacturer to obtain seat belt extenders.
b. If you drive an older or classic car with lap belts only, check with your vehicle manufacturer
about how to retrofit your car with today’s safer lap/shoulder belts.
5. Seat belt safety for children and pregnant women:
a. Buckling up through all stages of your pregnancy is the single most effective action you can take
to protect yourself and your unborn child in a crash.
b. NEVER place the shoulder belt under your arm or behind your back.
c. NEVER place lap belt over or on top of your belly.
Tyler Solum, a Lieutenant with the Glasgow Fire Department commented “From what I’ve witnessed in the fire service, wearing a seatbelt and wearing it properly can greatly improve the outcome in a lot of vehicle accidents. Some people think that wearing a seatbelt can cause more harm than good but in reality, seatbelts are designed to safely restrain and protect you from more injury”.
Seat belts help to save lives in motor vehicle accidents (MVA).
*Seat belts. NHTSA. https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle-safety/seat-belts
