Does wearing your seat belt really make a difference when you’re in a car accident?
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “seat belts reduce serious crash-related injuries and deaths by about half.” When you’re driving or riding in a car, you are traveling at the same speed the car is. If the car is in an accident, it will come to a stop while you will continue to travel at that same speed. A seat belt will stop your movement and keep you from being hurled from the car or crashing into the car’s interior.
How much of a difference in force do seat belts actually make? Consider this. That’s a lot of force. But if you are in the same accident while not wearing a seat belt, that force increases to approximately 12 tons. That’s a huge difference!
But most cars on the road today are equipped with airbags. Do airbags alone provide adequate protection? Statistics have shown that airbags can reduce the risk of serious injury or death in a car accident by a little less than one third. Though airbags provide added protection, they should never be relied upon as a substitute for seat belts. Seat belts and airbags together provide you the best possible protection when you are in a car accident.
So always wear your seat belt – even if you’re just making a quick dash to the store! And if you are in a car accident, call Accident and Injury immediately. Because all they do is care for car accident victims, Accident and Injury needs to be your first call to protect against unnecessary complications from car accident injuries and the neck, knee, shoulder and other pain those injuries can cause.
