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Reasons Why You Should Wear a Seat Belt

Seat belt design has improved over the past decades. Seat belts, which once consisted only of a lap belt, are much more comfortable and more efficient at preventing injury. Using your seat belt--and especially in conjunction with airbags--can prevent serious injury if you are involved in an accident. Seat belts can save your life, as statistics from the NHTSA show.

  1. Reason One

    • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2006, due to seat belt use, approximately 15,383 people were saved from fatal injury during car crashes.

    Reason Two

    • Seat belts prevent you from being ejected from the car in high-speed or rollover accidents. According to James Madison University's Safety Belt Statistics, occupants of vehicles are 25 times more likely to be killed or injured if they are ejected from vehicle.

    Reason Three

    • The combined use of seat belts with air bags can reduce your chance, if you are involved in an accident of a fractured spine by 33 percent, according to Medpage Today.

    Reason Four

    • In many states, it is now a law that the driver and passenger in the front seats wear a seat belt at all times.

    Considerations

    • In order to be most effective, seat belts must be worn properly. In other words, the belt shouldn't be worn twisted or too loose. Shoulder straps should fit comfortably across the chest.

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