Lisa Finlayson

English 2010
Gary Howard
Unit 3

Wearing your seatbelt save countless lives. The use of seatbelts reduce serious injuries
and death by about half in serious car accidents. Set a good example for children and teenagers
as they have a higher death rate in car accidents due to not using a seatbelt. Wearing your
seatbelt, and wearing it correctly, makes all the difference in the outcome in a vehicle accident.
Drivers need to think about the consequences before they decide whether to wear their seatbelt or
not.
In the US, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among the ages 1 to 54. 1
In 2012, there were 2.2 million adult drivers treated in the emergency for vehicle crash related
injuries and 50 billion dollars spend on non-fatal crash injuries for their lifetime medical bills
and the loss of work. Men are ten percent more likely to not wear their seatbelt then women. 2
More than half of vehicle occupants killed in 2012 were not wearing a seat belt. 3
When seatbelts are used correctly they can save lives. Wearing your seatbelt can reduce
the risk of a fatal injury of the front seat passenger by 45%, and risk of moderate to critical injury
by 50%. In a van or a sport-utility vehicle you can prevent fatalities by 73%.4 More than fifteen
thousand lives were saved in America because they were wearing their seatbelts correctly.
1 CDC. Seat Belts: Get the Facts. http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/seatbelts/facts.html
2 Ibid.
3 National safety council. Everyone Has a Role in Making Our Roads Safer.
http://www.nsc.org/learn/safetyknowledge/Pages/safety-at-home-motor-vehicle-crash.aspx

Lisa Finlayson
English 2010
Gary Howard
Unit 3

Seatbelts protect you in five different ways: keeps the occupants of the vehicle inside, restrains
the strongest parts of the body, spreads out any force from the collision, helps the body to slow
down, and protects your brain and spinal cord.5 Wearing your seatbelt every time you drive can
help you save money, since its a law to buckle up. Also seatbelts will save you time because you
wont have to waste time on the side of the road being ticketed. Wearing a seat restraints can
save your life. This scary statistic is a validation on why you should in fact wear one every time
you get into a vehicle: every 15 seconds someone is injured in a car crash and every 13 minutes
someone is killed in a car crash.6
Kids are 92% likely to be wearing their seatbelts when adults are wearing them. That
drops significantly to 72%, when adults are lacking their seatbelts.7 That is a 20% difference, this
statistic demonstrates that kids look up to adults, even in the car. Teenagers are less likely to wear
their seatbelt, and by that it comes by no surprise that most teens that are killed in car crashes,
4 Edgar Snyder & Associates. Seat belt statistics.
https://www.edgarsnyder.com/caraccident/defectiveproducts/seat-belts/seat-belts-statistics.html
5 Beth W. Orenstein. Seat Belts: How they save lives.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthyliving/wearing-your-seat-belt.aspx.
6 U.S. Department of Transportation. http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/airbags/seatbelt
%20broch%20web/nonpolice.html
7 Edgar Snyder & Associates. Seat belt statistics. https://www.edgarsnyder.com/caraccident/defective
products/seat-belts/seat-belts-statistics.html

Lisa Finlayson
English 2010
Gary Howard
Unit 3

are in fact, not wearing their seatbelts.8 As adults, by teaching and setting a positive example in
seatbelt usage, we can help reduce the rate of teenagers and children that are killed in car
accidents. Just by one simple step of buckling our seatbelt each time we step into a car.
Just strapping your seatbelt on carelessly will not save your life, you also need to wear it
correctly. The lap belt needs to be low and snug across your hips and the shoulder strap snug
against the chest. If you happen to put the shoulder strap under your arm or behind your back
you are actually going to cause more of an injury to yourself in an accident, because your upper
torso is completely unrestrained during a collision. The lap belts should not be placed on your
stomach, because in a crash you could potentially develop severe internal injuries. Consult your
owners manual for your vehicle to see how to adjust the seatbelt so it will properly fit you, in
order to protect you the best. Seatbelts are designed for adults, so children need to use a booster
seat in order for the seatbelt to fit them properly.9 I have children and sometimes they fight to use
their booster seat and exclaim, My friends dont use a booster seat! I explain to them that I
make them use a booster seat because I care about them and I dont want them to be seriously
injured in an accident, and also why the seatbelt can harm them if they dont use it.
8 National safety council. Buckle up: Seat Belts save lives. http://driveithome.org/teen-driver-risks/seatbelts/
9 Brett Emison. Did You Know.. How You Wear Your Seatbelt Can Be As Crucial As If You Wear Your
Seatbelt?http://kansascity.legalexaminer.com/defective-dangerous-products/did-you-know-how-you-wearyour-seat
belt-is-as-crucial-as-if-you-wear-your-seat-belt/. August 23,2010.

Lisa Finlayson
English 2010
Gary Howard
Unit 3

Some of the common excuses that people make on why they dont wear a seatbelt
include, but are not limited to, there are all sorts of mental justificationsyou dont want to
crinkle the blouse or the shirt. Its uncomfortable. Well, a little crinkling or mild discomfort is a
small price to pay for keeping you where you sit rather than being launched into space through
the windshield or a side window on impact.10 Another common excuse on why people dont
wear seatbelts is,
With the widespread use of the airbag, some think airbags will be more than
enough to keep them alive. The airbag does you absolutely no good in a rollover.
Whether youre tossed about the interior like a pair of old socks in a clothes dryer
or ejected, in all probability, youre going airborne and the landing wont be
pretty. They dont give style points for hitting the pavement at high speed. They
usually give last rites.11
In conclusion, wearing your seatbelt is a personal choice, however, it is the law and can cost you,
your life. It should be given serious thought beforehand, if you happen to decide not to wear your
seatbelt. The consequences of not wearing one is no comparison against your personal mental
justifications of not wearing one. To have the desire to be a positive example on children and
10 Confie Group. Its not a Myth-Seatbelts save lives. https://www.insureone.com/blog/its-not-a-mythseatbelts-savelives/.
11 Ibid.

Lisa Finlayson
English 2010
Gary Howard
Unit 3

teenagers. Make a pledge with yourself, from this day forward, to wear your seatbelt, and make
sure it is on correctly.

Bibliography
CDC. Seat Belts: Get the Facts
http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/seatbelts/facts.html. October 7, 2014. (accessed
on 04/27/2015).
Confie Group. Its not a Myth- Seatbelts save lives. https://www.insureone.com/blog/its-not-a
myth-seatbelts-save-lives/. July 23, 2014. (accessed on 04/27/2015).
Emison, Brett. Did You Know How You Wear Your Seatbelt Can Be As Crucial As If You Wear
Your Seatbelt? August 23,2010. (accessed on 04/27/2015).
Orenstein, Beth W. Seat Belts: How they save lives. (updated 05/20/2009).
http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/wearing-your-seat-belt.aspx. (accessed on
04/27/2015).
National safety council. Buckle up: Seat belts save lives. http://driveithome.org/teen-driver
risks/seat-belts/. (accessed on 04/27/2015).

Lisa Finlayson
English 2010
Gary Howard
Unit 3

National safety council. Everyone Has a Role in Making Our Roads Safer
http://www.nsc.org/learn/safety-knowledge/Pages/safety-at-home-motor-vehicle
crash.aspx. (accessed on 04/27/2015).
Snyder, Edgar & Associates. Seat belt statistics. https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car
accident/defective-products/seat-belts/seat-belts-statistics.html. (accessed on 04/27/2015).
U.S. Department of Transportation. http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/airbags/seatbelt
%20broch%20web/nonpolice.html