INTRODUCTION Attention-arousing material: Do you know that every hour someone dies in crash simply from not buckling

his or her seat belt and you can be a victim if you dont simple buckle it when you get in your car? Thesis-statement: Today I will try to persuade you that the first thing you have to do after sitting in your car is buckling your seat belt. Credibility Statement: While investigating for this speech I confirmed that using a seat belt do save lives and also prevent you of serious injuries if you are victim of an accident. Preview of main points: First I will describe you the problems of not using a seat belt, then I will give some solutions according to my point of view and my research and Finally I will BODY I. Too many unnecessary loses of live occur each year for the simple reasonpeople just dont wear seat belts. A. In 2006, 55% of passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes were not wearing seat belts. Seat belt use, reinforced by effective safety belt laws, is a proven life saver. 1. Approximately 35,000 people die in motor vehicle crashes each year. About 50 percent (17,000) of these people could be saved if they wore their safety belts. 2. For maximum protection safety belts should be fastened before traveling any distance or speed. Seventy-five percent of crash deaths and injuries occur within 25 miles of home. More than half of all injury-producing motor vehicle crashes involve low speeds under 40 m.p.h. a. In a 30 m.p.h. collision an unbelted 160 lb. Person can strike another passenger, crash through a windshield and/or slam into the vehicle's interior with a 4,800 lb. force. b. For every one percent increase in safety belt use, 172 lives and close to $100 million in annual injury and death costs could be saved. B. Children are the most prejudiced in a crash for not wearing seat belt or if the adults that are with them in the car do not use it.

1. A common cause of death and injury to children in motor vehicles is being crushed by adults who are not wearing safety belts. On out of four serious injuries to passengers is caused by occupants being thrown into each other. a. About 80 percent of all injuries to children in car crashes are injuries to the head, causing brain damage, permanent disfigurement, epilepsy or death. b. Safety belt use is one of the best defenses against the unpredictable actions of the drunk driver. 2. About 80 percent of all injuries to children in car crashes are injuries to the head, causing brain damage, permanent disfigurement, epilepsy or death. a. Of every 100 children who die in motor vehicle crashes at least 80 would survive if they were properly secured in an approved child safety seat or safety belts. b. An estimated 80 percent of American children area immunized against contagious diseases, but less than 10 percent are properly restrained when riding in a motor vehicle. II. Now that Ive talked about the problems of not wearing seat belt I will give you some solutions to this problem. A. Theres only one solution for this, wear your seat belt. But what if somebody remind us of using it? 1. Motorists can increase safety belt usage by example and verbal reminders. Nine out of 10 people buckle up when asked. 2. Cars companies can join all together with this problem and adapt technologies in the cars that always remind you to wear your seatbelt. a. Researches have shown that when adults buckle up, 87% of children get buckled up too. b. Actually, many cars factories such as BMW, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, etc. applied a technology that reminds the drivers when they are not using their seat belts, it consists in an irritating sound that wont stop until you finally buckle up.

B. Reinforcing the existing laws can be another solution. Today over 25 countries around the world have some type of mandatory safety belt law. Results of these laws were measured; usage rate went from 20-25 percent before passage to 60-90 percent after passage. 1. All states except one have seat belt use laws, but only 26 states (AK, AL, CA, CT, DE, GA, HI, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MS, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OK, OR, SC, TN, TX, WA) and the District of Columbia have primary enforcement of their belt laws. In states with primary enforcement, law officers may ticket a non-belt user when they see a violation of the seat belt law. With secondary enforcement laws, officers may issue a citation only after stopping the vehicle for another traffic infraction. 2. Fines for not wearing a seat belt in the United States currently range from $5 in Idaho to $75 in Oregon. The most common fine (27 states) is $20-25. A 1995 NHTSA study of the effect of various provisions of seat belt use laws found that for each $1 in fine level, states tend to gain about 0.08% higher belt use. (NHTSA, 2003) a. Michigan saw a 14 percent increase in their seat belt use rate from 70 percent to 84 percent after they passed a primary enforcement law in 2000. (NHTSA, 2003) b. The penalty is not counted as a misdemeanor, it may not be counted as a moving violationfor purposes of suspending a driver license, for exampleand it is not counted against a driver's record. III. Finally I will talk about the importance and benefits of wearing the seat belt. A. Buckling up on every tripnot just the long distance onescan save lives.

Seat belt are estimated to save 9,500 lives in America each year.
1. 2. Buckling up on every tripnot just the long distance onescan save lives. Not wearing a seatbelt doubles your chances of being seriously hurt in a crash. a. Not wearing a seatbelt doubles your chances of being seriously hurt in a crash. b. It only takes 3 second to buckle your seat belt when you sit in your car.

B. Whether a person is belted or not often becomes the difference between life and death. 1. If you get in a serious accident, buckling your seat belt will decrease your chance of death or serious injury, whether you are driving or riding as a passenger. 2. Seatbelts and air bags are meant to work together to keep drivers and passengers safe. The presence of air bags in a vehicle doesn't mean seatbelts are unnecessary. a. The job of the seatbelt is to hold the passenger in place so the passenger is almost part of the car which prevents the passenger from flying forward as the car stops abruptly in the case of a collision. b. Seatbelts restrict motion in the event of an accident, protecting the body from ejection. Since their inception, safety restraining devices have made automobiles safer to drive.

CONCLUSION Summary-statement: Today, I have talked about some of the problems of not wearing your seat belt causes, a solution to the problem to reduce deaths and injuries, some benefits of wearing your seat belt, and why seat belts are so important. Concluding Remarks: Seatbelts are too effective to ignore, take the time to buckle up it will only take 3 seconds of your valuable time, remember: its better losing a minute of your life than losing your life in a minute

THESIS http://www.saferoads.org/issues/fs-stand.htm http://www.jmu.edu/safetyplan/vehicle/generaldriver/safetybelt .shtml

http://www.doj.mt.gov/driving/drivingsafety.asp http://www.malmstrom.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123060617