31.08.2018
What Do You Really Know About Seat Belts?
Today marks the 21st anniversary of the death of one of the most famous women in history, Princess Diana, whose life was cut short due to a car accident, along with two other passengers.
An inquest held in 2008, found that their death “was caused or contributed to by the fact” that they were not wearing a seat belt.
To this day, Lady Diana’s sister is still haunted by her failure to buckle up, wondering in a BBC interview in 2017: “Why didn’t she put it on that night? I’ll never know.”
The fact is, most people around the world understand that they should wear a seat belt. But there are millions who still do not use them. Some know they should because they were told about the risks, but still take no stock in it. Others simply don’t know the depth of safety that seat belts provide.
Do you? Here are four questions to test your knowledge about seat belts.
Question #1. Do you need a seat belt if you are driving slowly?
Yes you do. Even while traveling at only 30mph (48km/h), if you are unrestrained during a car crash, you will accelerate forward with a force of up to 60 times your own body weight.
Question #2. Is it enough to be belted if other passengers are not?
No it is not. Unbelted passengers present a risk to other passengers, even if those are restrained. They can fly through the car with great force, causing belted passengers serious injury or even death. So do not hesitate to ask others to buckle up, for their own safety as much as yours.
Question #3. Does the risk of vehicle ejection increase if you are not buckled up?
Yes it does. Seat belts play a major role in preventing an individual from being ejected from the vehicle. And what is the survival rate after ejection? Up to 75% of passengers thrown from a car either don’t make it or suffer a serious injury.
Question #4. Do you need to buckle up in the backseat?
Yes you do. Many believe otherwise and they are incorrect. According to the WHO’s global statistics, seat belts reduce auto accident fatalities by up to 50% in front seat travel and 75% in rear-seat travel. Furthermore, unbelted rear-seat passengers more than double the risk of fatal injury to the driver.
A seat belt may seem like an inconvenience to some. Something to try to remember for others. But please keep in mind, the moment it takes to strap on a seat belt could save you from a lifetime of grief, or more so, it may save someone else a lifetime of grieving over you.
