In the past month, I've heard of or seen the results of so many car/truck accidents in which someone wasn't wearing a seatbelt. In just about ever case, someone was ejected from the vehicle. In two of the cases, the accident resulted in a fatality.
What happened to stressing the importance of buckling up? What happened to all of those tv ads about fastening your seatbelt before going somewhere, such as this from years back....
Granted, times have changed, but the affect don't.
If you're not wearing a seatbelt,
the chances of surviving even a slow-speed crash drops dramatically.
I once towed a car out of a field that was in a slow-speed crash. The driver was killed because as her car went into the plowed field, the impact of her body bouncing around inside her car caused enough serious internal injuries to cause her death.
(And as a note of clarification, the only damage to the car was a rear quarter-panel.
I was able to open the door, climb in and out of the car, and it was even driven off the lot after her insurance took the case.)
And yes, maybe your seatbelt will hurt you. I can speak from experience. Check out this picture...
This is a picture of my neck from when my Ford Explorer rolled down a hill after being hit by a semi-truck in a weather-related accident (I lost control on the ice).
My SUV rolled side-over-side at least 3 times, I think. I was more concerned with hoping that the truck would stop rolling. But the only real injury I had was something like a "deep rope burn" style cut from the shoulder strap. But considering I was pulling things out from under the seat and under the dashboard that WAS in the far-back of the truck, I'd call this really lucky!
But then there is the "it will wrinkle my clothes" excuse.
Then check out this video which is something like the commercials from way-back-when...
Some people have said that things have changed in how we teach responsibility to our youth.
Others say that it's because of the habits of driving farm vehicles around the fields.
Some say that it's because the law isn't enforced like it should.
I say let's stop the finger-pointing, lead by example,
and bring back the lessons in whatever way we can.
It could be your own life you save.
