Seatbelts Save Lives, Study Says

Most recent fatality statistics compiled by the Farmers Group Inc. auto insurance company show something a lot of us already know – seatbelts save lives. According to a UPI news report these numbers indicate that the best chance for a person to stay alive in an auto accident is to remain buckled up.

Farmers Group reportedly looked at Department of Transportation data and information from 2006 for the purpose of this study. Researches concluded that drivers who used seatbelts were 70 percent less likely to be killed in a car crash than drivers who were not wearing their seatbelts, the UPI report said.

The Farmers study also found some other interesting details.

• Head-on crashes more often tend to be fatal rather than rear-end collisions • Larger vehicles provide more protection than smaller ones • Fatalities are 10 percent more likely on wet roads than dry ones • New or younger drivers as well as elderly drivers are more likely to die in an auto accident than someone who is middle-aged • Crashes involving rollovers or where vehicles catch on fire are also more likely to be fatal
The study also points out that night-time or winter-time driving is also usually riskier than other times. There is no doubt that drivers should exercise more caution while driving during these times as well as during the holidays when incidents involving drunk driving skyrocket.

This study may seem to state the obvious especially with regard to seatbelts, but it is very important for drivers to be constantly reminded about buckling up. California Highway Patrol’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign is there for a reason – because people forget or just don’t care enough to buckle up sometimes. And many times, such a lax attitude can result in a huge tragedy. What could have been limited to an injury crash becomes a fatality crash.

For more information about seatbelt safety, please visit the following Web sites:

National Safety Belt Coalition
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
Spine Universe
Handicapped Pets.com