Seat belt Safety Laws
By: Florence, Elizabeth, Katherine, and Paulina
Our group is doing seat belt safety laws and we believe that not wearing a seat belt should be illegal because they save 9,500 lives every year and you are 45% more likely to survive a crash while wearing a seat belt.
Safety Belt Laws
- There are mandatory seat belt laws in all states except for New Hampshire.
- Some states only require for front seat passengers to wear seat belts.
- In 34 out of the 50 states they have the primary enforcement law which means that the police can stop people just for not wearing their seat belt.
- In the rest of the states, its secondary enforcement which means that the police must have another reason to stop someone before mentioning them not being buckled up.
- If the passenger is over 17 and in the front seat of a vehicle without a seat belt on the fine can be anywhere between $25-$50, if the passenger is under 17 and riding without a seat belt the fine can be anywhere between $100-$200.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wearing a seat belt can save you from being injured or dying in a crash.
2. Isn't is worse to be trapped in a car? Aren't I safer if I get thrown from a car in a crash?
If you're thrown out of the car, you're 25% more likely to die. And if you need to get out of the car in a hurry - as in the extremely tiny percent of accidents involving fire or submergence - you can get out a lot faster if you haven't been knocked unconscious inside your car.
3. Why are you forcing me to wear a seat belt?The state law requires the driver and all the passenger to make sure they are safe no matter where they are seating in the car.
4. Can I wear my chest strap behind my body?
No, you can not wear a seat belt behind your body because if you happen to be in a car crash the seat belt around your chest protects your whole body but if its just around your hip then the child or adult may fly through the window because they had their seat belt behind their body.
Statistics on Seatbelts
- Of the teens ages 13-20 years that died in crashes in 2012, approximately 55% of them were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
- Adults ages 18-34 are less likely to wear seat belts than adults ages 35 or older.
- Men are 10% less likely to wear seat belts than women.
- Adults who live in rural areas are 10% less likely to wear seat belts than adults who live in urban and suburban areas with a 87% use.
- Seat belt use is lower in states with secondary enforcement seat belt laws or no seat belt laws by 80% compared to states with primary enforcement laws with 89%.
- Rear seat passengers are less likely than front-seat passengers to wear a seat belt.
Child Seatbelt Safety
- Child safety laws require children to travel in approved child restraints or booster seats.
- First offense fine or not complying with a state's child passenger safety laws vary from $10 to $500.
- Children seated in booster seat in the back seat of the car are 45% less likely to be injured in a crash than children using a seat belt alone.
- While 96% and caregivers believe their child safety seats are installed correctly, research shows that 7 out of 10 are improperly restrained.
- child safety seats can reduce fatal injury by 71%, for infants and 54% for toddlers ages 1-4.
Works consulted
- https://www.ktsro.org/safe
- http://www.towardzerodeathsdc.com/seat-belt-safety
- http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/no-seatbelt-no-excuse
- http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Employer%20Traffic%20Safety/Documents/Texas%20Free%20Resources/Safety%20Belts/SafetyBelt_FAQ.pdf
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2twNZc-gGI
- http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/safetybeltuse?topicName=safety-belts
- http://texas.drivinguniversity.com/driving-safety/texas-seat-belt-law/
- http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbelts/facts.html