Each year in May, law enforcement officials begin a push to enforce seat belt use. Through media blasts and ticketing, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration targets drivers in one of the most well-known driver safety campaigns around today.
Most drivers will buckle up at the threat of a ticket, but when the campaign push is over, what happens? Most drivers will go back to their bad habits, whether it is not wearing their seatbelt at all or only choosing to wear it on the highway. As effective as the Click It or Ticket campaign is, it will only save lives if its message continues beyond the month of May—and here’s why.
Seatbelts: No Matter How Vehicle Safety Technology Improves, Still Our #1 Defense
While seatbelts save lives in every corner of the country, there are few places a seatbelt serves vehicle occupants better than in the New Jersey area. Let’s face it—when drivers from other states visit the Garden State, they experience a certain sense of fear and awe at the volume—and intensity—of our traffic.
It’s not just the stereotypical rush hour traffic that could benefit from seatbelt use—in fact, many people are killed in surface street accidents in sleepy towns across our state. Survivable crashes quickly become fatal when occupants aren’t belted—ejection and internal impact forces are severe consequences that unbelted drivers and passengers face, often ending in unnecessary death.
Not convinced seatbelts are for you? You’re not alone. Many people choose not to buckle up, and they each have their own reasoning. The problem with their reasoning, however, is that none of it stacks up to Department of Transportation statistics:
- In 2011, seatbelts saved around 12,000 lives
- If everyone involved in a crash that year had worn a seatbelt, about 3,400 more lives would have been saved
No matter how many technological advances auto manufacturers make in the field of safety, no safety feature will have an impact without the added effect of seatbelt use. Set an example for your kids or your friends—just make sure that you’re setting the right example. A ticket can be paid, but your life is irreplaceable. Buckle up, because there’s no good reason not to do so!
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