Do Seat Belts Really Help Save Lives?
Everyone has heard the story. The driver who died in a car accident because he was trapped in his car by a seat belt that wouldn’t come undone. The finer points of the story change, of course, depending on the decade and the narrator. Sometimes the car is a towering inferno with thick, black smoke pouring out onto the highway, the driver still trapped helplessly inside. Other times the car careens off a bridge and sinks below the river’s surface, its murky waters rushing in to fill the lungs of the person still caught inside. In one adventurous re-telling, the driver is actually severed cleanly in half one moonless night as the result of a semi truck racing down the highway and slamming into the back of his stalled car. Dead battery, no lights. Alas, if only the driver had known better than to wear his seat belt, the story cautions us, then he would still be alive today.
Just how true are these stories?
California Seat Belt Laws
California Vehicle Code Section 27360
In California, children who are less than two years old must ride in a rear-facing child seat unless they weigh 40 pounds or more or they are taller than 40 inches. The child must be fastened in a way that satisfies the requirements of the weight and height limits as specified by the car seat’s manufacturer
Children who are younger than eight years old are required to be fastened into a booster seat or a car seat in the back seat of the vehicle
California Vehicle Code Section 27363
Children who are eight years old or have grown taller than 4’9” can be fastened into a booster seat, but must still be restrained with a seat belt at the minimum.
Passengers who are 16 or older are subject to the mandatory seat belt law of the state of California
Injury Facts and Statistics
A study that was conducted by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration discovered that the effects of a crash at excessive speeds is capable of leaving people with whiplash and many other serious injuries. In fact, thousands of individuals have suffered from shoulder and lap-area injuries as the result of using their seat belt.
Some of the most common injuries that stem from seat belt use are whiplash, broken bones, cuts and bruises, shoulder injuries, abdominal injuries, and hip injuries.
However…
Click It or Ticket
- 75 % of people who are thrown from a car die as the result. Those who are unbuckled are 30 times more inclined to be thrown
- If you are in a car accident while driving a mere 30mph you will be thrown forward with a force that is equal to 60 times your bodyweight if unbuckled
- Studies reveal that 93% of adult front seat passengers and 94% of drivers routinely wear their seat belts. As for back seat passengers, 93% of children under the age of 14 and 70% of adults routinely buckle up
- Every single safety feature that you paid to have in your car was tested under the assumption that you would be buckled up. Without your seat belt, all of those safety features are completely meaningless
- If you decide not to wear your seat belt and you are involved in an accident, there could be ramifications regarding the police and your insurance policy
Unfortunately, the mistaken belief that you’re safer not wearing your seat belt in case the vehicle catches fire or goes flying off a bridge persists despite the mountain of proof to the contrary. If you have been involved in a car accident in the Los Angeles area, whether or not a lack of seat belt was an issue, you need to contact a personal injury attorney as soon as you can. Here at the Los Angeles Injury Group our attorneys are prepared to respond aggressively to your claim and to see to it that you get the full amount that you deserve for your damages. If you would like to discuss your case with one of our car accident attorneys, then please reach out to us at (310) 954-7248 today.
And no, the stories aren’t true…