Safety Seat Belts
Safety belts are the most effective means of saving lives and reducing serious injuries in traffic crashes.
Seat belts are safety devices in vehicles today, estimated to save 9,500 lives each year. Yet only 68 percent of the motor vehicle occupants are buckled. In 1996, more than 60 percent of the occupants killed in fatal crashes were unrestrained.
When a seat belt is worn correctly, it will apply most of the collision or stopping forces across the chest and pelvis, which are better able to withstand collision forces. A seat belt should not be worn twisted, as the full width of the belt is required to spread motor vehicle collision forces across the body.
Wearing a seat belt loosely or placing the shoulder belt under the arm or behind your back instead of across the chest, could, in the case of a collision or sudden stop, result in an injury-producing impact with the vehicle interior, or ejection from the vehicle. Wearing a lap belt across the stomach, instead of low across the hips, allows collision forces to be applied to the soft tissue of the body, increasing the chance of injury.
There is no reason for pregnant women not to wear a seat belt. The best way to protect an unborn child is to protect the mother. Pregnant women should always wear both a lap and shoulder belt, sitting as upright as possible. The lap belt should be worn low so it pulls downward on the pelvic bones and not directly against the abdomen.
How to Properly Adjust Your Safety Belt:
Always wear your seat belt, and insist that your passengers do the same. One non-restrained passenger can seriously injure others in the vehicle.
Seat belts help prevent internal injuries by spreading the force of a collision across two of the human body's strongest areas: the pelvis and upper chest. To ensure the proper distribution of force, the lap belt should be positioned across the upper thighs, and the diagonal belt across the chest.
Never slip the diagonal belt behind your body — the lap belt alone cannot prevent you from being thrown forward or out of the vehicle. Use the lap belt at all times, as well. Without this restraint, your body would be thrown under the diagonal belt and into the dashboard or steering wheel.
Make sure your belt fits snugly against your body. If it is too loose, you could be injured by being thrown against the belt itself.
If your seat belts don't seem to operate correctly, or you cannot adequately adjust them, return the car to a dealership or qualified repair shop for assistance.
If your vehicle is fitted only with lap belts (pre-1974 models), contact a dealership for an upgrade to a three-point harness. Aftermarket kits are available for many vehicle makes and models.
Here are some points to remember:
Seat belts must be in proper working condition.
A seat belt won't protect you if it is not worn properly. Take a few seconds to position the lap portion of your seat belt snug to your body and low on the hips. Never wear the shoulder strap under the arm where it could damage your ribs.
A seat belt keeps the driver behind the wheel and in control in a collision. It helps keep your head and body from hitting the inside of the vehicle.
A seat belt keeps you inside the vehicle during a collision, preventing you from being thrown through a windshield or door onto the roadway.
Even if your vehicle is equipped with air bags, always wear your seat belt. If you don't, you may not be in the right position to benefit from the protection air bags provide. Remember, air bags do not protect you in a roll-over or side impact collision.
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