The Importance Of Seat Belts

Seat belts are considered the most important safety equipment in a motor vehicle. They can save lives and can give drivers and passengers a greater chance of escaping injuries. When used, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent.

Unstrained children are 4.2 times more likely to die in a crash than restrained children. The Tennessee Department of Transportation confirms that seat belts and child safety seats help prevent injury by:

1. Preventing ejection from the vehicle.

2. Shifting crash forces to the strongest parts of the body’s structure.

3. Spreading forces over a wide area of the body.

4. Allowing the body to slow down gradually.

5. Protecting the head and spinal cord.

Tennessee’s Child Restraint Laws require children less than one year of age, or any child, that weighs 20 pounds or less, to be secured in a rear facing child restraint system in the back seat of the vehicle.

Children ages one to three, and weighing more than 20 pounds, must be secured in a child safety seat in a forward facing position in the rear seat of the vehicle.

Children ages four through eight, and measuring less than 4’9” in height, must be secured in a belt-positioning booster seat system.

Children ages nine through 12, or any child through age 12 measuring 4’9” or more in height, must be secured in a seat belt system. It is recommended that any such child be placed in the rear seat.

The center rear seat is the safest location for your child. The passenger side rear is the second safest location.

Some drivers believe it is their “personal right” to choose to buckle up or not. They have different excuses why they are not wearing a seat belt. Fear of entrapment in fire or water is one of them. I do not believe there are any valid reasons for not wearing a seat belt. Excuses don't save lives but wearing a seat belt can.

Remember to put your seat belt on each and every time you enter your vehicle - even on those short trips just down the road. Three out of four fatal crashes occur close to home - usually within 25 miles of home.

If the driver remains in the driver’s seat, he or she has a better chance of remaining in control of the vehicle and this could result in a much greater chance of survival. Ejection from the vehicle is more likely and causes more fatalities in crashes when not wearing a seat belt.

Buckling up doesn't just make good sense... it's the law. Police officers observing violations of the seat belt law are permitted to stop drivers and take enforcement action.