Message Monday - Food on a stick - safety with a click
Who doesn’t love the convenience and portability of food on a stick? Whether it’s a salad, corndog, pork chop, fried cheese, or a frozen chocolate-covered banana, portability is key for eating your way around the Iowa State Fair that begins later this week.
The convenience of arriving safely doesn't require a stick, but it does require a click – a click of your seat belt and the seat belts of everyone in the vehicle with you. Front seat or back, taking a couple of seconds to secure your belt will greatly decrease the chances you’ll be killed or seriously injured should you be involved in a crash.
A recent survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that 28 percent of respondents don’t always click a seat belt when they’re in the back of a car. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2015, 4.3 percent of 22,441 fatalities - or 966 deaths - involved unrestrained people in rear seats. And IIHS research finds that unbuckled rear-seat travelers are eight times as likely as buckled rear-seat passengers to be injured or killed in a crash.
Unbelted rear seat passengers put themselves and others in the vehicle at risk. https://youtu.be/bdW_3oQFO0c
For 2018, there have been 176 fatalities reported. That’s an increase of five since last Monday. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf