Message Monday - rubber cement, seat belt or glue - which holds you?
Seat belts are a sticky subject for some people. Back to school time in Iowa has many of us picking up school supplies for our kids. While it’s silly to think these school supplies would hold you in your seat, the excuses to not buckle up are equally as ridiculous.
- “I’m afraid of getting stuck in a crashed car.” -- A seat belt will help keep you in a vehicle. If you’re thrown out of the vehicle, there’s a 75 percent chance you’ll be killed.
- “I forgot.” – Most vehicles are now equipped with audible warning systems. It’s nearly impossible to “forget.”
- “I have an airbag.” – Airbags are designed to work with seatbelts, not as alternatives.
- “It takes too long to buckle up.” – We are certainly living in a society of instant action, but it only takes two to three seconds to buckle up.
- “I should have the right to decide my own safety gear.” and the sister argument, “No one else gets hurt if I’m alone in the car.” -- If there are passengers in the car, a seat belt can keep you from becoming a projectile and injuring others. Even if you’re driving alone in the vehicle, a slight bump can knock you from your seat, possibly causing the vehicle to veer.
- “I’m only going a short trip down the road.” -- Eighty percent of traffic fatalities occur within 40 miles of home. Short trips near home are the best times to wear seat belts.
And the list goes on… but the reality is 53 of the 196 people who have died so far this year in crashes on Iowa roadways may have survived if they had buckled up.
Give yourself a better chance to survive a crash by buckling up. https://youtu.be/-Eo07fZPO0E
For 2019, there have been 196 fatalities reported. That’s an increase of one since last Monday. The 2018 fatality count stands at 319. This is subject to change as law enforcement reports are completed. 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.