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Seat Belt Safety
Motor Vehicle Accidents Personal Injury

Seat Belt Safety and Car Accidents

With thousands of drivers on the roads each day, at times it can feel like there is very little we can control with regard to our own safety; however, one of the safest choices you can make when driving in or riding in a car is to buckle your seat belt. Over 90 percent of Americans used seat belts in 2019, but those who did not had a severely increased risk of catastrophic injury and/or death. Seat belt safety involves keeping all vehicle occupants safe and secure inside their vehicles.

Children age 0 to 4 left unrestrained compromise 22% of child car accident deaths, while 24% of deaths among adults 75 and older are unrestrained. The 25 to 34 age group, however, experiences 60% unrestrained deaths. Beyond that, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that car accidents are the leading cause of death among Americans younger than 30 years old.

Seat Belt Safety

While it might be easier to imagine small children needing restraints to keep them in place during a collision or rollover, adults too need protection from impact and ejection.  One of the most important safety features beyond the seat belt is the air bag. Air bags are designed to work with seat belts; and, if you don’t wear the belt, you could be thrust into an exploding air bag with lethal force.

Many studies show that using a seat belt is the most reliable way to safe one’s life in a car crash – and the reasons why include:

  • Ejection prevention
  • Preventing occupants from hitting the car’s hard interior parts
  • Distributing the force of the crash

Injuries from Not Wearing a Seat Belt in an Accident

While your seat belt itself can injure you in a car accident, these injuries pale in comparison to the devastation you may face without a seat belt on. Despite the benefits of wearing a seatbelt and the fact that the law requires it, many drivers and/or passengers begin to ride without buckling up first. If unrestrained at the time of impact, a vehicle occupant can actually be thrown like a projectile object through a windshield or hit hard surfaces in the car, resulting in injuries including: 

  • Neck Injuries
  • Back Injuries
  • Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Traumatic Brain Injuries
  • Paralysis
  • Head Injuries
  • Chest Injuries
  • Abdominal Injuries
  • Internal Bleeding
  • Broken Ribs

Texas Seat Belt Lawyer

Texas roadways are busy and crowded. With such a diverse group of people on the roads, you can never completely protect yourself against others’ negligence. The best way to protect yourself and your family physically is to wear a seal belt. Although it is best to prevent these situations from happening by taking the necessary safety measures – starting with wearing your seatbelt – accidents occur every day. If you have been involved in an auto accident and are looking for help pursuing a settlement, call Corpus Christi car accident attorney John T. Flood as soon as possible.