Do seat belts really save lives?

Answer 1

The simple answer is, yes, they do. Personally, I wear them, that's my choice, although I don't believe the government should tell us whether we have to or not. My wife wears them and so do my kids. I've been involved in a few accidents and have had the seat belt on every time. One example is while I was driving a 1996 Nissan Maxima, a Jeep Grand Cherokee ran a stop sign and I broadsided it. Granted the Maxima had air bags that did deploy, but just because the vehicle had airbags didn't cause me to not wear a belt. The belt restrained me in the seat and the air bag aided as well, that's why air bags are referred to as a 'supplemental restraint system'. Every accident is different though. Speed, weather conditions, traffic conditions, all factor into an accident. In the case of a rollover, seat belts keep you in one place so that you won't be thrown around like a rag doll as the car is tumbling. I've heard people say that they want to be 'thrown clear' in a case like that. Unfortunately, there's not many openings in a car when the doors are closed. I've hauled away many vehicles from accident scenes and it always makes me feel a little better seeing the operator and their passengers be able to walk away from a wreck. A friend of mine is a police chief and he, like me, has been to many scenes, most come out ok, but there's the grim ones as well. Like I said, I personally wear them and I always have. My logic is that if they come with the car, you paid for them. The radio came with it too and most people use that. Just my opinion on the seat belt subject.

Answer 2

Yes I have to say it does save lives. I knew a friend who's mother was in a car accident and believe it or not she had a seat belt on but sustained some internal injuries because of the seat belt, at least that is what the doctor told her son. But then again she probably wouldn't' have been around at all without the seat belt on her.

Answer 3

The road safety authority has claimed that seat belts do save lives by a certain percentage which they know better. I don't think that opinion is shared by the neurosergeons and traumatoogists who have to treat cases that have resulted from restriction of the body by a seat belt..Indeed some people have died following a motor car accident not as result of collission but as a result of restriction by the seat belt. Pregnant women are especially at risk!

Answer 4

Yes they save lives. My mother was in a car accident (bus rear ended her) but because of the seat belt she didn't go through the windshield. Yes she was bruised and broke 2 ribs from the seat belt, but much better then what the windshield would have done to her.

Answer 5

I strongly experience that seat belts shop lives. by way of fact in maximum situations while a motor vehicle is hit the persons int he motor vehicle would be led to to flow in accordance to the rigidity of the impact. which many times motives a guy or woman to be ejected from the motor vehicle. Now till youcontinual with a helmet on a seat belt is your maximum suitable guess. I' m sorry approximately your acquaintances yet while the have been killed in a collision wearing seat belts they'd not have made it with or devoid of them. It had to be an extremely undesirable accident.

Answer 6

Yes now wear your safety belt.

Answer 7

Forgive me for not giving a yes or no answer, but this requires more of an explaination.

In 2004, child restraints saved the lives of 451 children age 4 and under.

Child safety seats are 71 percent effective in reducing fatalities among infants (less than 1 year old) and 54 percent effective for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars.7 For infants and toddlers in light trucks, the effectiveness in reducing fatalities is 58 percent and 59 percent, respectively.

Among passenger vehicle occupants over 4 years old, safety belts saved an estimated 15,434 lives in 2004.

Booster seat use substantially reduces the risk of injury for children 4 to 8 years old; however, most children in this age group are currently (and very often incorrectly) restrained by safety belts designed for adults. A recent study by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that the use of belt-positioning booster seats lowers the risk of injury to children in crashes by 59 percent, compared with the use of vehicle safety belts.

According to NHTSA’s The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes 2000, the use of safety belts saved society $585 billion in medical care, lost productivity, and other injury-related economic costs (since 1975).

When lap/shoulder safety belts are used properly, they reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat occupants riding in passenger cars by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent. For light-truck front-seat occupants, safety belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 65 percent.

Ejection from passenger vehicles is one of the most harmful events that can happen to people during a crash. In passenger vehicle crashes in which someone died in 2004, 21 percent of occupants who were killed were completely ejected from the vehicle. Safety belts are effective in preventing total ejections. In 2004, in crashes in which someone was killed, only 3 percent of the occupants using restraints were totally ejected, compared with 37 percent of unrestrained occupants.

Twenty-seven percent of 16- to 20-year-old occupant fatalities were ejections, compared with 21 percent for the general population, illustrating the need to promote safety belt use in this age group.

Answer 8

Oh yes. lots of people's lives are spared because of wearing seatbelts. I've met people who have lived through a total collision. They said if I didn't wear my seatbelt, they wouldn't be alive today.
It's also good on car insurance.

Answer 9

Yes. I rear ended a car and she died because she wasn't wearing a seatbelt. She flew out the window and died.

Answer 10

in most serious accidents, yes

this is a no brainer

but of course lots of ppl dont seem to have a brain, so,,,

good luck