why don't we ever hear about people that ARE killed because of seat belts?

Question

I know of people who would have survived if they hadn't gotten a broken neck from their seat belts not fitting correctley, or those that were drowned in their cars because they couldn't get the seat belt unbuckled soon enough.

Answer 1

well you just leave yours off OK

Answer 2

I worked on a rescue unit for 8 years and a fire department for 4 more years and drove a tow truck for 3 1/2 years so I have seen my share of accidents. In almost all cases of people not wearing seat belts there were anything form minor injuries to death.

In the cases where people were wearing seat belts most were injury free in minor accidents and diffrent degrees of injury depending on the severity of the accident. Yes seat belts create their own injuries but they are usually a lot less than you will get from hitting the steering wheel, windshield, door or being thrown from the vehicle and being crushed by it.

I have seen one accident where I do wonder if the person in an accident, I was the first person at the scene, would be alive today if they were not still in the vehicle. I cannot say if the person was wearing a belt or not, not going to give details, but even if they were thrown from the car they could have been crushed by the car landing on top of them. The driver was thrown from the car and did walk away.

I have to say given the number of accidents I have seen and been involved with on a rescue EMT level I WILL NOT DRIVE WITHOUT MY SEAT BELT. Hope this helps, Roy

Answer 3

I can write this because I wasn't wearing a seat belt. If I was wearing a seat belt I would have been buried 36 years ago .
I'm a tall long waisted person and a reality that I deal with every time I drive is that my head comes way above my headrest. In the event of a really hard stop where the shoulder belt catches me and snaps my neck back I stand a really good chance of breaking my neck . Since I've already broken my neck once and had time to think about the death or paralysis option, I would very much prefer death over being a quad and I don't think that the State has the right to take that choice away from me.
I'm really glad that there are people on here who are as cool in a crisis as I am because there are a lot of folks out there who if they ran of the road at night into dark deep water and got disoriented might panic and forget how to perform a simple task like unbuckling a seat belt.

Answer 4

Everybody here seems to forget that for every serious crash there are thousands of "small" accidents. In a small accident (you hit something in front of you, a car or another object) while going 20-25 mph, if you are wearing a seat belt, you'll probably walk away without any injuries at all. Without a seat belt in such accident you'll hit a dash or even windshield, which might be not fatal, but very unpleasant.
Seat belts are not just for when you roll over, get into a ditch with 6 feet of water and so on. They are also to protect you in a small accident and they work 100% in those.

Answer 5

Because they are largely myths which have been spread by people who don't want to wear seat belts.

As far as drowning, you stand a far better chance of survival when you go into the water if you have your seat belt on. The odds of you being unconscious as the result of an accident where you end up in the water are much greater if you are not wearing a seat belt. Most victims of drowning are because they are not conscious, and not able to escape.

Answer 6

For every person who actually dies as a result of wearing a seatbelt, something like 1,500 are saved. In fact, the most likely way to be killed BY a seatbelt is one that the latch assembly fails and allows you to be thrown about as if you hadn't been wearing it.

Confirmed cases of someone actually dying because they were wearing a seatbelt are exceedingly rare. Most of the claims are anecdotal along the line of most urban legends, i.e. "My cousin's ex-wife's best friend's co-worker..." with no factual basis or qualified investigation having been done.

I've been in 2 horrific accidents in my lifetime. One was so severe that both vehicles were completely demolished. In one, we were both wearing seatbelts and walked away largely unscathed. In the other I survived and the other guy, not wearing a belt, was killed instantly when his pickup rolled over him and squashed him like a bug. I had a broken collarbone, lots of minor cuts, and bruising (from the belt) that lasted for months but I walked away, albeit somewhat gingerly. In that last accident, there was clear and convincing evidence that the other driver not wearing a belt was a primary CAUSE of the accident in the first place. He slid out of the driver's seat to the passenger side when he swerved to miss a dog in the road.

Given the odds, I'll wear my seatbelt. Even when I go to NH where it's still (stupidly) legal to drive without one. Oddly, even NH thinks enough about their kids that they do have a carseat law and belts are mandatory until you're 18.

Answer 7

This is a subject that I hate to discuss, but I also hate that our government cares not what it's citizens feel but what is best for it from a "fiscal" standpoint. I am not an EMT or law enforcement officer. I am an over the road truck driver. I have been unforunate enough to have have been "on the scene " for 5 fatality accidents before our very incredible first responders. As recently as mid April, I was the person who almost hit a vehicle as it came it rest after a rollover in the middle of the interstate. An 18 year old kid died instantly. He was wearing a seatbelt. Of the five I have been "on scene" for, 3 were wearing seatbelts, 2 were not. I have seen many crashes. Some you would look at & think their is no way anyone came out alive, only to find out the occupants were had minor injuries at most. Then again, I've also seen the cover the body when the crash didn't look bad at all. There is no formula, I walked away from an end over end barrel roll crash with 1 scratch on my back from landing across the console between the seats & 1 scratch on my thumb from hitting the windshield with my hand, no seatbelt. But I also had a friend hit a guardrail at 40 mph who is no longer with us. No setbelt! The only thing that really bothers me, is that our government, in their zeal to prove to us that we need to wear our seatbelt squew the statistics. As I said before, I have seen 5 fatalities, 3 with seatbelts, 2 without. Only the most recent (the one in mid April) was reported in the media & on the accident report, as wearing the belt. I realize that over the last 20 years as seatbelt laws have become more prevelant, fatalities have been reducing per capita. Of course with airbags & other innovations, cars have gotten safer. Hummmmmmmmmmmmm

Answer 8

My Mom and Dad swerved to miss a dear and ran off the road. My Dad had never worn a seat belt, my Mom Always did. My Dad walked away fine, the seat belt crushed my Moms internal organs where the seat belt was and she bled to death internally. I would take the ticket to court and fight it. I have proof they kill. No way am I going to die over a small fine. Weight is evenly distributed when you are not wearing one, when you are you are cut in half. If you are going fast enough to fly through the windshield, a seat belt is not going to help. It simply makes it easier to clean up the body when it is confined to a car. Cops don't want people to see the body or blood. A seat belt causes a quicker death because it takes care of all the major organs

Answer 9

my sister was in a t-bone accident while driving a small car, the truck that hit her was a dump truck. at the scene the highway patrol told her that if she would have had my nephew belted in he would have died, instead he was in the hospital for 3 weeks with a broken femur and internal injuries. he was 9 yo at that time, he's now 24 and has been in a few more accidents since without injuries. It just goes to show when it's your time it doesn't matter what kind of protection you you use, you lose.

Answer 10

Now why would you want to do that if you are pushing a seat belt law. I lived for 40 years without seatbelts and I also rode in the back of pickups.

Answer 11

Really! You actually know someone who drowned as a result of being belted in? Seems to me that being belted in would help you stay concious and minimize injuries, and therefore be able to escape from drowning in such a situation, instead of flying all around the cabin while your car is rolling over down into the ditch and then the impact from the water.

The simple fact is is that seat belts save far more lives than they take.

Certainly belts not fitting correctly can cause injury. I tell my wife that all the time because the lap belt is always over her stomach, and I tell her she'll get serious injuries. But she ignores me.