Wear your seat belt – 10 reasons why

Besides the fact that the law requires seat belt use, here are ten reasons why you should wear your seat belt based on statistics from a James Mason University study:

1. One in five drivers are involved in an auto accident each year.
2. Auto accidents are the leading cause of death for those under the age of 45.
3. Close to 35,000 people die each year in auto accidents, half of whom would have been saved by the use of seat belts.
4. For every one percent increase in the use of seat belts, 172 lives are saved.
5. Seat belts reduce auto accident fatalities by 60-70 percent.
6. A person is 25 times more likely to die when thrown from a vehicle.
7. Children are often killed by being crushed by unrestrained adults.
8. The most common injuries to children in car accidents are head injuries resulting in brain damage, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy or death.
9. Over 80% of child fatalities in auto accidents would have been prevented by the proper use of seat belts or car seats. Unfortunately, less than ten percent of children are properly restrained.
10. Seat belts may provide the greatest and only protection against DUI drivers.

A seat belt may very well save your life in the case of a car accident. If that is not enough, it may save your child. Just as importantly, it could minimize physical injuries.There many more good reasons for wearing a seat belt and none that would suggest otherwise.