AUTO INSURANCE ARTICLE

Wear Your Seat Belt

By: beverly

Seatbelts are easy to use, readily available, and saves many, many lives every year. Why not wear them? Whether you like it or not, accidents do happen, and it definitely can happen to you. In fact, in 2005 over 15,000 passenger seat riders died in night crashes, according to the NHTSA. 59% of those victims were not wearing seat belts. In the daytime, only 44% of non-seatbelt-wearers died in 2005.

This is where the importance of wearing seatbelts become really apparent. 77% of passenger seat occupants who were involved in otherwise deadly crashes survived thanks to seatbelts. Across the country, the average seatbelt wearing rate is 81%, the lowest being New Hampshire at 63.5% and the highest is Wyoming at 96.3%. Most other states have above 90%, including Washington, Michigan, Oregon, California, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Nevada, Maryland, Texas, Georgia and New Jersey.

However, there's no excuse to not wear seat belts 100% of the time anywhere. Even if you survive a serious crash without a seatbelt, chances are you would be severely injured. Think of the higher medical costs--on top of your insurance premium too!

Seatbelts should be worn properly for maximum protection. It should be never across the stomach, but rather across the pelvis or lap. The shoulder belt should go across the chest or collarbone. Never on the face! Seat belts are necessary even if you have air bags, because air bags are designed to work with seat belts on.

Don't be a statistic--snap it on!

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