Seat belt laws in the United States are in place specifically to reduce the number of serious injuries and deaths that result from car crashes. Seat belts have been proven as the most effective mechanism for saving lives on America’s roads and while there have been a few reported instances of seat belt failure over the years that have caused some brief debate about their effectiveness, the fact remains that seat belts make traveling in passenger vehicles significantly safer. But there are a number of interesting statistics about seat belts that prove their effectiveness and show just how much safer America’s roads could be if adults and children buckled up every time they got in a car.
- A study conducted by James Madison University showed that as many as 17,000 lives could be saved annually by properly using seat belts.
- According to the Naval Safety Center, out of more than 32,000 people killed in car crashes in 2002, nearly 60 percent were not wearing a seat belt.
- The traffic statistics website Car-Accidents.com found that individuals who are injured in a car crash who were not wearing a seat belt pay an average of 50 percent more in medical costs than those who do wear them.
