Seatbelts - What You May Not Realize
Article By:Scott MarshallScott Marshallis Director of Training for Young Drivers of Canada. He was a judge on the first 3 seasons of Canada’s Worst Driver on Discovery Network. Scott started writing columns on driving for his community paper since 2005. Since then his columns have been printed in several publications including newspaper, magazines and various web-sites. You can visit his own blog athttp://safedriving.wordpress.com.
As a sports fan we often see athletes in certain sports wear safety equipment. We know sports injuries happen even with this equipment on, but they keep wearing it hoping they’ll be safe. Do you think you would ever see a football player show up with just a helmet on and no other padding? How about watching a hockey player do the same? Or perhaps watch a downhill skier not wear protective gear? If they wear protection as a professionally trained athlete, I’m sure we as drivers could also wear protection as we drive. Have you ever been tempted to not wear your seatbelt?
Wearing a seatbelt helps to keep us in place within the seating compartment. Even a short trip in the vehicle can create many problems for drivers. A sudden swerve around another driver can happen at any time and so can a sudden stop. The seatbelt will keep the driver in place so they can maintain control of the vehicle. When a vehicle in motion stops suddenly, anything not restrained within it will continue to move in a forward motion. That would include occupants of the vehicle.
Seat belts can protect a person’s vital organs like head (brain) and chest (heart) from getting injured if they are involved in a collision. Some people feel they would be safer if they were thrown from the vehicle. As if you can determine where you can land while you’re flying through the air?
When I was a judge on Canada’s Worst Driver we had a participant who didn’t think wearing a seatbelt was needed. He came to this conclusion because he was in a collision and was thrown clear of the crash while he was driving a convertible. While this may have worked that time, it doesn’t always. This participant refused to wear a seatbelt because he was determined to be thrown from the vehicle into safety each time. I asked him how that would happen with windows up and in the hardtop vehicle he was currently driving. He could still be thrown from the vehicle, but with multiple injuries sustained as they would go through the windshield. I guess he hadn’t thought about that.
Wearing a seatbelt is also needed for passengers. If you were driving and your front seat passenger wasn’t wearing their seatbelt and you suddenly had to swerve to your right to avoid danger, your passenger could end up across your arms because of inertia. Their actions could easily cause you to not regain steering control. This could easily lead into a serious crash.
Here are a few reasons to wear a seatbelt if you won’t accept the fact it can save your life and reduce personal injuries. Wear it so you can avoid paying a fine. Wear one so it’s easier for rescuers to locate your body during a rescue or even wear one so your kids have a proper role model. Maybe wear one so your kids still have you around.