With recent auto-accident-related injuries and deaths here in the Morongo Basin, it’s worth repeating the easiest thing you can do to protect yourself when you get into a car, and that is buckling your seat belt. Reporter Jef Harmatz joins us with some startling statistics about seatbelt safety.
Though the national percentage of Americans who buckled their seatbelt in 2021 was 90.4%, that is still not enough. Every person who gets into a car, whether they are driving or a passenger, sitting in the front seat or back seat, should wear a seatbelt. In 2019, more than 22,000 people were killed in a car accident, and nearly 50% of those killed were not wearing seatbelts. Even if your car has an airbag, wearing your seatbelt properly, securely fastened with the strap over your shoulder, can prevent you from being ejected from the vehicle in a collision, and keep you in place in case your car rolls over. All children should be placed in size-appropriate child seats, which should be placed in the car according to the seat manufacturer’s directions. Remember, the best way to protect yourself from serious injury or death in a car is to buckle your seatbelt.
