Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time.

Bill Allen | November 11, 2019 | Car Accident Lawyer Near Gainesville Florida

Seat belts save lives. With constant vehicle safety technologies being invented and implemented every day, one thing remains the same in every car design: the seat belt. The “Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time.” campaign is designed to raise awareness of the importance of wearing a seatbelt. The goal? Eliminate all unnecessary deaths and injuries caused by automobile accidents.

Seat Save Lives

There is a reason why seat belts have remained a constant in vehicle safety for the last 50 years; they work! In fact, it is estimated that seat belts save over 15,000 lives every year. Buckling up helps to keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle. Not buckling up can result in being totally ejected from your car during a crash, the results of which are almost always deadly.

Buckling is the single most effective thing that you can do to protect yourself in a crash. Even if you follow all of the rules of the law while you are driving, you may still end up in a collision with another driver. Seat belts are the best defense against impaired, aggressive, and distracted drivers. It is estimated that seat belts could save over 2500 additional lives every single year if everyone wore their seatbelt.

If you buckle up in the front seat of a passenger car, you can reduce your risk of fatal injury by 45% and reduce your risk of moderate to critical injury by over 50%. If you buckle up in a light truck, you can reduce your risk of fatal injury by over 60% and reduce your risk of moderate to critical injury by over 65%.

The Most Important Safety Feature

Many people assume that airbags are the most important safety feature in modern vehicles. While airbags are undeniably important in ensuring the safety of all automobile passengers and drivers, they are actually designed to work with seatbelts. If you are not wearing your seatbelt and are involved in a vehicle accident, you could be thrown into a rapidly opening frontal airbag, which provides enough force to seriously injure or possibly even kill you. The combination of seat belts and airbags reduce injuries and death so effectively that dual front airbags and seatbelts in every seat are now mandatory safety features on all cars sold in the United States.

Wearing Seat Belts Properly

A common problem when it comes to seatbelt effectiveness is whether or not passengers are wearing them properly. When it comes to seat belts, fit matters. Before you buy a new car, make sure the seat belts are a good fit for you or ask about seat belt adjusters to ensure you have the best fit possible.

When wearing a seat belt, it is important that the lap belt and shoulder belt are secured across the pelvis and rib cage. This is important because your pelvis and rib cage are better able to withstand a crash than the rest of your body. Be sure to place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck. The lap belt should rest across your hips and not your stomach. You should never put the shoulder belt behind your back or under your arm.

Wearing a seatbelt improperly may have worse results or end up in causing more harm than not wearing a seatbelt at all, as it can seriously damage vulnerable parts of your body such as your neck or stomach.

Common Misconceptions About Seat Belts

Unfortunately, there are many myths and misconceptions about seat belt safety. Here are a few of the most common seat belt myths and why they are false:

• Seat Belts Can Trap You

There is a widely held fear that seat belts could trap you in the event your car is on fire or underwater. This is completely false. Not only are car incidents involving fire or water extremely rare, they are impossible to escape if you are unconscious. Wearing a seat belt gives you a much higher chance of being conscious, alert, and able to escape potentially life-threatening situations.

• Seat Belts Are Unecessary If You Are Going Slow

Many people will not put on their seat belts if they are driving in a residential neighborhood. Unfortunately, seemingly routine trips can actually be the most dangerous. The majority of fatal car crashes happen within 25 miles from home and at speeds of less than 40 miles an hour. No matter how close or how slow the trip is, always be sure to wear your seatbelt.

• Truck Drivers Don’t Need To Wear Seat Belts

Many people assume that because trucks, pickup trucks, and SUVs are safer than their passenger car counterparts, they do not need to wear a seatbelt while driving in one of these vehicles. This is false. Wearing a seat belt in any vehicle can help save lives. In fact, seat belts can reduce fatal injury to the driver and passenger in SUVs, pickups, and vans by over 60%.

The Goal of Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time.

Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time. has a very simple goal; ensure everyone wears their seat belt every time they get into a vehicle. Seat belts are proven to save lives. Estimates show that over 90% of people now wear seatbelts while they are in a vehicle. While this number seems high, it still means that 10% of all automobile passengers are being unsafe. Unfortunately, millions of people are putting their lives at risk unnecessarily by not wearing a seatbelt. Although enormous progress has been made when it comes to increasing seat belt use, there still far too many people dying needlessly because they are not buckled up during crashes. Before you even turn the key, you and everyone in your vehicle should be buckled up every trip, every time.

What You Can Do

The best thing you can do to assist the Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time. The initiative is to spread awareness. Ensure you and every single passenger is buckled up every time you get in the car. Spread the message to loved ones, community members, teachers, student drivers, and anyone that will listen. The Ocala personal injury attorneys at Allen Law Firm have made it their mission to help spread awareness of seat belt safety. For more information on what you can do to spread awareness, contact the Ocala personal injury attorneys at Allen Law Firm today. Allen Law Firm’s team of personal injury lawyers are trained professionals there to make sure that justice is done.

Contact Our Car Accident Law Firm in North Central Florida

If you need legal assistance, contact the Ocala car accident lawyers at Allen Law Firm at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.

We have two convenient locations in North Central Florida:

Allen Law Firm, P.A. – Gainesville office
2550 SW 76th St #150
Gainesville, FL 32608
(877) 255-3652

Allen Law Firm, P.A. – Ocala Office
112 S Pine Ave
Ocala, FL 34471
(352) 351-3258