Don't leave it to luck, buckle up

Did you know that a properly worn seat belt is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a motor vehicle crash? Yes, I said seat belt!

The definition as laid out by Wikipedia:

A seat belt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduces the likelihood and severity of injury in a traffic collision by stopping the vehicle occupant from hitting hard against interior elements of the vehicle or other passengers (the so-called second impact), by keeping occupants positioned correctly for maximum benefit from the airbag, if the vehicle is so equipped, and by preventing occupants from being ejected from the vehicle.

Ok, so most of us know what a seat belt is and why they were designed, but why don’t we wear them? Between 2010 and 2011, 327 passenger vehicle occupants were killed on Montana roads. 212 or two-thirds of these people were not wearing their seatbelt. Research shows unbelted occupants were 7 times more likely to die from their injuries and twice as likely to sustain an incapacitating injury, than belted occupants.

Wearing your seat belt is a simple and easy thing you can do to protect yourself and others in your vehicle. Don’t leave it to luck, buckle up every trip, every time.

For more information about seat belts and occupant protection visit www.buckleup.mt.gov and http://plan2live.mt.gov/default_seatbelt.shtml