Failure to Wear a Seatbelt Often Results in Fatal Car Accidents

In 2016, using a seatbelt according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration saved an estimated 14,668 lives after a car accident. Most Americans understand the importance of using a seatbelt. 90.1 percent of American drivers chose to wear a seatbelt. However, nearly 27.5 million people still don’t buckle up. An additional 2,456 lives could have been saved had they chosen to buckle up.

Idaho State Police reported a fatal car accident on State Highway 78 west of Givens Hot Springs near Boise. The single-vehicle crash occurred when the driver went off the right shoulder and caused the vehicle to roll. The vehicle came to rest in a field but the driver was ejected from the vehicle during the crash. Unfortunately, the driver succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the car accident. It was reported that the driver was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident and thus was ejected from the vehicle.

Common Reasons People Fail to Wear a Seatbelt

• Misconception that a seatbelt is optional when riding in a motor vehicle.
• Misbelief that a seatbelt poses a hazard in an accident.
• Physical discomfort.
• Belief that they are at low risk of an accident because they are not going that far.

Failure to Use a Seatbelt

Failure to use a seatbelt includes the following scenarios.

• Not making use of an available seatbelt when riding in a car even if the vehicle is stationary.
• Any occupant of a car who is not using their seatbelt. Passengers failing to wear a seatbelt pose an additional risk to other occupants of the vehicle who are wearing a seatbelt.
• Using only a section of the seatbelt. For example, using the abdominal belt but not the chest belt.
• Improper positioning of the seatbelt.

Why is it Important to Wear a Seatbelt?

Seatbelts were one of the first major safety improvements in motor vehicles. Seatbelt technology has evolved to make them safer, more effective and harder to disregard. The United State Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that seatbelts reduce car accident related injuries and deaths by approximately 50 percent.

The main purpose of a seatbelt is to prevent secondary collisions after a car accident. After a collision, the bodies in the car will continue to move in the direction and speed at which they were prior to the collision. A seatbelt is designed to restrain this additional movement and prevent additional injuries. Furthermore, seatbelts are made to absorb the impact between the body and the belt quickly and with as little damage as possible. Without a seatbelt, the body will continue to move forward until it reaches a part of the car, which will absorb the impact. Typically the fragile human body will come in contact with a hard, inflexible part of the car’s interior, which will result in serious injury or even death regardless of speed.

Car Accident Injury Lawyer in Boise

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, motorcycle accident, semi truck accident or other personal injuries, contact the experienced and knowledgeable personal injury lawyers in Boise at Parke Gordon Law Firm. Our law firm believes every client deserves fair representation against big insurance companies with deep pockets. Call the law office of Harvard law grad Mat Parke today at (208) 322-7274 now for a free consultation. We can usually tell you over the phone if you have a good case. You pay nothing until we win your case. Call now!

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