| Volvo has the honor of being the first to implement | | | | beyond those killed and the loss to their families. |
| seat belts in 1849. The first U.S. patent for automobile | | | | Everyone pays for this negligence. It may be in the |
| seat belts was issued to Edward J. Claghorn of New | | | | form of higher taxes, higher health insurance fees, and |
| York, New York on February 10, 1885. | | | | higher medical costs. |
| This patent was described as a Safety-Belt for | | | | Imagine running as fast as you can, into a wall. You'd |
| tourists that was "designed to be applied to a the | | | | expect to get pretty banged up. What if while running |
| person, and provided with hooks and other | | | | at full speed a wall suddenly appeared in front of you? |
| attachments for securing the person to a fixed object." | | | | Would you be able to stop instantaneously? |
| Failure to wear seat belts is responsible for more | | | | This is exactly the situation one faces when the front |
| fatalities than any other single traffic behavior. In all of | | | | of his or her car hits something at only 15 miles an |
| the traffic accidents reported for 1999, 63% of | | | | hour. The car stops in the first tenth of a second, but |
| fatalities were not wearing seat belts. | | | | you keep on at the same rate you were going in the |
| Wearing a seat belt use is still the single most | | | | car until something stops you, the steering wheel, |
| effective thing we can do to prevent unnecessary | | | | dashboard or windshield, if you're not wearing your |
| traffic deaths and injuries on America's roadways. | | | | safety belt. |
| Traffic data suggests that education alone is not | | | | If this could happen at 15 miles an hour, imagine what a |
| enough to convince young people, especially males | | | | 30 mile per hour collision would result in? It would be |
| from ages 16 to 25 of the dangers of not using seat | | | | the same as hitting the pavement after a 3 story fall. |
| belts. This age group is caught up in the belief in their | | | | A properly worn safety belt keeps that second |
| immortality due to their young age. | | | | collision - the human collision, from happening. "Properly |
| It is this age group that also exhibits the most violation | | | | worn" means with both straps safely fitted to transfer |
| of drunk driving laws. They are also the most prone to | | | | the impact of the collision to the parts of your body |
| speeding, and other traffic related law violations. | | | | that can take it, the hipbones and shoulder bones. |
| Because of this, it has been suggested that stronger | | | | With just the shoulder strap on, one can still slide out |
| seat belt laws and higher visibility enforcement | | | | from under and get strangled. The lap belt alone |
| campaigns be enforced to make them buckle up. | | | | doesn't keep one's face from hitting the steering wheel |
| Seat belts are the most effective safety devices in | | | | or other parts of the car. |
| vehicles today, estimated to save 9,500 lives each | | | | Wearing seat belts is the law in most countries. There |
| year. If 90 percent of Americans buckle up, it could | | | | really isn't any reason not wear them aside from plain |
| prevent more than 5,500 deaths and 132,000 injuries | | | | laziness. But imagine, that investment of a couple of |
| annually. | | | | seconds before you carry on to drive could save your |
| The cost of unbuckled drivers and passengers goes | | | | life. Why not make that commitment to invest now? |