Wearing a seat belt increases your chances of surviving a wreck by 60%. Everyone knows that seatbelts save lives, yet for some reason some people refuse to wear them. The result is a fatal accident. Older people sometimes refuse to wear them because they learned to drive in a time before seatbelts and feel uncomfortable with them. However, young people also sometimes refuse to wear them.
One 25-year-old has paid the ultimate price for not wearing a seatbelt. The man was driving near downtown Greenville. He lost control of his Nissan Altima and hit several trees that were in the median. The accident happened just after midnight. The man died of blunt force trauma to the head, and was discovered not to be wearing a belt.
It took emergency officials four hours to clear the damage away.
Here are some other excuses for not wearing a seat belt:
- I’m only taking a short trip – Most accidents happen 25 miles from home.
- I’m riding in the back seat – It is possible to be thrown out of a vehicle from the back seat. Also, you could be flung within the car and injure someone else.
- Police won’t see me since I’m driving at night – The most dangerous drivers are out during nighttime hours, and police are extra watchful during these times.
- I don’t want to be trapped – Less than .05% of all crashes involve fire or submersion, and you’re 25 more times likely to be killed if you’re thrown from the vehicle.
Be smart and buckle up while you’re on the road. You’ll have a much higher chance of surviving your crash. This has been a message from Howell & Christmas, accident attorneys for the state of South
