There are people who suggest that not wearing a seat belt can potentially be safer than wearing one. They believe that not having it on allows a driver to have better movement, so they can adjust their position or get out of the seat if they’re going to be hit on their side.
This is a harmful myth to spread. Seat belts save lives, and statistics prove that it’s much safer to wear them than not to. There will be instances where wearing a seat belt is harmful in some ways, but the risk of greater injury without wearing one is too high to ignore.
A 2014 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that there were 9,385 people killed in traffic accidents that year as a result of not wearing seat belts. There are several important reasons to wear them including avoiding being thrown from your vehicle, reducing the impact on your body by spreading it out, increasing your chance of survival and staying in place if your vehicle rolls over.
How does a seat belt spread out an impact?
A seat belt spreads out the impact by transferring the impact across parts of the body that are stronger and more able to handle an impact. The lap belt crosses the pelvic area, which is stronger than if a belt crossed the soft abdominal region. The shoulder belt crosses the chest to distribute impact across the entire region instead of a single area.
Seat belts save lives every day. Make sure you wear yours and remember their importance.
