Make buckling your seat belt a New Year's resolution

Special to the Times
·2 min read

A single New Year’s resolution has the potential to save your life – and it’s not even hard to keep.

Buckling your seat belt is the most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a vehicle crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In 2021, about half of the 26,325 passenger vehicle occupants killed in the United States were not buckled, NHTSA said. So far this year, 172 out of 419 drivers killed in Louisiana were unrestrained. Here at home, eight of 24 drivers killed in Caddo Parish and four of seven drivers killed in Bossier Parish were unrestrained.

Studies have clearly shown the lifesaving impact of seatbelt use. If you buckle up in the front seat of a passenger car, you can reduce your risk of fatal injury by 45 percent and of moderate to critical injury by 50 percent. If you buckle up in a light truck, you can reduce your risk of fatal injury by 60 percent and of moderate to critical injury by 65 percent.

Fortunately, the percentage of vehicle occupants wearing their seat belts has grown steadily over a 15-year period. That same period shows a declining trend in the percentage of unrestrained passenger fatalities during daytime.

The national estimate of seat belt use by adult front-seat passengers was 91.6 percent in 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The South ranked second among the four regions with 90.6 percent, behind the West with 96.2 percent.

That’s encouraging, but even one death is too many when clicking your seat belt is so easy. So this year, resolve to take a single step to protect your life – fasten your seat belt every time.

How to wear a seat belt properly

  • A shoulder harness is worn across the shoulder and chest with minimal, if any, slack. The shoulder harness should not be worn under the arm or behind the back.

  • The lap belt should be adjusted so that it is snug and lies low across your hips after fastening.

  • You should be seated upright with your back against the seat and feet on the floor.

  • Seat belts should be worn even if the vehicle is equipped with air bags. While air bags are good protection against hitting the steering wheel, dashboard or windshield, they do not protect you if you are hit from the side or rear or if the vehicle rolls over. In addition, an air bag will not keep you behind the wheel in these situations.

  • The law requires that all children under the age of 12 must be secured in the rear seat and wear appropriate seat restraints while the vehicle is in motion.

For more information on ThinkFirst of the Ark-La-Tex, log on to www.thinkfirstlouisiana.org, call 318-226-0066 or check out www.facebook.com/arklatexthinkfirst, www.instagram.com/thinkfirst_arklatex or www.tiktok.com/@thinkfirstarklatex.

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Make buckling your seat belt a New Year's resolution