Auto Crashes and Safety Belts

Susy Owen

Attorney

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"Click It or Ticket" is a campaign slogan you may have seen and/or heard. If you have, then you know the message is spreading. The campaign runs from May 21 through June 3. It is a zero-tolerance initiative that really is for the good of all.

I know personally that not only will you get a ticket for not wearing a seat belt, but if your car is not a vintage model and therefor has a shoulder strap that you are not using properly, you may get an expensive ticket. I did. I was told by the officer writing the ticket, which would not go on my record as a moving violation, that I was getting the ticket because it was an unsafe practice. He explained, should I get in an auto accident with my shoulder strap under my arm instead of over my shoulder, the impact would cause the belt to lacerate internal organs. I was assured it would cost no more than twenty-five dollars. Eighty dollars later, I learned a lesson. One week after getting that ticket, I learned an even bigger lesson. A young, inexperienced driver attempted to make a left turn in front of me, causing an accident. I was grateful for the shoulder strap and the $80 lesson. I walked away from that accident.

It is really no surprise that Farmers Insurance is on board with the seat belt campaign, and why wouldn't they be. After analyzing a significant study of more than 20,000 drivers involved in thousands of fatal automobile accidents in 2005, a representative stated "The efficacy of the seat belt is unmistakable. Using a seat belt decreased the odds of a driver fatality by more than 70%." It is difficult to argue with those numbers.