Buckle Up - It could save your life.
Seat Belt Myths and Facts
MYTH: Seat belts are inconvenient or uncomfortable.
FACT: Initially people may find safety belts uncomfortable, confining or inconvenient simply because they aren't used to wearing them. Once you make a habit of it, though, you'll find that there is no discomfort or inconvenience. It only takes two seconds. Deciding not to take those two seconds to fasten your seat belt could be the biggest mistake of your life.
MYTH: I don't need to buckle up because my vehicle is equipped with air bags.
FACT: Air bags are designed to work TOGETHER with your seat belt to keep you in position in a crash. Air bags alone are not enough to protect you in a crash. And remember, air bags are not very helpful in a side or rear impact or rollover crash. To be prepared for any type of crash, you should ALWAYS wear a seat belt.
MYTH: I don't want to be trapped in a fire or underwater.
FACT: Only 1/2 of one percent of all crashes involve fire or water. And when they DO occur, you'll want to be conscious and uninjured so that you are able to properly react to the situation. If you aren't wearing your seat belt, it's quite possible that you will be knocked unconscious or severely injured. Makes escaping the situation a bit difficult, does it not?
MYTH: I'd rather be thrown clear in a crash.
FACT: Being safely thrown clear in a crash is nearly impossible. When you're thrown from a vehicle, you may be thrown through the windshield, scraped along the pavement, or even crushed by your own vehicle or another one. The idea of being thrown from a car and gently landing in a grassy area beside the road is pure fantasy. Unfortunately, it just does NOT happen in real life.
MYTH: Seat belts themselves can hurt you in a crash.
FACT: Properly worn safety belts rarely cause injuries. If they do, the injuries are usually very minor and are almost always much less severe than would have been the case without any seat belt. I'm not sure about you, but I'd much rather have a bruised chest than a cracked skull from flying into -- and perhaps through -- the windshield.
MYTH: I'm only driving to the store, what could possibly happen?
FACT: You may be surprised to hear that most crash deaths occur within 25 miles of home and at speeds of less than 40 miles per hour. Don't let that quick trip to the store or to pick up your child from school end in a serious injury or even death just because you didn't see the need to buckle up EVERY TIME.
MYTH: The chance that I'll have an accident is so small... those things only happen to other people.
FACT: The thousands of people who are killed every year in crashes probably thought the same thing too. Fact is, no one expects to be involved in an accident. You never know when or how it will occur.
MYTH: I'm a good driver, it won't happen to me.
FACT: You may be a good driver but you cannot control the other drivers on the road. You never know when a drunk, texting, or distracted driver will come barreling through an intersection and slam into you at 50 miles per hour. Unfortunately, it happens every day. Be as prepared as you can be by wearing your seat belt -- each and every time.
MYTH: Seat belts are inconvenient or uncomfortable.
FACT: Initially people may find safety belts uncomfortable, confining or inconvenient simply because they aren't used to wearing them. Once you make a habit of it, though, you'll find that there is no discomfort or inconvenience. It only takes two seconds. Deciding not to take those two seconds to fasten your seat belt could be the biggest mistake of your life.
MYTH: I don't need to buckle up because my vehicle is equipped with air bags.
FACT: Air bags are designed to work TOGETHER with your seat belt to keep you in position in a crash. Air bags alone are not enough to protect you in a crash. And remember, air bags are not very helpful in a side or rear impact or rollover crash. To be prepared for any type of crash, you should ALWAYS wear a seat belt.
MYTH: I don't want to be trapped in a fire or underwater.
FACT: Only 1/2 of one percent of all crashes involve fire or water. And when they DO occur, you'll want to be conscious and uninjured so that you are able to properly react to the situation. If you aren't wearing your seat belt, it's quite possible that you will be knocked unconscious or severely injured. Makes escaping the situation a bit difficult, does it not?
MYTH: I'd rather be thrown clear in a crash.
FACT: Being safely thrown clear in a crash is nearly impossible. When you're thrown from a vehicle, you may be thrown through the windshield, scraped along the pavement, or even crushed by your own vehicle or another one. The idea of being thrown from a car and gently landing in a grassy area beside the road is pure fantasy. Unfortunately, it just does NOT happen in real life.
MYTH: Seat belts themselves can hurt you in a crash.
FACT: Properly worn safety belts rarely cause injuries. If they do, the injuries are usually very minor and are almost always much less severe than would have been the case without any seat belt. I'm not sure about you, but I'd much rather have a bruised chest than a cracked skull from flying into -- and perhaps through -- the windshield.
MYTH: I'm only driving to the store, what could possibly happen?
FACT: You may be surprised to hear that most crash deaths occur within 25 miles of home and at speeds of less than 40 miles per hour. Don't let that quick trip to the store or to pick up your child from school end in a serious injury or even death just because you didn't see the need to buckle up EVERY TIME.
MYTH: The chance that I'll have an accident is so small... those things only happen to other people.
FACT: The thousands of people who are killed every year in crashes probably thought the same thing too. Fact is, no one expects to be involved in an accident. You never know when or how it will occur.
MYTH: I'm a good driver, it won't happen to me.
FACT: You may be a good driver but you cannot control the other drivers on the road. You never know when a drunk, texting, or distracted driver will come barreling through an intersection and slam into you at 50 miles per hour. Unfortunately, it happens every day. Be as prepared as you can be by wearing your seat belt -- each and every time.