What's Your Excuse?

People have hundreds of excuses for why they think they don' t need to wear a seat belt. Do any of these ring a bell? The next time you catch a friend (or yourself!) passing one of these off as a legitimate reason to not buckle it, clue the offender in with an even more convincing counter arguement.

“I’m only going a short way. I don’t need to wear a safety belt.”
Most crashes happen close to home. As a matter of fact, about 75% of all crashes occur within twenty-five miles of home.

“I'm a good driver.”
Accidents are often caused by the other driver.

“I'm not in the habit of wearing them.”
Unbelted occupants frequently injure other occupants.

“They don't feel comfortable. I don’t want to wrinkle my clothes.”
Unbelted drivers have less chance to control the vehicle after the impact.

“I should have the freedom to choose whether or not I want to buckle-up.”
Don’t underestimate the high price your freedom may cost others. If you are injured in a crash, your family and friends pay an emotional price. Medical costs are also very high for crashes, over $150 billion a year. Medical costs for unbelted occupants are 2 to 7 times more than for belted occupants.

“I'm afraid of being trapped in a fire or under water.”
The vast majority of fatalities result from the force of impact, not from being trapped.

“My friends don’t buckle up, why should I?”
Don’t let careless friends be your role models. Think of the people, like race car drivers and astronauts, who wouldn’t dream of traveling without the proper safety gear.

“I don’t have to buckle up because my car has airbags”.
Airbags are designed to be used with seat belts. If you don’t wear a seat belt and you sit in front of an airbag you could be seriously injured or killed by the airbag.

“I don’t have to be buckled up because I ride in the back seat”.
Riding unrestrained in the back seat won’t stop you from being thrown out of the car or into something or somebody else inside the car.

“We never drive very fast so I don’t need to wear a seat belt”.
A great number of crashes happen less than 35 miles per hour. Even a sudden stop can cause serious injuries if you’re unbelted.

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