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Point/Counterpoint
A primary safety belt law infringes on freedom of choice. Standard enforcement of the safety belt law is no more intrusive of your personal freedom than any other law. There are also financial considerations to be examined. The inpatient hospital costs to treat an unbuckled crash victim are at least 50 percent higher than those for belted victims. And society pays 85 percent of those costs, not the individual drivers involved. Direct costs that involve crashes where the occupants were not wearing safety belts average $5,000 more per crash than those involving occupants who were wearing their safety belts. Why should I buckle up if I don't want to? After all, the only one I am hurting is myself. Not exactly. While you may be only physically hurting yourself, you are financially harming everyone and may be teaching your children a potentially dangerous lesson. Americans are paying $14.3 billion per year in injury-related costs for people who don't wear seat belts. On average, those injured pay for less than 30 percent of these total costs. The remaining 70 percent ($10.1 billion) is paid for by society through higher automobile and health insurance rates and through public assistance programs funded with federal and state tax revenues. It is estimated that every driver pays an additional auto insurance premium of $40 per year to cover the costs of drivers who don't buckle up. It is also important to recognize that children often mimic what they see adults do. If you don't wear your safety belt, more than likely, your children will not wear a safety belt. Adults who don't buckle up often put children at risk as well, since they frequently don't ensure their child passengers are buckled up. Plus, because children mirror adult behavior, these adults send children a deadly message that it is all right not to wear a seat belt. Research shows that if a driver is unbuckled in a crash, 70 percent of the time children riding in that vehicle are unbuckled as well. Conversely, when a driver is buckled, 94 percent of the time children riding in that vehicle are buckled. I'll take my risks ... after all, it's my neck, and my health care expense. Once people understand that it's about saving lives and families, they favor a primary law. In 1998, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration telephone survey found 67 percent of the respondents favored belt laws for drivers and front seat passengers "a lot" while 19 percent favored them "some". Public support of standard enforcement increased from 52 percent in 1996 to 58 percent in 1998. Safety belts are uncomfortable and wrinkle my clothes. In comparison to severe injuries or even death, isn't it worth adjusting to the temporary discomfort of a safety belt? Wrinkles can be removed. The emotional pain and physical suffering that accompanies a serious crash cannot be as easily ironed out. It is a hassle to have to put on a safety belt for a quick trip to pick up some milk. The risk of getting into a serious crash is just as great when you need to take a quick trip to the store as it is on a longer trip. We know that 75 percent of all serious motor vehicle crashes occur within 25 miles of a person's home. My car is equipped with air bags so I'll just use those to protect me. An air bag is not a soft, billowy pillow. To work effectivly, an air bag comes out of the dash board at a rate of 200 miles per hour. Air bags are designed to be used in conjunction with safety belts to protect drivers and passengers. Exactly how many lives are we talking about saving? If the nation reaches its goals of 90 percent belt use and a 25 percent reduction in child fatalities by the year 2005, we would prevent more than 5,500 deaths and 132,000 injuries annually and save $8.8 billion annually. The bottom line is we will save lives and dollars if more people buckle up. It's a goal worth achieving. People who don't wear safety belts now won't be more inclined to wear a safety belt if the law is upgraded. This simply is not the case. State after state has seen an average 10-15 point increase in belt use rates after passing a standard enforcement law. Isn't it better to be thrown clear from the car in a crash? No. The chances of being killed in a crash are four times greater when an occupant is thrown from the vehicle. There are not many ways to be thrown from a car. You can be ejected through an open window or door. You can also be ejected through a closed window or windshield. The body was simply not made to withstand that trauma. Adapted from a document compiled by the Air Bag Safety Campaign Contact the Minnesota Seat Belt Coalition by calling 651-228-7304 or 1-800-444-9150 x 304 or by e-mail at msc@minnesotasafetycouncil.org. |
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