“Seatbelts”

Safety is one of the major emphases for driving schools. In a previous blog, we discussed some common road laws that should be remembered or noticed. One of those laws is wearing your seatbelt. In this blog, we discuss the history and safety aspects of seatbelts.

The first seatbelts used were actually used in airplanes. The three-point seatbelt was created in the 1950s. Originally, they were met with substantial pushback from consumers. Nils Bohlin in Sweden is credited with the creation and then substantive research into the validity and safety of wearing the modern seatbelt. With this research and others in 1968, the US mandated seatbelts be in cars. In the 1960s children's seats were first implemented. Ford had children’s seats since their Model T in 1921. However, they were used to restrain the children from their parents rather than for safety purposes. As of 1995, all states in the U.S. require seatbelt use with the exception of New Hampshire. 

50% of driving-related deaths were caused by individuals who were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. However, over 91% of people wear seatbelts on a consistent basis. That means the 9% of people who do not wear a seat have the same amount of deaths as the 91% of people who do wear a seatbelt in the United States. It is estimated that seatbelts save 40 lives every day. That's roughly 14,600 people a year. The data suggests that wearing seatbelts is a good thing to do. No one wants seatbelts to have to be used, but accidents happen every day. 

Commenter of the Month 

Comment down below if you wear your seatbelt every time you are in a vehicle.