Seat Belts Save Lives

In New Brunswick, over 40% of vehicle occupants who die in a collision are not wearing their seat belt. Many of these lives can be spared if only a seat belt is used.

There are a number of reasons to wear a seat belt aside from the probability of receiving a heavy fine and losing demerit points on your driver's licence:

• Wearing a seat belt protects the driver and passengers from the car or truck’s interior in the case of a collision. Imagine if you ran as fast as you could into a wall – you would probably be pretty banged up. The impact of going 50kmph and hitting a wall is comparable to the same impact as falling three stories.
• A properly worn seat belt spreads the force of the crash over a larger area of the body, likely to cause less serious injuries.
• Wearing a seat belt can avoid serious injuries or even killing other occupants in the vehicle. Many losses occur when an occupant who is not wearing his seatbelt and having nothing to hold him back at impact, can knock another passenger dead.
• Wearing a seat belt will prevent occupants from being ejected from the vehicle and the possibility of being crushed under the vehicle. If you are in a collision, statistics confirm that the best place to be is in the vehicle. If you are thrown out of the car, the chances of becoming a fatality are much higher.
• Wearing a seat belt is the responsible thing to do, not only to save yourself from harm but others as well.
   

Make sure both straps of the seat belt are properly adjusted and fit snugly. This transfers the impact of the collision to the parts of the body that can take it – the hipbones and shoulder bones.

Make sure the seat belt is in good working order:

1. The seat belt itself is not twisted or cut;
2. The buckle is in good working order – the engaging and releasing mechanism works fine;
3. The retractors should work smoothly when pulling the seat belt and should retract easily when not in use.

Children must have the appropriate child safety restraint. If you need help on the proper way to restrain your child in the vehicle, you can contact your local police. They will be able to direct you to where you can receive appropriate information and training on child seat restraint.