Almost 30% of motor vehicle deaths because unbuckled seat belt

[nevets88]

I found this number to be staggering. I'm a little close to this statistic as I've had my life changed because a loved one didn't buckle up. Even as a kid, I always reminded people to buckle up and cars are built w/many more safety features in mind today. It's such a no brainer and takes seconds, it dumbfounds me people don't put on their seat belts.

 

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/10/11/america-hasnt-seen-a-spike-in-traffic-deaths-this-bad-since-1965/

[Lihu]

I'm really surprised! How dumb can people be?

[saevel25]

I wonder how they prioritized that. A drunk driver can drive a car at high speed and not have their buckle on. Do they account for all three categories? I wonder if that % goes down that it causes the other categories to go down as well.

For me, putting on a seat belt is 2nd nature. I don't even actively think about it. It's just a natural motion for me when I get into the car. As I get in, my left hand is grabbing the seat belt, and I buckle up.

Drunk driving is a big issue that I am not sure is enforceable. Maybe it comes to a point were instead of party plates on the vehicle, they have a different driver license that bans them from drinking outside of their home. It's idiotic that 28% of car fatalities are caused by people who like to get plastered. I hate hearing the stories were a drunk driver survives after they collided with another vehicle.

I don't see speeding related fatalities going down unless more speed cameras are used, especially on free-ways and rural roads.

[Lihu]

11 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

For me, putting on a seat belt is 2nd nature. I don't even actively think about it. It's just a natural motion for me when I get into the car. As I get in, my left hand is grabbing the seat belt, and I buckle up.

Exactly, but I would think even DUI drivers would do this instinctively as well if they normally put it on? For safety reasons or not.

Why are there are so many dumb people who find putting on a seat belt is too much of a hassle?

[saevel25]

2 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Why are there are so many dumb people who find putting on a seat belt is too much of a hassle?

I have a friend who does not wear a seat belt. She hates the feeling of wearing it. She has some claustrophobic reaction to wearing the seat belt.

I think most of that 28% just never got into the habit of it.

[Lihu]

Just now, saevel25 said:

I have a friend who does not wear a seat belt. She hates the feeling of wearing it. She has some claustrophobic reaction to wearing the seat belt.

I think most of that 28% just never got into the habit of it.

It's funny, I'd feel like something's missing if I don't wear mine.

Then again, the new all encompassing air bags might have given many folks a false sense that seat belts are not needed any more?

[saevel25]

1 minute ago, Lihu said:

Then again, the new all encompassing air bags might have given many folks a false sense that seat belts are not needed any more?

I don't think so. I don't think people even realize they have those security features.

Seat belt usage has been on the rise up to 2013.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_use_rates_in_the_United_States

 

[Lihu]

Just now, saevel25 said:

I don't think so. I don't think people even realize they have those security features.

Seat belt usage has been on the rise up to 2013.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_use_rates_in_the_United_States

So, we're just talking about stragglers in adopting seat belts? I'm back to them being dumb again. . .

[dennyjones]

It's always been second nature to wear a seat belt.  

[jsgolfer]

On 10/18/2017 at 11:34 AM, saevel25 said:

I wonder how they prioritized that. A drunk driver can drive a car at high speed and not have their buckle on. Do they account for all three categories? I wonder if that % goes down that it causes the other categories to go down as well.

For me, putting on a seat belt is 2nd nature. I don't even actively think about it. It's just a natural motion for me when I get into the car. As I get in, my left hand is grabbing the seat belt, and I buckle up.

Drunk driving is a big issue that I am not sure is enforceable. Maybe it comes to a point were instead of party plates on the vehicle, they have a different driver license that bans them from drinking outside of their home. It's idiotic that 28% of car fatalities are caused by people who like to get plastered. I hate hearing the stories were a drunk driver survives after they collided with another vehicle.

I don't see speeding related fatalities going down unless more speed cameras are used, especially on free-ways and rural roads.

I'm not condoning drinking and driving but I actually researched traffic fatalities for a traffic engineering course many years ago and when you look at the numbers, 55% of all fatalities are single driver only, meaning the drunk driver killed themselves,And when you drill farther into the numbers, it says drunk driving-related, doesn't mean the driver was drunk, it means that they just have some measurable alcohol in their blood (Anything over 0.1), it can also mean the passengers had alcohol in their system.  Once you delve further, the amount of people who cause traffic fatalities with a BAC over 0.8 (we can debate whether that is a correct number on another thread), was at the time about 2,500.  So at the end of the day, it's still bad, just not as bad as the government would like you to believe with the numbers below.  More people cause accidents and die during sunset and sunrise when visibility is poor.

[JonMA1]

On 10/18/2017 at 9:08 PM, dennyjones said:

It's always been second nature to wear a seat belt.  

Yep, same here - even before it became the law.

1 hour ago, jsgolfer said:

I actually researched traffic fatalities for a traffic engineering course many years ago

Several years ago my wife's cousin rolled a car, totaling it. it was a self-induced, single car accident and she wasn't hurt (it occurred before texting was a thing). She hadn't been wearing a seat belt but when asked by the police, replied that she had. The police officer told her she would have died without it. Having known that ahead of time, I'm not sure why he had to ask.

Anyway, I've always wondered if that sort of misinformation is used for statistics. Obviously, it's easy to tell when there's a fatality if an occupant was buckled up or not, but those lucky enough to walk away from an accident are not going to tell the truth about not wearing one.

[Buckeyebowman]

1 hour ago, jsgolfer said:

I'm not condoning drinking and driving but I actually researched traffic fatalities for a traffic engineering course many years ago and when you look at the numbers, 55% of all fatalities are single driver only, meaning the drunk driver killed themselves,And when you drill farther into the numbers, it says drunk driving-related, doesn't mean the driver was drunk, it means that they just have some measurable alcohol in their blood (Anything over 0.1), it can also mean the passengers had alcohol in their system.  Once you delve further, the amount of people who cause traffic fatalities with a BAC over 0.8 (we can debate whether that is a correct number on another thread), was at the time about 2,500.  So at the end of the day, it's still bad, just not as bad as the government would like you to believe with the numbers below.  More people cause accidents and die during sunset and sunrise when visibility is poor.

Excellent post! There are additional factors, which I noticed today while driving. The Sun is getting lower in the sky and causing more glare.

As far as the "automatically reaching for the seatbelt" posts, I learned to drive 50 years ago when there were no seatbelts in cars! And I don't like them! They constrict me and are uncomfortable. And I survived a double rollover on the Ohio Turnpike due to being taken off the road by a college girl who was texting while driving!

Which brings up another point. The auto industry's response to all this is to introduce more things that take your attention away from the road in front of you! Add cell phones into the mix.

To hear people today, I'm amazed that I, and my siblings, made it to adulthood! But then, our parents were taught to pay attention to the road in front of them. This seems like the best advice!

 

[Braivo]

10 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

But then, our parents were taught to pay attention to the road in front of them. This seems like the best advice!

 

My Dad taught me to "anticipate what other drivers are going to do" and that advice has saved me many times. I can see events unfolding in front of me and react appropriately. No way this happens if I am distracted, even by a phone call. As for seat belts, my dad never wore one until he taught me to drive, he has worn it ever since. 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 10/20/2017 at 8:52 AM, Braivo said:

My Dad taught me to "anticipate what other drivers are going to do" and that advice has saved me many times. I can see events unfolding in front of me and react appropriately. No way this happens if I am distracted, even by a phone call. As for seat belts, my dad never wore one until he taught me to drive, he has worn it ever since. 

Agreed, sir! When I was taking my driving lessons, my instructor taught me to drive looking through the windshield of the car in front of me!

And yes, you can do this. You can see what is coming at the driver in front of you. You anticipate everything! The major problem is as it ever was, distracted drivers! How else can you explain multi-vehicle crashes in construction zones!

[amishboy51]

On 10/18/2017 at 11:52 AM, saevel25 said:

I have a friend who does not wear a seat belt. She hates the feeling of wearing it. She has some claustrophobic reaction to wearing the seat belt.

I think most of that 28% just never got into the habit of it.

I feel like seat belt usage has been mandatory for 40+ years; if that’s right, then wouldn’t most of these 28% have to be 60+ years old? That seems a little implausible that that large a group learned to drive 40+ years ago, so they had the option of “getting in the habit.”

[Zekez]

On 10/19/2017 at 10:04 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

Excellent post! There are additional factors, which I noticed today while driving. The Sun is getting lower in the sky and causing more glare.

As far as the "automatically reaching for the seatbelt" posts, I learned to drive 50 years ago when there were no seatbelts in cars! And I don't like them! They constrict me and are uncomfortable. And I survived a double rollover on the Ohio Turnpike due to being taken off the road by a college girl who was texting while driving!

Which brings up another point. The auto industry's response to all this is to introduce more things that take your attention away from the road in front of you! Add cell phones into the mix.

To hear people today, I'm amazed that I, and my siblings, made it to adulthood! But then, our parents were taught to pay attention to the road in front of them. This seems like the best advice!

 

Sorry, but that is just plain stupid.  Did you ever think about buckling up for those that love you and want you around, and not just for yourself?  So you had one extremely lucky accident survival, doesn't mean squat going forward.

 

Buckle up dude.

[Buckeyebowman]

On 10/25/2017 at 9:13 AM, Zekez said:

Sorry, but that is just plain stupid.  Did you ever think about buckling up for those that love you and want you around, and not just for yourself?  So you had one extremely lucky accident survival, doesn't mean squat going forward.

 

Buckle up dude.

Than you so much for your kind, inclusive, non-confrontational and tolerant reply! I so much like being labeled as stupid!

[iacas]

45 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Than you so much for your kind, inclusive, non-confrontational and tolerant reply! I so much like being labeled as stupid!

He said not buckling up was stupid. He didn't say you were stupid.