Seat Belt Effect
Justin Crawford
English 101
Prof. Richardson
02/26/2017
The Effect of Seat Belt Enforcement
Tens of thousands of Americans die every year in motor vehicle accidents. As a result of the increasing number of fatalities each year, the United States began to take action to reduce the amount of avoidable deaths on the road. Following the lead of New York, States implemented mandatory seat belt laws that required people in vehicles to wear seat belts, or risk a fine for failing to do so. The enforcement of seat belt laws significantly increases the use of seat belts, reduces the cost of accidents, and saves thousands of lives every year.
Enforcement of primary and secondary seat belt laws has led to a massive increase in seat belt usage. Starting in 1964 car …show more content…
manufacturers were required to put seat belts in every passenger vehicle (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) but with no laws in place to enforce the usage of seat belts, the percentage of vehicle occupants that wore them remained low. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “The first widespread survey, taken in 19 cities, in 1982, observed 11 percent belt use for drivers and front-seat passengers” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Shortly after this survey, individual states began to enact laws requiring occupants in vehicles to buckle up. Houston and Richardson state that every state other than New Hampshire had implemented either a primary or secondary seat belt law by 1995, and as of 2002 seat belt usage nationwide had risen up to seventy-nine percent. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) puts the current usage, as of 2016 at 90.1 percent (Seat Belt Use in 2016 - Overall Results). Clearly, the increase in seat belt usage can be directly linked to the enforcement of seat belt laws, and as the penalties increase for non-compliance, seat belt usage will continue rise.
Seat belt enforcement increases the percentage of people wearing seat belts, which decreases the chance of being fatally wounded in an accident.
The NHTSA states “Research has shown that lap/shoulder seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat occupants (age 5 and older) of passenger cars by 45 percent” (Children). With seat belts reducing the risk of death by almost half, and around ninety percent of people wearing seat belts, the number of deaths on the highway should be dropping dramatically. Still, there the number of deaths on America’s roadways are staggering around forty-thousand fatalities each year. Of course not all the deaths are seat belt related, and there are many other factors that contribute to the number of fatalities, but the number of deaths annually would be reduced with more strict seat belt laws. According to the Advocates of for Highway and Auto Safety, “Nationwide seat belts saved an estimated 12,584 lives age five and older in 2013. An additional 2,388 lives could have been saved if all passenger vehicle occupants had worn seat belts”. As more states upgrade their secondary seat belt laws to primary seat belt, the number of saved lives will continue to
increase.
As seat belt enforcement increases seat belt usage, and reduces the number of fatalities, the cost of accidents is reduced. Fatalities from car accidents are expensive for everyone involved.
English 101
Prof. Richardson
02/26/2017
The Effect of Seat Belt Enforcement
Tens of thousands of Americans die every year in motor vehicle accidents. As a result of the increasing number of fatalities each year, the United States began to take action to reduce the amount of avoidable deaths on the road. Following the lead of New York, States implemented mandatory seat belt laws that required people in vehicles to wear seat belts, or risk a fine for failing to do so. The enforcement of seat belt laws significantly increases the use of seat belts, reduces the cost of accidents, and saves thousands of lives every year.
Enforcement of primary and secondary seat belt laws has led to a massive increase in seat belt usage. Starting in 1964 car …show more content…
manufacturers were required to put seat belts in every passenger vehicle (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) but with no laws in place to enforce the usage of seat belts, the percentage of vehicle occupants that wore them remained low. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “The first widespread survey, taken in 19 cities, in 1982, observed 11 percent belt use for drivers and front-seat passengers” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Shortly after this survey, individual states began to enact laws requiring occupants in vehicles to buckle up. Houston and Richardson state that every state other than New Hampshire had implemented either a primary or secondary seat belt law by 1995, and as of 2002 seat belt usage nationwide had risen up to seventy-nine percent. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) puts the current usage, as of 2016 at 90.1 percent (Seat Belt Use in 2016 - Overall Results). Clearly, the increase in seat belt usage can be directly linked to the enforcement of seat belt laws, and as the penalties increase for non-compliance, seat belt usage will continue rise.
Seat belt enforcement increases the percentage of people wearing seat belts, which decreases the chance of being fatally wounded in an accident.
The NHTSA states “Research has shown that lap/shoulder seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat occupants (age 5 and older) of passenger cars by 45 percent” (Children). With seat belts reducing the risk of death by almost half, and around ninety percent of people wearing seat belts, the number of deaths on the highway should be dropping dramatically. Still, there the number of deaths on America’s roadways are staggering around forty-thousand fatalities each year. Of course not all the deaths are seat belt related, and there are many other factors that contribute to the number of fatalities, but the number of deaths annually would be reduced with more strict seat belt laws. According to the Advocates of for Highway and Auto Safety, “Nationwide seat belts saved an estimated 12,584 lives age five and older in 2013. An additional 2,388 lives could have been saved if all passenger vehicle occupants had worn seat belts”. As more states upgrade their secondary seat belt laws to primary seat belt, the number of saved lives will continue to
increase.
As seat belt enforcement increases seat belt usage, and reduces the number of fatalities, the cost of accidents is reduced. Fatalities from car accidents are expensive for everyone involved.