WHY WEARING A SEATBELT MATTERS

Zero Fatalities

Remembering Chelsie Hill

Too many families experience the heartache of losing a loved one when a seat belt could have made all the difference.

275 lives were lost in 2015. The most common contributing factor was a failure to buckle up. The best thing you can do to keep from becoming a fatality statistic is to wear a seat belt.

THE FACTS

  • Nearly 50 percent

    of people killed in car crashes weren’t buckled up.

  • More people die

    from failure to use a seat belt in auto-related fatalities than from any other contributing factor, such as drunk driving, distracted driving, speeding, etc.

  • In the event of a crash,

    unbuckled occupants are 30 times more likely to be ejected from the vehicle, and three out of four people ejected die from their injuries.

  • One unbelted occupant

    can increase the risk of injury or death to other belted occupants by 40 percent.

  • Keeping Utah’s transportation system safe

    strengthens our economy.

WHAT IS THE PRIMARY SEAT BELT LAW AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Seat belt laws are divided into two categories: primary and secondary. Primary seat belt laws allow officers to ticket a driver or passenger for not wearing a seat belt without any other traffic offense taking place. Secondary seat belt laws state that law enforcement officers may issue a ticket for not wearing a seat belt only when there is another citable traffic infraction. In the 2015 Legislative Session Utah passed House Bill 79, Safety Belt Law Amendments, a three year statute that mandates passengers must wear seat belts and children up to age 8 must be properly restrained in a car or booster seat or otherwise face a citation. The new law permits citations to be issued on the second offense that can be waived by completion of a 30-minute seat belt safety course.

A safe transportation system is essential to Utah businesses’ economic vitality and the quality of life in our state. Average seat belt use is 12% higher in states with a primary seat belt law. Research shows that about half of the unbuckled fatalities over the past five years could have been saved if a seat belt had been properly used.

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