I’ll bet you’ve never heard anyone telling you they wish they hadn’t worn their seatbelts after a safe drive. What about someone telling you they were glad they had worn their seatbelts after a car accident? Four years ago, the Star Tribune reported a story about three teens who were in a tragic car accident. The only survivor contributed his surviving to his seat belt. One of the other teenagers was not wearing her seatbelt while the other was wearing it improperly, with her shoulder strap behind her neck.

Unfortunately, stories like this are not unheard of. There are many statistics from some of the leading voices and safety experts to inform the public that a seatbelt should not be considered a choice. It should be second nature after getting into the car. So fasten your seat belts as we explore the facts. Chronologically speaking, here is a list given by the National Safety Council which dictates certain measures of safety precaution while driving:

• Strapping on your seatbelt;

• Not driving while drunk;

• Paying attention to the road; and

• Paying attention to the other drivers.

If the rating of the above list from the National Safety Council does not supply enough reverence for the importance of the seatbelts, there is another very simple reason as to why they should be worn: it is the law- the exemption being New Hampshire. The National Safety Council defines the terms upon each state’s official policy. Should a state have a primary enforcement law, it means that a police officer can stop a vehicle if they see a person not buckled up. There are 31 states that have this instituted and 18 states that have the secondary law implemented. Secondary enforcement law dictates that police officers can only issue a seatbelt ticket after pulling the vehicle over for some other issue. Visit their website today to see what your state’s enforcement law is.

USA Today stated that in 2001, Canada’s seatbelt rate was 92% - which was higher than the U.S seatbelt rate in the year 2009. In 2009, the percentage of seatbelts used was 88% as opposed to the year 1998 when only 69% was used. The State University of Oklahoma reports that every year 40,000 people die in car accidents – of these, half of them were not buckled in. USA Today again cites that insurance corporations and experts in the field of safety calculated that 9,500 people would not have died if they would’ve just taken the time to strap a seat belt around themselves.

Many have tried to spread the word about the dangers of not using seatbelts. In an effort to raise awareness in 2001, USA Today interviewed three masculine famous faces to get the point across to the public: Josh Broslin (race car driver and actor), Jim Kelly (NFL quarterback) and Billy Blanks (Inventor of Tae Bo) came to make the statement that no matter how much danger they face in their jobs, they would never compromise their safety by not wearing a seatbelt in their vehicles. The National Safety Council concluded those who most need encouragement to buckle up are truck drivers, teenagers in pick-up trucks, people driving at night, males in secluded geographic locations and those who have been drinking as these are the demographics that are less likely to wear seatbelts.

The good news is that as statistics have been produced, many deaths have been prevented. The National Safety Council concluded that from the years 2004 to 2008, 75,000 lives were saved due to the use of seatbelts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that 11,000 people live due to buckling their seatbelts each year. So, unless you are exempt from wearing a seatbelt, buckle up!