This Side of the Fence
I send my deepest condolences to the family, friends and anyone else hurting because of the recent deaths. It is a tough thing and I am truly sympathetic.
With this tragic event looming in our minds, I hope we can pause for a moment and learn something from the situation. I am referring to the issue of seatbelts. Everyone, young or old, should buckle up when riding in a car – no matter how long, short, fast or slow the journey ahead may be.
In 2002, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 80 people in Utah between the ages of 18-34 were killed in car accidents and 53 sustained incapacitating injuries. Out of those 133 people, 73 were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident. That’s 57 percent – more than half.
It’s painful to know more than half of the fatal and serious injury accidents in Utah could have been substantially less destructive if those involved would have taken an extra minute before starting out and buckled their safety belt.
There has been a great effort by NHTSA to increase seatbelt use. Perhaps some can recall or even fell victim to the “Click it or Ticket” campaign this summer. This allowed officers all over the country to pull anyone over and issue a seatbelt citation without first observing a prior offense. For the most part, it worked. Over the past year, most states that strictly enforced Click it or Ticket saw a significant rise in seatbelt usage. In fact, four states raised their usage to over 90 percent and 21 states to over 80 percent.
It’s amazing. People are willing to buckle up if it’s going to cost them, but won’t to save their own skins. But NHTSA is willing to do what they can to save us from ourselves, even if it means charging us a fortune for not buckling in.
That’s what I call tough love!
Seatbelts have always been in strict use in my family. My mother was the kind of mom that wouldn’t move the car before all the children were belted safely in their seats. She would systematically call out each of our names and wait until we replied with a resounding “Check!” to signify the task was complete. It kind of disturbed me as a child. My mother didn’t have to be so obnoxious about it, especially when my friends were in the car. But none of my protesting would ease her. She said she loved me too much to stop. Even now, as a 20-year-old college junior, when I get in the any car with my mother, she reminds me to fasten my belt.
I’m grateful for her enthusiasm. Now, as an adult, often driving on my own with no one to remind me, I have a subconscious habit of reaching for my seatbelt even before I start the car. I have never been in an accident, but I still understand and appreciate the wisdom of wearing safety restraints. I have every intention of someday becoming one of those moms, always checking just make sure my kids are buckled up.
Wear your seatbelts every time you’re riding in or driving a car, and encourage others to do the same. It’s a gesture that shows you care about the people you are with, because when tragedy strikes – and we all know it can – seatbelts save lives.