Seatbelts Save Lives

Not only is it the law in Tennessee, but wearing a seatbelt while driving is a very easy safety precaution and actually saves hundreds, if not thousands, of lives a year. There are thousands of car and truck accidents on Tennessee roads and highways every year. Newer vehicles are coming out with more safety devices, better engineering, and more sophisticated technology, making modern vehicles safer than anything that has been driven in the past. But one of the simplest and easiest to use safety devices in vehicles has been around since 1959– the 3-point seatbelt. At some point in the distant future, technology will hopefully get to the point that it is impossible to be hurt in an automobile crash. But until then, driving on the roads and highways of Tennessee is still a risk, no matter how safe or careful a defensive driver you believe you are.

Injury and Fatality Data With Not Using a Seatbelt

So far in 2021, as of the date of writing this blog post, there have been 658 traffic fatalities in Tennessee. In 2020, a year when traffic in our state was significantly reduced due to the pandemic restrictions, there were 1,217 automobile related fatalities. When it comes to restrained drivers and the use of seatbelts, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security has issued data indicating that every 3 hours, 14 minutes, and 28 seconds an improperly restrained driver is injured or killed in a car wreck. An unrestrained or improperly restrained driver or passenger is 61 times more likely to die in a car or truck crash than someone properly using a seatbelt. Finally, an improperly restrained or unrestrained person is 3 times more likely to suffer serious personal injuries in a car or truck accident than someone who is properly wearing a seatbelt.

Why Use a Seatbelt?

1. Using a seatbelt makes you more safe while driving or as a passenger. As the data shows, you are risking serious injury or even death if you drive in a vehicle unrestrained. The 3-point seatbelt is the simplest and surest way to protect you and your passengers from the unforeseen accident.
2. Airbags aren’t enough. Some drivers believe that because their vehicle has airbags then that is enough to protect them. But airbags do not and should not replace the use of seatbelts. Airbags themselves can cause serious injuries due to their inflation speed and force. In some instances, an airbag can cause a broken nose, broken facial bones, fractured ribs, burns, and other injuries. Also, airbags do not keep you inside the vehicle during a significant collision, which is the safest place to be. If you are not wearing a seatbelt and your vehicle rolls and flips over violently during an accident, it is possible that you will be ejected from the vehicle. This is extremely dangerous and is often fatal when an ejection occurs. A seatbelt will prevent that, and an airbag will not.
3. Wearing a seatbelt is required by the law. The law in Tennessee states that every driver and front seat passenger has to wear a seatbelt when the vehicle is moving. Also, anyone under 18 has to wear a restraint whether they are in the front seat or the back seat of a vehicle. Drivers of vehicles, who are themselves properly wearing a seatbelt, can still receive a ticket for anyone in the vehicle that is violating Tennessee’s seatbelt law and not properly restrained.

If you have been seriously injured in a car or truck or pedestrian accident, contact the law office of Robert Bates & Associates, where we focus our practice on representing car and truck accident victims in Tennessee.

Robert BatesRobert is a Kingsport trial lawyer who handles car, truck and motorcycle wreck cases across the Tri-Cities. Every client gets his cell number.