The Toll of Unbelted Crashes

Each year, more and more people make the decision to start buckling up. Currently, 90 percent of Americans regularly wear seat belts when riding in a vehicle -an all-time high. The percentage of seat belt users in Pennsylvania also hovers right around the 90 percent mark. But that leaves 10 percent of the population who continue to resist seat belts. Nearly 3,000 of them have been killed in Pennsylvania in the past five years. Just who are these people who don´t understand the importance of seat belts?

NIGHTTIME

The biggest common factor among non-seat belt users is not who but when - nighttime. Seat belt use plummets after the sun goes down while the rate of unbelted fatalities skyrockets. Forty percent of all unbelted fatalities in the past five years were from crashes occurring between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. The hour between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. - right after Pennsylvania´s bars close - was by far the most deadly. Many of these people who lost their lives were also impaired or driving aggressively. Because of decreased visibility and the increased potential for encountering dangerous drivers on the road, nighttime is an especially risky occasion to go without a seat belt.

TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS

Who is out there driving so late at night? Who is taking risks that can lead to crashes? And, who may not take time to think about the consequences of not buckling up? Teens and young adults are by far the most likely to have their lives cut short in traffic crashes. That´s because a deadly combination of risky behavior, inexperience and perceived immortality make crashes all too common in this age group. Teens and young adults who wear seat belts are doubling their chance of survival through this vulnerable period of life.

MEN

Research shows that men are just less likely than women to buckle up. Men are also more likely to make the unsafe choices that can result in fatal traffic crashes. Men between the ages of 18 and 34 are most at risk. In Pennsylvania, 143 men in this age group were not wearing seat belts when they were killed in crashes in 2009, accounting for nearly 32 percent of all unbelted fatalities.

PICKUP TRUCK DRIVERS

For some reason, people who drive or ride in pick-up trucks continue to have lower seat belt use rates than others. Maybe it´s because pick-up trucks are big and make the people in them feel a false sense of security. Maybe it´s because pick-up trucks are often driven by men, many of whom are young and already less likely to wear seat belts. Whatever the reason, nearly 70 percent of pick-up truck drivers and passengers killed in crashes are not restrained. How many of them could have survived if only they had buckled up?

Seat Belt Enforcement

So here´s what we know. Seat belts save lives. Wearing a seat belt will better the chance of surviving a crash by up to 60 percent. Buckling up can be the difference between a bruise and a debilitating injury. Yet a large number of people -many of them from the groups above - deliberately choose not to wear seat belts. Enforcement is the best way to reach them.

Pennsylvania police are enforcing the seat belt law day and night as a part of routine traffic stops. Any unbelted driver stopped and cited for a primary offense (like speeding or running a red light), will receive a second seat belt citation of about $60 for any passenger not in compliance with the state´s seat belt law. We advise you to save your money and your life by buckling up.

Pennsylvania´s seat belt mobilization runs from May 24 to June 13. All enforcement during the final week of the mobilization will be conducted at night.