STUDY: PASSENGERS WHO DON’T WEAR SEAT BELTS COULD KILL YOU

(01-21-2004) – You may fasten your seat belt every time you get into the car and that may save your life if you’re in a crash. But if just one other person in your car isn’t strapped in, a new study shows it could kill you.

A new study published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association shows just how dangerous one unbuckled person in a car can be.

“Even if you’re restrained, if there is somebody else in the car with you who is not wearing their seat belt it increases your risk of death by 15 to 25 percent, regardless of whether that person is in the front seat and you are in the back seat or you are in the front seat and they are in the back seat or if they are next to you on the seat,” said Dr. Fredrick Rivara.

Dr. Rivara and Dr. Peter Cummings of the University of Washington poured over data from more than 60,000 fatal car crashes between 1988 and 2000. They found that a person wearing a seat belt was often killed by another person in the car who was not restrained. In a crash, those people not wearing seat belts are catapulted around the car, becoming lethal weapons.

“Not only should you be wearing your seat belt, but you can turn to the person next to you or behind you or in front of you, and say, ‘hey buddy buckle up as well, because your being unbuckled is a risk to me’,” continued Dr. Rivara.

The study revealed it didn’t matter where the person with the seat belt sat in relationship to those without belts and it mattered very little where the car was hit. What mattered most is that someone, somewhere in the car wasn’t strapped in.

“The bumper sticker message is wear your seat belt and have everyone else in the car wear their seat belts as well,� Dr. Rivara noted.

A strong message, considering that motor vehicle crashes are the single most common cause of deadly injuries In the United States each year.

Additionally, the study looked at crashes with occupants that were at least 16-years-old and it’s important to note that no car or booster seats were part of the study.

Wearing a seat belt can mean the difference between “life & death” in a crash. Especially if you’re a parent. If your children see you always buckle-up they’ll always buckle-up. If they see you don’t buckle up, then the results could be deadly…

From the Santa Cruz Sentinel On Line Edition

February 18, 2004

Santa Cruz – Young Man Dies After Wreck Ejects Him From Truck

A 19-year-old UC Santa Cruz student died Monday night after he was thrown from his 1997 Mazda pickup on Highway 17 just north of Laurel Road, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Carlos Alberto Estrada, of San Diego, was driving toward Santa Cruz about 8 p.m. when he lost control of his truck, which slammed into the center divider and rolled.

The truck came to rest on top of the driver, officers said. He likely would have survived had he been wearing his seat belt, CHP officer Jason Butler said. The truck was moderately damaged. Butler said a wet road and speed appear to be factors as well.

Estrada was a student at Merrill College and was returning from work, said Sgt. Fred Plageman of the Coroner’s Office. He said Estrada sold house paint.

• Research shows 58% of the people killed in traffic collisions in 2003 were not buckled-up at the time of their fatal collision – that research also show 9 times out of 10 those people would have survived their crash had they taken the two to three seconds to buckle up! As the CHP reported here – he would have survived had he buckled up for the ride!

*Personal note: I knew him and his family. He was a wonderful young man with a promising future…he left behind devastated family and friends. Please buckle up! Monica Zech