Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Wear Your Seat Belt Here's a tip: wear your seat belt when you're in the car this week, because the police are cracking down and ticketing people violating seat belt laws. This week is the Click it or Ticket National Enforcement Mobilization Campaign. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, only 83 percent of Americans are using seat belts. What really surprised me was that the national data actually indicates that seat belt usage actually went down in many states between 2007 and 2008. I was also surprised to see that night time seat belt usage is significantly lower than day time usage. I'm a big seat belt advocate. When I was a kid, my parents always insisted that I wear a seat belt in the car - they even got seat belts in the back seat when that was optional equipment. I started wearing seat belts when I was young, and I never stopped. I've been in 3 car accidents in my life, and I'm certain that each time my seat belt saved me from injury. I remember getting in the car with my cousin one day and scolding her for not wearing a seat belt. She told me that she didn't like seat belts because they're uncomfortable. "So's a traumatic head injury!" I replied. So once you get into the habit of wearing your seat belt this week, keep it up. It's one of the Gov Gab: Your U.S. Government Blog] 11:59:24 AM

© Copyright 2009 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 6/1/2009; 10:21:53 AM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien