Nearly 41 percent of all motorists killed in traffic crashes on Minnesota roads during the last three years were not buckled up, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety.
This statistic is another alert for motorists to buckle up every seat, every time.
“Wearing a seat belt is the best defense in a vehicle in the case of a crash,” says Raeann Mayer, Towards Zero Deaths (TDZ) Hubbard County Safe Roads Coordinator and CHI St. Joseph’s Health Community Health Manager. “It’s troubling that such a large number of people don’t wear their seat belt or don’t buckle up in the back seat. Many serious injuries and deaths we see at crash scenes can be prevented by simply wearing a seat belt.”
The facts:
n During the last three years, there were 816 motorist traffic deaths in Minnesota of which 330 were known to be not buckled up. In an effort to reduce those statistics, a statewide Click It or Ticket seat belt education and enforcement campaign is running from Oct. 10 - 26.
n Seat belts restrain motorists in the vehicle’s designed protective space, giving them room to live in the event of a crash. Seat belts also keep drivers correctly positioned behind the wheel to help maintain control of a vehicle.
n The odds for injury in a crash are six-times greater if a motorist is not buckled up. An unbelted motorist can crash into a windshield and slam into and injure other passengers. Often, an unbelted motorist is ejected from the vehicle and killed when the vehicle rolls over them.
n In Minnesota, law enforcement will stop and ticket motorists and unbelted passengers for belt violations. Drivers and all passengers must be buckled up or in the correct child restraint.
n Belt up in the back - it’s the law. Only 52 percent of the backseat passengers killed in crashes were buckled up during the past three years.
Motorists should wear lap belts low and snug across the hips; shoulder straps should never be tucked under an arm or behind the back - not only is this unsafe, it is illegal.
Children under age 13 should always ride in the back seat.
Minnesota statute requires children under age 8 to ride in a federally approved car seat or booster, unless the child is 4 feet 9 inches or taller. In Minnesota, booster seats are required by law. Children should start riding in a booster upon outgrowing a forward-facing restraint. A child should remain in a booster until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall, or at least age 8. Boosters lift a child up so adult seat belts fit children properly.
Seat belt education is a component of Minnesota’s Toward Zero Deaths initiative.
