Editorial: Too many fail to buckle up

Consider these five traffic accidents that occurred recently in Rowan County.

• A truck driver from Virginia was killed in a crash on I-85 Wednesday morning after his southbound rig ran off the interstate and struck a bridge abutment.

• A Salisbury woman died Saturday when her sport utility vehicle left Stokes Ferry Road, struck a culvert and overturned.

• A 7-year-old girl was seriously injured on Jan. 3 when the vehicle in which she was a passenger crashed on Old Concord Road.

• On Dec. 15, a man was killed when his car crashed on Mountain Road in Cleveland and hit a tree.

• On Dec. 10, a South Iredell High School student died after the vehicle in which she was a passenger left the pavement and hit a utility pole on N.C. 150.

Different roads, different types of vehicles, different contributing factors to the accidents — but one striking similarity: None of the victims was using a seat belt (or, in the 7-year-old’s case, a suitable restraint device). All were ejected from the vehicles, becoming, in effect, human projectiles with nothing to protect delicate tissue and bone.

Although modern vehicles are equipped with advanced safety features such as anti-lock brakes, stability-control systems and multiple air bags, seat belts are the most effective way to save lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Seat-belt use reduces crash-related injuries and deaths by about 50 percent. Yet, despite decades of public safety messages, the CDC says millions of drivers and passengers don’t make it a habit to buckle up on every trip.

Roughly 1 in 7 drivers — about 15 percent — fail to use seat belts. It’s baffling that in an increasingly health-conscious culture, so many drivers and passengers don’t take this simple precaution.

Unfortunately, some of those drivers aren’t putting only themselves at risk. When they don’t make sure that young passengers buckle up or use approved safety or booster seats, they’re also putting others in harm’s way.

The lesson should be as clear as an ambulance siren. Seatbelts save lives. N.C. law mandates the use of seat belts (or suitable child restraints for younger passengers). Whether you’re headed out on a long trip or just going down the road, buckle up. It’s one of the simplest things you can do that might save your life.