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Safety Belts & Air Bags

The Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety & Education continually promotes the importance of the proper use of seat belts and air bags. An air bag and seatbelt could mean the difference between living and dying in a motor vehicle crash.

In 2006, 49 states and the District of Columbia had a safety belt use laws in effect. Use rates vary widely from state to state, reflecting factors such as differences in public attitudes, enforcement practices, legal provisions, and public information and education programs.

From 1975 through 2006, it is estimated that safety belts saved 226,567 lives, including 15,383 lives saved in 2006. Safety belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent. If all passenger vehicle occupants over age 4 wore safety belts, 20,824 lives (that is, an additional 5,441) could have been saved in 2006.

In 2006, it is estimated that 425 children under age 5 were saved as a result of child restraint use. An estimated 8,325 lives were saved by child restraints from 1975 through 2006.

Between 1987 and 2006, 22,466 lives were saved by air bags.

The Mid-Atlantic Foundation would like to remind you:

• Using lap/shoulder belts properly reduces injuries by nearly 50 percent
• Almost 50 percent fewer fatalities are associated with automatic belt equipped vehicles than with non automatic belt equipped vehicles
• Use of lap/shoulder safety belts in vehicles equipped with air bags reduces injuries by nearly 60 percent
• Proper use of child safety seats is 71 percent effective in preventing deaths and 67 percent in reducing the need for hospitalization

Seat Belt Safety Tips:

• The lap belt should be adjusted so it is low across the hips and pelvis, never across the stomach. Adjust the belt so it is snug.
• The shoulder belt should cross the chest and collarbone and be snug.
• Your safety belts cannot work properly if you have the seat back in a reclined position or if you are slouched in your seat. The shoulder belt will not be against your chest and the lap belt could ride up over your stomach. For the best protection, keep the seat upright and sit back in the seat.
• Do not put the shoulder belt behind your back or under your arms. Your head and chest could strike the steering wheel, the dashboard, or the back of the front seat. You could break ribs and be seriously hurt.
• Restrain infants and children in age and size appropriate child safety seats. Safety belts do not provide the best protection for children. The best place for children is in the back seat whether or not the vehicle has air bags.
• Never place a child safety seat in the front seat of a car equipped with air bags.

Air bags are designed to be used with safety belts. Use your seat belt even if your car has an air bag. It is not an either/or situation. Seat belts protect in all situations. Most air bags today are designed to provide added protection in frontal crashes because those in a car are far more likely to die in a frontal crash than in any other type of crash.

Air bag safety tips:

• Sit back at least 10 inches for the steering wheel and dashboard
• Always wear your seat belt properly
• Always seat children aged 12 and under in the back seat even if there isn't an air bag in front. The back seat is the safest in most crash situations
• Never install a rear facing infant safety seat in the front seat of a car equipped with a passenger side air bag
• If your steering wheel tilts, direct it toward your chest, not your head
• If you are pregnant, place the lap belt below your abdomen with the shoulder portion over your collar bone.

*Statistical data supplied by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration*