Much attention is given to the front seat passengers when it comes to buckling seat belts. With the holidays now in full swing, and driving on the road becoming more hazardous as the population swells in Ft. Lauderdale as snowbirds return, vacationers rent cars along with the usual holiday mayhem, the safety for those in the back seat should also be front and center. Make back seat safety a front seat priority.
Back seat passengers are equally in danger from personal injury if they’re not buckled up.
Young women in back seat of car fastening seat belt.
According to the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department, hundreds of unbelted adults in the rear seats of passenger vehicles are killed annually in crashes, and hundreds more are seriously injured. In 2013, 883 unrestrained rear seat passenger fatalities occurred for passengers as young as age 8, and above. “More than 400 of these people may be alive today if they had simply buckled up,” according to police. In addition, rear-seat passengers are three times more likely to die in a crash if they are unbuckled.
The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), in its Spotlight on Highway Safety, goes further into the issue. Plainly stated, seat belts save lives. “For 50 years this fact has motivated auto manufacturers to improve their belt systems, states to pass and enforce laws requiring belt use, and drivers and passengers to buckle up,” according to the report.
The results are proof that buckling up ensures safety. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that seat belts saved the lives of 12,584 passenger vehicle occupants age 5 and older in 2013 alone.
The big problem, however, is that belt use laws, enforcement, and public information campaigns often overlook the rear seat. Passengers and rear seat belt use often are not highlighted in traffic safety messages, the GHSA reports.
Teddy bear strapped in with seat belt in back seat of car
Rear seats are generally safer than front seats in most crashes, yet in any seat, adults are considerably safer when belted. The issue particularly extends to the use of for-hire vehicles: Many people who regularly buckle up in private cars and vans ignore the belts when they ride in taxis or other for-hire vehicles. The rapid rise of ride services such as Uber and Lyft produce many instances in which passengers not used to riding in the rear seat do not buckle up.
So whether you are traveling home for the holidays or just around town, and even after the festivities have ended, make sure everyone in the car buckles up to avoid personal injury in a traffic accident. Buckles are installed in the rear seats for a reason – to be used.
Make back seat safety a front seat priority!
Safe driving – and happy new year to all.
