Seat Belt Effect
Justin Crawford
English 101
Prof. Richardson
02/26/2017
The Effect of Seat Belt Enforcement
Tens of thousands of Americans die every year in motor vehicle accidents. As a result of the increasing number of fatalities each year, the United States began to take action to reduce the amount of avoidable deaths on the road. Following the lead of New York, States implemented mandatory seat belt laws that required people in vehicles to wear seat belts, or risk a fine for failing to do so. The enforcement of seat belt laws significantly increases the use of seat belts, reduces the cost of accidents, and saves thousands of lives every year.
Enforcement of primary and secondary seat belt laws has led to a massive increase in seat belt usage. Starting in 1964 car …show more content…
The NHTSA states “Research has shown that lap/shoulder seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat occupants (age 5 and older) of passenger cars by 45 percent” (Children). With seat belts reducing the risk of death by almost half, and around ninety percent of people wearing seat belts, the number of deaths on the highway should be dropping dramatically. Still, there the number of deaths on America’s roadways are staggering around forty-thousand fatalities each year. Of course not all the deaths are seat belt related, and there are many other factors that contribute to the number of fatalities, but the number of deaths annually would be reduced with more strict seat belt laws. According to the Advocates of for Highway and Auto Safety, “Nationwide seat belts saved an estimated 12,584 lives age five and older in 2013. An additional 2,388 lives could have been saved if all passenger vehicle occupants had worn seat belts”. As more states upgrade their secondary seat belt laws to primary seat belt, the number of saved lives will continue to
English 101
Prof. Richardson
02/26/2017
The Effect of Seat Belt Enforcement
Tens of thousands of Americans die every year in motor vehicle accidents. As a result of the increasing number of fatalities each year, the United States began to take action to reduce the amount of avoidable deaths on the road. Following the lead of New York, States implemented mandatory seat belt laws that required people in vehicles to wear seat belts, or risk a fine for failing to do so. The enforcement of seat belt laws significantly increases the use of seat belts, reduces the cost of accidents, and saves thousands of lives every year.
Enforcement of primary and secondary seat belt laws has led to a massive increase in seat belt usage. Starting in 1964 car …show more content…
The NHTSA states “Research has shown that lap/shoulder seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat occupants (age 5 and older) of passenger cars by 45 percent” (Children). With seat belts reducing the risk of death by almost half, and around ninety percent of people wearing seat belts, the number of deaths on the highway should be dropping dramatically. Still, there the number of deaths on America’s roadways are staggering around forty-thousand fatalities each year. Of course not all the deaths are seat belt related, and there are many other factors that contribute to the number of fatalities, but the number of deaths annually would be reduced with more strict seat belt laws. According to the Advocates of for Highway and Auto Safety, “Nationwide seat belts saved an estimated 12,584 lives age five and older in 2013. An additional 2,388 lives could have been saved if all passenger vehicle occupants had worn seat belts”. As more states upgrade their secondary seat belt laws to primary seat belt, the number of saved lives will continue to