How does a seatbelt work?

To put it simply, a seat belt’s primary function is to keep your body in place in the event of a collision. A car runs on inertia, meaning it has a tendency to stay in motion until another force acts upon it (Page, 2015). If this force is a collision, then the car will come to an abrupt stop. If the car stops and you are not wearing your seat belt, you will continue to go that speed. The seat belt’s purpose is to slow down the speed at which your body is traveling over the broad surface of your shoulder, chest, and hips in order to reduce injury.

Seat belts are designed to work WITH airbags. Both of these safety items are designed to slow you down in the event of a crash.

Page, K. (2015, December 03). How do seat belts work? Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/how-do-seat-belts-work

• Kids are more likely to be properly buckled if their parents are also properly buckled

• If you are in an accident and are not restrained, you become a projectile that travels at the speed the car was traveling

• You are 30 times more likely to be thrown from a vehicle in an accident if you are NOT wearing your seatbelt

• If you are wearing your seatbelt when involved in a crash you reduce your risk of death by 45% and injury by 50%

• The department of transportation estimated that 14,955 lives were saved in 2017 by using seat belts.

• In 2019, 22,215 vehicle passengers were killed in accidents, 47% of them were not wearing seat belts

• Car crashes are the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 3 and 34.

Policy impact: Seat belts. (2011, January 03). Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/seatbeltbrief/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fmotorvehiclesafety%2Fseatbeltbrief%2Findex.html

Seat belts. (2021, March 17). Retrieved March 28, 2021, from https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/seat-belts

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (n.d.). https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/seat-belts.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Seat Belt Use (n.d.). NHTSA. https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/seatbeltuse.pdf.

According to the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, the correct way to wear a seatbelt is as follows:

1. Across your shoulder and chest with little to no slack

2. Across your hips and pulled snug once fastened

This seems like a simple concept, but if worn incorrectly it can cause severe damage to internal organs or fail to hold you in your seat. Seat belts should not be worn behind the back or under the arm. They should not be worn across the stomach. The law states all children under the age of 12 should be secured in an appropriate restraint at all times.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Seat Belt Use (n.d.). NHTSA. https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/seatbeltuse.pdf.