Buckling up: It's not the "why," it's the "whether"
Sept. 17, 2018
“If all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you?” It’s the stereotypical mom response to a kid wanting to do something just because their peers are doing it too. But sometimes giving in to peer pressure is a good thing, like in the case of seat belt use. The 2018 Minnesota Seat Belt Survey shows that 92 percent of us wear our seat belts in the front seat. The numbers are similar for our kids, too: In Minnesota crashes from 2013 to 2017 in which children ages 0-7 were properly restrained, 87 percent of them were not injured.
Seat belts and child restraints are literally life-saving devices. Even if you’re an excellent driver, you can’t see the future. A seat belt helps protect you when you hit that patch of ice, or a distracted driver drifts into your lane, or a deer jumps out in front of you. The fact is that there are hundreds of scenarios that you can’t possibly predict that would make you very glad you wore your seat belt.
And it’s not just about your own safety. During a crash, anything that isn’t anchored to the inside of the car becomes a projectile. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a pencil or a human being; if it’s flying around the cabin of the vehicle, it could hurt someone badly. The other likely scenario is that they’re ejected from the car altogether, which is usually deadly.
Unfortunately, despite the 92 percent seat belt compliance, unbuckled drivers and passengers remain a problem here in Minnesota. In 2017 alone, 78 unbelted motorists died in crashes, and from 2013-2017, only half of the 18 children ages 0-7 who died in crashes were known to be properly restrained.
That’s why, starting today, more than 300 law enforcement agencies throughout the state will participate in extra seat belt and child restraint enforcement, which will continue through Sept. 29.
In Minnesota, all children must be in a child restraint until they are 4’9” tall or age 8, whichever comes first. And it doesn’t have to be a chore. When the family gets in the car, try having a contest for who can buckle up the fastest. Or have one child be the lookout to make sure everyone has buckled up. When that happens, the lookout can tell you it’s time to start the car.
So buckle yourself and your kids up because it’s the safe thing to do. Or because you could get a ticket if you don’t click it. Or even just because 92 percent of your peers are wearing seat belts. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter why you buckle up. It just matters whether you do it or not.
