We’ve known for decades that using seat belts reduces traffic accident injuries and deaths, and we know that not enough people use rear-seat safety belts. In addition to helping keep passengers in the back of the car from getting seriously hurt in a car accident, rear-seat lap and shoulder restraints help prevent passengers in the back from injuring people sitting in front of the car. A person riding in the back seat of a car can be hurled forward in a car crash, slamming into the car’s driver and front-seat passengers. Not buckling in cost more than 800 rear seat passengers their lives last year. The results are staggering costs from personal injury lawsuits, medical claims and lost income.
In 2007, auto safety groups wanted the government to encourage people to buckle up in the back seats of cars. The groups, Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, had research showing that a safety restraint warning system would reduce traffic injuries and save hundreds of lives. They wanted the annoying sound that comes on for people not buckled up in front to also annoy rear-seat non-bucklers. They petitioned the Transportation Department to force car companies to make rear-seat belt warning devices standard equipment.
Three years later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a Request for Comments (RFC) on the petition. Two years after that, in 2012, Congress passed a highway bill directing the Transportation Department to draft some regulations. Seven years later, in 2019, the NHTSA again asked for public comment on a proposal to require rear-seat belt reminders.
Seat Belts and Traffic Accident Injuries
When riding in the back seat, it’s important to use the full safety restraint system, including the shoulder belt. Using a lap belt alone is actually more dangerous. Not using the shoulder restraint results in more pelvic, abdominal and spinal injuries in a traffic accident. Using three-point safety restraints (lap and shoulder belt) is not only likely to save your life in a car crash, but it can also prevent serious injuries. With proper safety restraints, you can prevent injuries like whiplash, traumatic brain injury, as well as broken bones and internal bleeding.
However, car accident injuries can devastate anyone at any time, despite precautions. Do your best to drive mindfully, but another driver’s carelessness or negligence can upend your life. If that happens, you’ll want the best personal injury lawyer you can find. To help recover losses so you can heal and get on with your life after an accident, you can call Martinez Manglardi PA. For more than 30 years, injured accident victims have been turning to our expert personal injury attorneys. For a free consultation, call 407-846-2240. You can set up an appointment and one of our car accident attorneys will review your case for free. That’s because we know that what’s best for you is what’s best for us – and our community. Don’t take chances with your personal injury claim. You don’t have to deal with tragedy alone. Together, we can work it out. Come see us at one of our convenient Central Florida locations.
