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Unrestrained
Passengers Killed More Frequently
According
to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
in 2000, nearly two-thirds of the passenger vehicle occupants
killed in traffic crashes were unrestrained.
In 2000, 41% of passenger car occupants and 45% of light
truck occupants involved in fatal crashes were unrestrained.
In fatal crashes, 75% of the passenger car occupants where
killed were totally ejected from the vehicle. In fact, ejection
from the vehicle accounted for an overall 28% of all passenger
vehicle occupant fatalities. And the ejection rate for occupants
of light trucks in fatal crashes was nearly twice the rate
for passenger car occupants.
Safety belts have been proven effective in preventing total
ejections from an occupant vehicle. NHTSA reports that in
the year 2000, only 1% of the occupants reported to have been
using safety restraints were totally ejected, compared with
22% of the unrestrained occupants.
In 2000, 49 states and the District of Columbia had safety
belt laws in effect. However, the overall rate of use of safety
belts varies widely from state to state. Factors such as differences
in public attitudes, enforcement practices, legal provisions,
public information and education programs all played a role
in the useage rate from state to state.
From 1975 through 2000, it is estimated that 135,102 lives
were saved by the use of safety belts. 11,889 of that number
were saved in the year 2000 alone. It is further estimated
that if all passenger vehicle occupants over the age of 4
years wore safety belts a total of 21,127 lives could have
been saved in the year 2000. That is an additional 9,238 lives
in a single year saved just by using safety belts.
In addition to safety belts, it is estimated that 316 children
under the age of 5 years were saved in the year 2000 as a
result of child restraint useage. Between 1975 and 2000, an
estimated 4,816 lives were saved through the use of child
safety restraints.
NHTSA recommends that children in rear facing child seats
should not be placed in the front seat of cars equipped with
a passenger side airbag. The impact of the airbag deployment
can and has resulted in injury to the child. NHTSA recommends
that such child seats be placed in the rear seats. It also
recommends that all children under the age of 12 years sit
in the rear seat away from a deploying airbag.
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