Why EVERYONE Needs to Buckle Up… Especially Adults in Back
Studies (see below) show that when someone rides in back withOUT their seat belt, the other people in the car who ARE wearing their seat belt are up to 3 times more likely to die in that same crash, because the unbelted person becomes a human missile… and due to the G-forces they weigh several thousand pounds, not their usual several hundred pounds.
Moral of the story:
Everyone, everywhere – including in back – wears their seat belt on every trip!
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s video below shows what it looks like in a 35mph crash when an adult in back is riding without a seat belt. This 170 pound crash test dummy weighs about 4,000 pounds (170lbs x 25G’s)… and makes a pancake of the driver.
Many adults mistakenly think it's safe to ride unbelted in the back seat. Read the results of our rear seat belt use survey here: http://bit.ly/2w8tqBf
CONCLUSIONS: Unrestrained rear-seat passengers place themselves as well as their driver at great risk of serious injury when involved in a head-on crash.
CONCLUSIONS: Adjusting for confounders (other than point of impact), the odds of fatality for a belted driver in a head-on crash was 2.28 times greater (95% CI = 1.93 to 2.7) with an unbelted rear-seat passenger. Unrestrained rear-seat passengers place themselves and their driver at great risk of fatal injury when involved in a crash.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the risk of death to a front seat car occupant is increased by about three-quarters by the presence of an unrestrained rear seat passenger behind them.
CONCLUSIONS: The number of killed or seriously injured drivers is estimated to decrease by around 25% if rear seat occupants come to wear seat belts. Also, the number of killed or seriously injured passengers in front seats is estimated to decrease by 28% if unbelted rear seat occupants come to wear seat belts. Thus, wearing of seat belts by previously unbelted rear seat passengers is considered effective in reducing not only injuries to the rear seat passengers themselves but also injuries to front seat occupants.
CONCLUSIONS: A car occupant could be killed if struck by another occupant who was catapulted forward, backward, or sideways in a crash. The risk of death was greater for a restrained front seat occupant in front of an unrestrained rear seat passenger compared with a restrained front seat occupant in front of a restrained rear seat passenger (adjusted RR, 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-1.31). Persons who wish to reduce their risk of death in a crash should wear their own restraint and should ask others in the same car to use their restraints.
CONCLUSIONS: The risk of death of belted front-seat occupants with unbelted rear-seat passengers was raised nearly five-fold. If rear seat belts had been used, almost 80% of deaths of belted front-seat occupants could have been avoided. Rear seat belt use should be encouraged for the safety of all car occupants.
>I remember that ad!! I was living in England when it was first being shown. I kept thinking, holy cow, this would NEVER make it on American broadcast TV…
[…] she at significantly increased risk of injury, but so too is everyone else in the car – as studies show that if one person in the back seat doesn’t wear their seat belt, the other people in the car who are buckled (like the baby, the driver, etc) are up to 3 times […]
[…] Studies show that if one person in the car rides without their seat belt, the other people in the car who have buckled up – this may be a mom in back or a child in the IMMI Go, for example – are up to 3 times more likely to die in that same crash as you will become a human missile and can fly around and land on top of other people. Due to the G-forces in a crash, you will weigh several thousand pounds, not your usual several hundred pounds. […]
>I remember that ad!! I was living in England when it was first being shown. I kept thinking, holy cow, this would NEVER make it on American broadcast TV…
[…] she at significantly increased risk of injury, but so too is everyone else in the car – as studies show that if one person in the back seat doesn’t wear their seat belt, the other people in the car who are buckled (like the baby, the driver, etc) are up to 3 times […]
[…] Studies show that if one person in the car rides without their seat belt, the other people in the car who have buckled up – this may be a mom in back or a child in the IMMI Go, for example – are up to 3 times more likely to die in that same crash as you will become a human missile and can fly around and land on top of other people. Due to the G-forces in a crash, you will weigh several thousand pounds, not your usual several hundred pounds. […]