Buckling your seat belt is the one of simplest and most effective ways to save lives and minimize injuries to yourself or another vehicle occupants during a crash or sudden harsh braking event. One of the safest choices drivers and passengers can make is to buckle up. Many Americans understand the lifesaving value of the seat belt. Understand the potentially fatal consequences of not wearing a seat belt and learn what you can do to make sure you and your family are properly buckled up every time.
Seat belts are the best defense against impaired, aggressive, and distracted drivers. Being buckled up during a crash helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle; being completely ejected from a vehicle is almost always deadly.
If the vehicle you are in hits an object such as a post, tree etc; another vehicle, pedestrian, or animal; or rolls over, it stops. However, inside the vehicle unrestrained occupants (driver or passengers not wearing a seat belt) continue to move forward at the same speed the vehicle was traveling until something causes their body to stop - the windshield/windscreen, steering wheel, dashboard, seat, another occupant, or the pavement outside the vehicle.
The World Health Organization (WHO) global best practice standard is seat belt laws covering vehicle occupants in both front and rear seats and enforcement of these laws. Seat belts dramatically reduce risk of death and serious injury. Among drivers and front-seat passengers, seat belts reduce the risk of death. Seat belts save thousands of lives each year, and increasing use would save thousands more, that's why it is very important for us to always wear seatbelts.