Final answer:
True, safety belts are crucial in a crash due to the principle of inertia, which is the tendency of an object to resist changes to its state of motion. Safety belts, along with airbags and crumple zones in cars, work by extending the impact time and therefore reducing the net force on the driver's body, minimizing injuries.
Step-by-step explanation:
True, inertia is the primary reason that safety belts are important to a driver in a crash. Inertia is the property of matter that causes it to resist any change in motion. When a car stops suddenly during a crash, the body of the driver continues moving forward due to inertia. Safety belts restrain the driver, reducing the likelihood of injury by preventing the driver from being thrown forward. They spread the force of the sudden stop over a larger area of the body and over a longer period of time, thus reducing the impact's severity due to the concept of impulse, as explained by the equation Impulse (Δp) = FnetΔt. The increase in the duration of impact caused by safety belts, airbags, and crumpling car parts effectively decreases the net force exerted on the occupants, hence minimizing the risk of severe injuries or fatalities.