2000 Calendar of Traffic Safety Issues

January
Aggressive Driving

February
Child Safety Seats

March 
Speeding

April 
Booster Seats

May 
Seat Belts

May-June
Zero Tolerance

June
Work Zone Safety

July 
Designated Drivers

August
School Zone Safety and School Buses

September
Pedestrian Safety

October
Red Light Running

November
Bicycle Safety

December
Sobriety Checkpoints

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Seat Belts Save Lives

One out of three people will be involved in a serious car crash, and wearing a seat belt is the best protection.
 

Seat Belts:

  • Disperse the impact of a crash over the stronger parts of your body.
  • Hold you in your seat and inside the car.
  • Let you maintain control of the car.
  • Work simultaneously with air bags.

It's the Law

Drivers are required to use seat belts when operating motor vehicles.
Drivers are required to see to it that front seat passengers under 15 are properly restrained by seat belts.
 

Fact vs. Myth:

Myth:  "I don’t need my seat belt if I’m traveling at low speeds or going on a short trip."
Fact:  Eighty percent of car crashes occur at speeds less than 40 miles per hour.  Three out of four crashes causing death usually occur within 24 miles of home.

Myth: "If I wear a seat belt my clothes will get wrinkled."
Fact: Seat belts do wrinkle clothes, but just sitting or wearing clothes also wrinkles clothes. Wrinked clothes is a small price to pay for safety.

Myth: If a crash occured, I’m strong enough to brace myself or hold a child on my lap."
Fact: Even at just 10 miles per hour the force of impact is equivalent to catching a 200 pound bag of cement from a first story window. Holding a child on you lap is like holding onto a speeding bullet.

Myth: "It takes too much time and trouble to fasten my seat belt."
Fact: Fastening a seat belt on average takes about two seconds! Two seconds could be the differnce between life or death.

Myth: "I might be trapped in a car if I wear a seat belt."
Fact:  Without a seat belt on you might be stunned or knocked unconscious, which significantly reduces your chances of escaping from a car. You are more likely to be unhurt, alert and capable of escaping quickly when you wear a seat belt at all times.