Years ago, way back at what seemed to be the dawn of time (actually it was only 1956, and I was 10 years old), my father bought a little quarter-midget race car for my younger brother and I to race on the tenth-of-a-mile dirt ovals that were appearing around Southern California back then.
The first rule I learned about driving the gleaming gold and white racer was that the car wouldn't be started -- not even for a quick engine tuning loop in the street in front of the house -- unless we were wearing all the proper safety equipment. The first, and most important, piece of that equipment was the safety belt.
Years ago, the state Traffic Safety Commission released a study in Olympia that covered three years worth of accidents involving seat-belted occupants who had died. It tended to debunk the persistent belief many people hold that, in restraining the body, properly used seat belts contribute to fatal injuries.
The study looked at 337 fatal crashes in which 446 people died, representing about 19 percent of all auto deaths in 1987, 1988 and 1989. During those years, Washington state recorded 2,099 fatal accidents, during which 2,356 vehicle occupants died.
Of those wearing seatbelts, 70 percent were in accidents deemed not survivable. However, half of those who died and were not wearing seat belts, were in accidents that could have been survived, the study found.
The study also showed that the misuse of seat belts -- putting the shoulder belt under an arm, for example -- can contribute to injuries and even death.
Even these injuries, however, are survivable, as opposed to the destruction that an unrestrained body goes through. The primary purpose of occupant restraints is to prevent the "secondary collision" in a vehicular accident, that of soft flesh colliding with the inside of the automobile.
Dr. Ron Maier, a former director of the trauma center at Harborview Medical Center says, "If you look at people coming in from car crashes and listen to the descriptions by paramedics of the extent of damage to the cars, it's clear the use of seat belts just eliminates bad injuries."
As a successful survivor of an incredibly horrendous automobile accident -- in which there wasn't a straight piece of sheet metal left on the entire car; it literally wrapped itself around me --I can attest to not only the importance of seatbelts, but also the skill of the HMC trauma center.
"I'm just going down the block..." isn't a valid excuse for not doing up your belt, either. Most of the accidents that occur on the streets today are within 25 miles of home. My accident was on Nickerson on the north edge of Queen Anne, and I was doing less than 40 mph. It just depends how fast you stop the car; I hit a building that didn't move an inch.
Roadside observation has shown that only 65 percent of Washington vehicle occupants wear seat belts. That's better than belt use nationwide, which was only 49 percent in 1990, according to Transportation Department figures.
A good friend of mine, like an estimated 39 percent of vehicle occupants who defy state law (enacted in 1987), still refuses to use her seat belt. She endlessly claims one excuse after another, and I dread the day when I'll visit her at Harborview or worse.
Please, buckle your shoulder harness/seat belts. Do it for the people who care about you.[[In-content Ad]]
