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Drivers cannot control the movements of other vehicles, weather conditions, or malfunctioning car parts. However, they can control their own actions. By taking certain precautions, individuals can help minimize the impact of a car accident. One way individuals can protect themselves from sustaining serious bodily injury is to always wear a seatbelt while driving or riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle.
Safety Advantages
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data indicates over 15,000 lives are saved each year by the use of seatbelts. Safety experts continue to stress the use of seatbelts to ensure the safety of car occupants even more than new technological advances including rear view cameras, lane departure warning systems, and tire monitoring programs.
Seatbelts can:
- Prevent vehicle occupants from hitting the dashboard, steering wheel, windshield, or other areas in the car
- Minimize injury from airbag deployment
- Prevent ejection from a vehicle during a collision
- Provide optimal protection to the body’s strongest parts, the hips and shoulders
- Spread the force of the crash over a wider area of the body minimizing overall injury
- Lessen the risk of injury to the brain and spinal cord including paralysis and concussion
- Slows the traveling rate of the body down reducing risk for whiplash
When individuals are ejected from a car, the chance of a fatal injury rises to one in eight. By drastically reducing the chance of ejection, seatbelts save thousands of lives. Statistics show proper seatbelt use can reduce fatal injuries to front seat passenger occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate to critical injury by 50 percent. Recognizing the importance of using seatbelts, almost every state has mandatory seatbelt laws in effect.
Proper Use of Seatbelts
The most common seatbelt installed by auto manufacturers is the three-point seat belt containing both a lap belt and sash belt. Proper use of the three-point seatbelt is critical for safe driving.
Incorrect ways to use seatbelts include:
- Placing the shoulder belt behind one’s back
- Wearing the shoulder belt under the arm rather than over the shoulder and across the chest
- Only wearing the lap belt
- Using an improperly fitting seatbelt
- Using a seatbelt that is too constricting
- Wearing a sash belt too close to the neck
Individuals must properly use a seatbelt every time they are in the car to protect themselves from serious bodily injury in the event of a wreck.
Compensation for Car Accident Victims
Individuals injured in car accidents, even those who were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the collision, may be entitled to compensation for their injuries. In addition to medical treatment expenses such as physician visit co-pays, prescription drug costs, hospital balances, and therapy fees, injured individuals may be reimbursed for lost wages due to an inability to work, as well as payments for their pain and suffering. Navigating the complex liability laws governing car accidents often requires the assistance of an experienced Virginia Beach car accident attorney.
Virginia Beach Car Accident Attorneys Fight for Victims of Driver Negligence
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a car accident, the experienced team at East Coast Trial Lawyers is here to help. With offices conveniently located in Virginia Beach, we proudly serve clients throughout Chesapeake, Eastern Shores, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk, Virginia. To arrange a free consultation with an experienced Virginia Beach car accident attorney, call us today at 757-352-2237 or submit an online inquiry form.
