Page 15 - On The Move - Volume 17, Issue 1

hen you board an amusement park ride, the first thing you do is buckle your safety
Wbelt. The next thing you are likely to do is have the ride operator inspect your seat
belt to make sure it is properly fastened because you want to be protected as much as
possible in case of an accident.

Seat belts are the most important safety feature in the vehicles in which to instinctively reach for their seat belts without thinking twice every time
we ride but too many people, for whatever reason, unfortunately do not they get into a vehicle.
buckle their seat belt when they get into a car, SUV, or truck. Even though
most vehicles are traveling on the road at speeds faster than that of an One of the most effective ways to increase seat belt use is our “Click It
amusement park ride, too many people are unknowingly putting their lives or Ticket” holiday enforcement and media campaigns conducted prior
at risk if they are in a traffic crash. to the Memorial Day and Thanksgiving holiday travel periods. These
are usually two of the heaviest traveled holiday periods of the year, with
While no one knows when they will be in a traffic crash, and we hope families heading to vacation destinations or to visit relatives.
that no one is ever is, seat belts are the most important safety feature
available, designed to protect occupants in such an event. Automobile While the Georgia State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies are
engineers have made significant strides in improving motorist safety with conducting road checks and highway traffic enforcement, GOHS runs
vehicle design, air bags and other features. But all of their safety features paid advertising on television, radio and billboards as well as free social
are designed on one basic premise: the vehicle occupant is properly media posts on our three platforms to promote compliance with the state’s
restrained. primary seat belt law.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Started by the North Carolina Highway Safety Office in 1993,
almost half of the people who were killed in passenger vehicle crashes last the “Click It or Ticket” program was implemented nationally
year in the United States were not wearing seat belts, despite the fact the by NHTSA a few years later and has led to the seat belt use
NHTSA estimated seat belt use rate in 2018 was just under 90%. rate in the United States jumping from just over 60% to almost
90% in just under
Georgia mirrors the national average, as our state has one of the highest 30 years.
observed daytime front seat belt use rates in the nation, while more than
half the people killed in traffic crashes in 2018 in the state either were not GOHS is also working to reach teens with our seat belt safety message
buckled or it could not be determined whether or not they were restrained before they even get behind the wheel. Even though virtually all teens
during their crash. have been wearing seat belts since they can first remember riding in a
car, almost 6% of teens says they don’t buckle up when they are riding in
Why is it that so many people are wearing a passenger vehicle.

seat belts and yet almost half of those killed That is why our Law Enforcement Services Team and 16 Traffic Enforcement
Networks bring our Rollover Simulators and Seat Belt Convincers to
in crashes are not wearing their seat belts? high schools and middle schools across the state. The GOHS Rollover
Simulator shows these young students how easily occupants are thrown
from a vehicle during a crash, and the impact of a low speed crash on
A further look into that data shows that time of day is a factor when
motorists choose to click their seat belts. According to NHTSA, 61% of the “Convincer” will show them what it would feel like to be in a crash at
those killed in daytime crashes were buckled while 56% of those who died much higher speeds.
in crashes that happened at night were not.
GOHS also encourages parents to set the example by always buckling up
and driving safely because their children will watch and often follow mom
Besides time of day, traveling a short distance, being in a hurry, and not
wanting to wrinkle clothes are some of the reasons for not wearing a seat and dad’s example when they reach the legal driving age.
belt on each and every trip we take.
Considering that many vehicles did not have seat belts more than 50 years
ago, it is a great achievement that almost 90% of people riding roads on
More motorists would make wearing a seat belt a priority if they knew
their odds of being completely or partially ejected from a vehicle in a today are buckled up. However, the goals in highway safety are 100%
crash were 30 times higher when not wearing a seat belt according to the seat belt use and zero traffic deaths in the United States. These goals are
Centers for Disease Control, and that 8 out of 10 people are killed when not impossible and
they are completely ejected during a vehicle crash. can be reached with
the commitment of
everyone to always
Seat belts do save lives, but only when they are used. According to
NHTSA, a buckled rider in the front seat of a passenger vehicle reduces drive safe, sober,
their risk of being involved in a fatal crash by 45% and that figure is 60% alert, and buckled.
for buckled riders in the front seat of light pickup trucks.

Using data is just one way the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and
its partners are working to educate motorists and to change their behavior

On The Move 2020 13