I. Introduction
a. It’s a beautiful day out, you’re driving with your windows down, listening to music with your best friend, and then out of nowhere a truck blows through a stop sign. You had your seatbelt on but your best friend didn’t and they are thrown from the car. You now live with the guilt of not telling them to put it on for the rest of your life. This could be your reality if you don’t wear your seatbelt at all times.
b. Seatbelts protect drivers and passengers in vehicles from being ejected from a car in the case of an accident.
c. Both of my parents worked in the emergency medical field and have see countless times where people were severely injured or have even died in an accident because they were not wearing their seatbelt, while others involved in very similar accidents walked away without a scratch because they had their seatbelt on.
d. Main points
i. Consequences of not wearing a seatbelt and problems ii. How you can help make the statistics go down iii. Difference between wearing a seatbelt and not wearing a seatbelt
II. Body
a. Need or Problem
i. People who do not wear their seatbelt while riding in a vehicle significantly increase their chances of death or extreme injury. ii. 1 in 7 adults don’t wear their seatbelt on every trip in their vehicle. iii. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in the first three decades of American’s lives. iv. “Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45%, and risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50%.”
1. Edgar Snyder & Associates
v. “People not wearing a seat belt are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash. More than 3 out of 4 people who are ejected during a fatal crash die from their injuries.”
1. CDC vi. If you don’t wear a seatbelt and are in a serious accident you will most-likely suffer some serious injury, if not death.
b. Solution
i. Not only should you wear your seatbelt but you should insure that all passengers in the vehicle with you are also wearing theirs, no matter where they are sitting in the vehicle. ii. New York has punishments for not wearing your seatbelt so keep those punishments relevant. iii. Governors Highway Safety Association
1. “34 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have primary seatbelt laws for front seat occupants.”
2. 15 states have secondary laws
3. 28 states, DC, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, have laws requiring belt use for all rear seat passengers. In 17 of these states, DC, Guam and Northern Mariana Island this is primary.
4. New York: If you are under 16 you are